CISM Incident Management Practice Question
Which THREE of the following are typical roles in an incident response team?
⚠ Common exam trap
CISM often tests the difference between standing IR team roles and situationally activated stakeholders, and candidates frequently include HR or the CEO because they appear in incident scenarios without being core team members.
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
✓
Security analyst
Security analyst (B) is a core incident response role, responsible for monitoring alerts, triaging events, and performing initial containment and eradication actions. Forensic investigator (D) is also typical, handling evidence acquisition and analysis using tools like memory and disk imaging while preserving chain of custody. Legal counsel (E) is a standard member because incidents often trigger breach-notification laws, regulatory reporting, and liability concerns that must be managed during response. Human resources manager (A) and CEO (C) may be consulted or informed, but they are not typical hands-on incident response team roles, so they are not correct here.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Human resources manager
Why it's wrong here
Human resources handles employment matters, not containment, eradication or forensic analysis; their involvement is advisory on personnel and legal implications. It is tempting because HR coordinates internal communications during insider incidents, but the typical core roles are incident commander, security analyst and communications or legal liaison.
- ✓
Security analyst
Why this is correct
The security analyst is a core incident response team role, performing detection, triage and initial containment of the event. This hands-on technical function is consistently listed alongside incident lead, forensics and communications roles in typical CISM team structures.
- ✗
Chief executive officer (CEO)
Why it's wrong here
A CEO sits outside the incident response team, holding strategic and communication oversight rather than performing triage, containment or eradication tasks. The role is tempting because executives do approve budgets and speak publicly during major breaches, yet that belongs to crisis management, not the technical response team itself.
- ✓
Forensic investigator
Why this is correct
The forensic investigator is a standard incident response team role, preserving evidence, performing root-cause analysis and supporting any legal or disciplinary action. This specialist function is distinct from the analyst's detection duties and is routinely named in CISM team composition.
- ✓
Legal counsel
Why this is correct
Legal counsel is a typical incident response team role, advising on breach notification duties, regulatory exposure, evidence handling and privilege. This function satisfies the stem's requirement for roles beyond purely technical responders, complementing analysts and forensic investigators.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official ISACA exam blueprint
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.