mediumMultiple Choice
CRISC Practice Question: A company has identified a risk of data breach…
A company has identified a risk of data breach due to weak encryption. The current controls include encryption at rest but not in transit. The risk assessment team calculates inherent risk as high and residual risk as high. What should the team recommend FIRST?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often think accepting high residual risk is acceptable if inherent risk is also high, but CRISC emphasizes that risk should be reduced to an acceptable level using controls before considering acceptance or transfer.
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
✓
Implement encryption in transit to reduce likelihood
The risk assessment team should first recommend implementing encryption in transit because the current controls only address data at rest, leaving data vulnerable during transmission. Since both inherent and residual risks are high, the most direct and effective control to reduce likelihood is to apply a technical safeguard like TLS 1.3 for data in transit, which directly addresses the identified gap.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Implement encryption in transit to reduce likelihood
Why this is correct
Implementing encryption in transit directly addresses the missing control identified in the stem, reducing the likelihood component of inherent risk. Since encryption at rest already exists, adding transport-layer protection (TLS) closes the gap that keeps residual risk high, lowering it below the organisation's risk appetite before considering transfer or avoidance.
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Transfer the risk by purchasing cyber insurance
Why it's wrong here
Cyber insurance compensates financial loss after a breach but leaves the unencrypted transmission path intact, so the high residual risk persists. Transfer suits low-frequency, high-severity risks that cannot be mitigated cost-effectively. Encryption in transit directly addresses the identified control gap and should be recommended first.
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Avoid the risk by discontinuing data transmission
Why it's wrong here
Discontinuing transmission eliminates the business process itself, which is disproportionate when encryption in transit would close the gap. Risk avoidance suits activities with no viable control or unacceptable residual exposure. Here the team should recommend implementing TLS, reducing residual risk while preserving the data flows the business depends on.
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Accept the risk because it is already high
Why it's wrong here
Acceptance is valid only when residual risk falls within the organisation's tolerance; here it remains high, so acceptance leaves the exposure unaddressed. The team should first recommend implementing encryption in transit. Acceptance would be appropriate once controls reduce residual risk to an acceptable level, documented with management sign-off.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CRISC 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 CRISC exam.