CISM Information Security Programme Practice Question
Which metric is considered a lagging indicator of security program performance?
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
✓
Mean time to detect (MTTD)
Lagging indicators measure past events. Mean time to detect (MTTD) is a lagging indicator because it reflects historical detection efficiency.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Patch compliance percentage
Why it's wrong here
Patch compliance is a leading indicator as it shows proactive patching status.
- ✓
Mean time to detect (MTTD)
Why this is correct
Correct. MTTD measures how quickly past incidents were detected.
- ✗
Access review completion rate
Why it's wrong here
Completion rate is a leading indicator of governance activities.
- ✗
Phishing simulation click rate
Why it's wrong here
This is a leading indicator measuring current user behavior.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.