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CISM Practice Question: Which TWO actions are essential during the…
Which TWO actions are essential during the detection and analysis phase of incident response?
⚠ Common exam trap
ISACA often tests the distinction between phases of the incident response lifecycle (NIST SP 800-61), and the trap here is confusing containment actions (like disconnecting systems) with detection and analysis actions, leading candidates to select Option B instead of focusing on scope determination and IOC identification.
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
✓
Determine the scope of the incident
Determining the scope of the incident (C) is essential during the detection and analysis phase because it defines the boundaries of the compromise—identifying which systems, data, and users are affected. This step is critical for prioritizing response actions and preventing the incident from spreading further. Without scope determination, subsequent containment and eradication efforts may be misdirected or incomplete.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Notify law enforcement
Why it's wrong here
Notification may occur later, not during detection/analysis.
- ✗
Disconnect affected systems
Why it's wrong here
Disconnection is a containment action, not part of detection/analysis.
- ✓
Determine the scope of the incident
Why this is correct
Correct: Scope assessment is essential to understand impact.
- ✗
Rebuild systems
Why it's wrong here
Rebuilding is a recovery action after containment and eradication.
- ✓
Identify indicators of compromise (IOCs)
Why this is correct
Correct: IOCs help confirm and characterize the incident.
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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.