- A
A P2 high-severity DDoS attack that has been mitigated within a few hours.
Why wrong: P2 may not require CMT if resolved quickly, though it could escalate.
- B
A P3 medium-severity insider threat involving unauthorized access to a non-critical system.
Why wrong: P3 incidents have limited impact and are handled by IR team.
- C
A P4 low-severity phishing email reported by a user.
Why wrong: P4 incidents have minimal impact and do not require CMT.
- D
A P1 critical-severity ransomware attack encrypting critical systems.
P1 incidents require executive involvement and CMT activation.
Question 38 of 905
CISM Incident Management Practice Question
This CISM practice question tests your understanding of incident management. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 of the following incident categories would typically require the involvement of the crisis management team?
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
✓
A P1 critical-severity ransomware attack encrypting critical systems.
A P1 critical-severity ransomware attack encrypting critical systems requires immediate activation of the crisis management team because it poses an existential threat to business operations, often involving legal, PR, executive, and regulatory stakeholders. The crisis management team handles incidents that exceed the capacity of the incident response team, typically those with high business impact, widespread system compromise, or potential for significant financial/reputational damage.
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.
- ✗
A P2 high-severity DDoS attack that has been mitigated within a few hours.
Why it's wrong here
P2 may not require CMT if resolved quickly, though it could escalate.
- ✗
A P3 medium-severity insider threat involving unauthorized access to a non-critical system.
Why it's wrong here
P3 incidents have limited impact and are handled by IR team.
- ✗
A P4 low-severity phishing email reported by a user.
Why it's wrong here
P4 incidents have minimal impact and do not require CMT.
- ✓
A P1 critical-severity ransomware attack encrypting critical systems.
Why this is correct
P1 incidents require executive involvement and CMT activation.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse incident severity (P1-P4) with the need for crisis management, but CISM emphasizes that crisis management is triggered by business impact and stakeholder involvement, not just technical severity—so a high-severity but quickly mitigated DDoS (Option A) may not require crisis escalation, while a critical ransomware attack (Option D) always does.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Crisis management teams are activated when an incident triggers predefined escalation criteria, such as impact to critical infrastructure, data exfiltration involving PII/PHI, or regulatory reporting obligations (e.g., GDPR 72-hour notification). In ransomware scenarios, the crisis team coordinates with legal counsel, law enforcement (e.g., FBI, CISA), and external PR firms, while the technical team focuses on containment via network segmentation, disabling SMBv1, and restoring from offline backups. A subtle behavior is that even if the ransomware is contained quickly, the crisis team may remain engaged due to potential data leakage and compliance implications.
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: A P1 critical-severity ransomware attack encrypting critical systems. — A P1 critical-severity ransomware attack encrypting critical systems requires immediate activation of the crisis management team because it poses an existential threat to business operations, often involving legal, PR, executive, and regulatory stakeholders. The crisis management team handles incidents that exceed the capacity of the incident response team, typically those with high business impact, widespread system compromise, or potential for significant financial/reputational damage.
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
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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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