CRISC IT Risk Assessment Practice Question
A company's risk assessment identifies that a threat actor has high capability and motivation to exploit a vulnerability. Which factor does this relate to?
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
✓
Likelihood assessment
Threat actor capability and motivation are factors in likelihood assessment.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Likelihood assessment
Why this is correct
High capability and motivation directly increase the probability that a threat actor will attempt and succeed in exploiting the vulnerability, which is precisely what likelihood assessment evaluates. Threat capability and motivation are core likelihood inputs, distinct from impact, which measures consequence severity rather than the chance of exploitation occurring.
- ✗
Risk appetite
Why it's wrong here
Risk appetite is the level of risk the organisation is willing to accept, not an attribute of the threat actor. It is tempting because it governs risk decisions, and it would be correct when determining whether a given exposure falls within tolerance or requires treatment.
- ✗
Control effectiveness
Why it's wrong here
Control effectiveness measures how well existing safeguards reduce likelihood or impact; it does not describe the threat actor's capability and motivation. It is tempting because controls modify risk, and it would be correct when assessing whether implemented mitigations actually lower the residual risk.
- ✗
Impact assessment
Why it's wrong here
Impact assessment quantifies consequence to the business if the vulnerability is exploited, not the adversary's capability or motivation. It is tempting because both feed the same risk calculation, and it would be correct when the question asks about potential loss magnitude or business disruption.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This CRISC question is part of Courseiva's 1,062-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.