This CRISC practice question tests your understanding of it risk identification. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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.
A company's IT risk team is conducting a risk identification exercise for a new blockchain-based supply chain solution. Which THREE risks are MOST specific to this technology?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
51% attack on the underlying consensus mechanism.
A 51% attack is a specific risk to blockchain consensus mechanisms where a single entity or group gains majority hashing power, allowing them to reverse transactions or prevent new blocks from being confirmed. This directly undermines the integrity and immutability that blockchain promises for the supply chain solution.
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.
✓
51% attack on the underlying consensus mechanism.
Why this is correct
Consensus attacks are specific to blockchain.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Incompatibility with legacy database systems.
Why it's wrong here
This is a general integration risk.
✗
High electricity consumption of mining nodes.
Why it's wrong here
Mining is not relevant for permissioned enterprise blockchain.
✓
Smart contract vulnerabilities leading to unintended execution.
Why this is correct
Smart contracts are a unique attack surface.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Cryptographic key management failures.
Why this is correct
Key management is critical in blockchain.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
ISACA often tests the distinction between generic IT risks and technology-specific risks, so candidates mistakenly select 'high electricity consumption' without considering that many blockchain implementations (especially in enterprise supply chains) do not use energy-intensive proof-of-work.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In a 51% attack, the attacker controls over half the network's mining hash rate, enabling them to perform a 'double-spend' by privately mining a longer chain and then broadcasting it to replace the public ledger. For permissioned blockchains, this risk is mitigated by identity-based consensus like Raft or PBFT, which require node authentication rather than computational power.
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 small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
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.
IT Risk Identification — This question tests IT Risk Identification — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: 51% attack on the underlying consensus mechanism. — A 51% attack is a specific risk to blockchain consensus mechanisms where a single entity or group gains majority hashing power, allowing them to reverse transactions or prevent new blocks from being confirmed. This directly undermines the integrity and immutability that blockchain promises for the supply chain solution.
What should I do if I get this CRISC question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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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