This CISM practice question tests your understanding of incident management. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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.
You are a security analyst for a mid-sized e-commerce company. The company uses a cloud-based email service. Several employees report receiving phishing emails that appear to come from the CEO, asking them to purchase gift cards. The emails have a spoofed sender address but pass SPF and DKIM checks because the attacker compromised a legitimate email account. The CEO's account has been locked, but the attacker may have set up forwarding rules. You need to ensure the attacker cannot use the account further. You have the following options: A) Change the CEO's password and enable MFA, then remove any forwarding rules. B) Delete the CEO's email account and create a new one. C) Block all emails from the CEO's email address at the gateway. D) Restore the CEO's mailbox from a backup taken before the compromise. Which option is the BEST course of action?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Change password, enable MFA, and remove forwarding rules
Option D is the best course of action because the attacker has already compromised the CEO's legitimate account, bypassing SPF and DKIM. Changing the password immediately revokes the attacker's session tokens and access, enabling MFA adds an additional authentication factor to prevent re-entry, and removing any forwarding rules stops the attacker from exfiltrating emails or continuing the phishing campaign through auto-forwarding. This directly addresses the root cause—the compromised account—without disrupting business continuity.
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.
✗
Block the CEO's email address at the gateway
Why it's wrong here
This prevents outgoing emails but does not secure the account.
✗
Delete the account and create a new one
Why it's wrong here
Too disruptive; the CEO needs their existing account.
✗
Restore from backup
Why it's wrong here
Restoring from backup may still have the same password and forwarding rules if not cleaned.
✓
Change password, enable MFA, and remove forwarding rules
Why this is correct
This secures the account and cleans up attacker's persistence.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
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 may choose to block the email address at the gateway (Option A) thinking it stops the phishing, but they fail to realize the attacker still has full control of the account and can continue malicious activity without sending emails through the gateway.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
When an attacker compromises a cloud email account, they often establish persistence through mailbox forwarding rules (e.g., Exchange Online Inbox Rules) that automatically forward emails to an external address. These rules are stored server-side and persist even after a password change unless explicitly removed. Enabling MFA (e.g., using TOTP or FIDO2) ensures that even if the attacker obtains the new password, they cannot authenticate without the second factor. This aligns with the NIST SP 800-63B guidance on using multi-factor authentication to mitigate credential theft.
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.
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: Change password, enable MFA, and remove forwarding rules — Option D is the best course of action because the attacker has already compromised the CEO's legitimate account, bypassing SPF and DKIM. Changing the password immediately revokes the attacker's session tokens and access, enabling MFA adds an additional authentication factor to prevent re-entry, and removing any forwarding rules stops the attacker from exfiltrating emails or continuing the phishing campaign through auto-forwarding. This directly addresses the root cause—the compromised account—without disrupting business continuity.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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