CISM Information Security Program Practice Question
Which TWO of the following are primary objectives of a security awareness program?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse compliance (Option E) as a primary objective, but CISM emphasizes that awareness programs are fundamentally about behavior change and incident reduction, not just meeting regulatory requirements.
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
✓
Reduce the number of security incidents
A primary objective of a security awareness program is to reduce the number of security incidents by educating employees on threats like phishing, social engineering, and unsafe practices. By raising awareness, employees are less likely to fall for attacks that could lead to data breaches or malware infections, directly lowering incident frequency.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Improve password sharing practices
Why it's wrong here
Password sharing should be discouraged, not improved.
- ✗
Increase the security budget
Why it's wrong here
Budget increase is not an objective of awareness.
- ✓
Reduce the number of security incidents
Why this is correct
Reducing incidents is a direct outcome of effective awareness.
- ✓
Change employee security behavior
Why this is correct
Behavior change is a primary goal of awareness programs.
- ✗
Ensure compliance with regulations
Why it's wrong here
Compliance is secondary; awareness aims to educate, not enforce.
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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.