- A
P3 — Medium
Why wrong: P3 requires standard response, no executive notification.
- B
P1 — Critical
P1 incidents require 24/7 response and executive notification.
- C
P4 — Low
Why wrong: P4 requires scheduled remediation.
- D
P2 — High
Why wrong: P2 requires management notification and business hours response.
Question 350 of 905
CISM Incident Management Practice Question
This CISM practice question tests your understanding of incident management. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Which incident severity level requires executive notification and a 24/7 response?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
P1 — Critical
P1 — Critical incidents, such as a complete system outage or data breach, require immediate executive notification and a 24/7 response because they pose an imminent threat to business operations, legal compliance, or data integrity. This severity level triggers the highest escalation path, often involving the CEO, CISO, and legal counsel, with round-the-clock resource allocation to contain and remediate the issue.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
P3 — Medium
Why it's wrong here
P3 requires standard response, no executive notification.
- ✓
P1 — Critical
Why this is correct
P1 incidents require 24/7 response and executive notification.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
P4 — Low
Why it's wrong here
P4 requires scheduled remediation.
- ✗
P2 — High
Why it's wrong here
P2 requires management notification and business hours response.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse P2 (High) with P1 (Critical) because both involve significant business impact, but only P1 mandates executive notification and 24/7 response, as P2 incidents are typically managed by the incident response team without C-suite involvement unless they escalate.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In incident management frameworks like NIST SP 800-61 or ITIL, severity levels are tied to predefined SLAs and escalation matrices; P1 incidents often have a 15-minute response SLA and require a bridge call with senior leadership within 30 minutes. Under the hood, automated monitoring tools (e.g., SIEM with correlation rules) can trigger P1 classification based on thresholds like 100% packet loss or unauthorized access to a database containing PII, ensuring the 24/7 SOC team and executives are paged simultaneously via tools like PagerDuty or Opsgenie.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the CISM exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
- →
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CISM question test?
Incident Management — This question tests Incident Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: P1 — Critical — P1 — Critical incidents, such as a complete system outage or data breach, require immediate executive notification and a 24/7 response because they pose an imminent threat to business operations, legal compliance, or data integrity. This severity level triggers the highest escalation path, often involving the CEO, CISO, and legal counsel, with round-the-clock resource allocation to contain and remediate the issue.
What should I do if I get this CISM question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
This CISM practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISACA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CISM exam.
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