The answer is to tune the alerting rules and adopt risk-based prioritization to filter out known false positives. This is correct because tuning SIEM alerts to reduce false positives directly addresses the root cause of alert fatigue—overly broad correlation rules—while risk-based prioritization ensures that the SOC team focuses their limited analyst hours on events with the highest potential business impact, rather than drowning in noise. On the CRISC exam, this scenario tests your understanding of risk response and monitoring, specifically how to optimize controls without adding cost or complexity; a common trap is choosing to disable low-priority alerts, which risks missing subtle indicators of compromise. Remember the mnemonic T.R.A.P.: Tune rules, Risk-prioritize, Avoid disabling, and Prioritize true positives over volume.
CRISC Risk and Control Monitoring and Reporting Practice Question
This CRISC practice question tests your understanding of risk and control monitoring and reporting. 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.
A large financial services firm recently deployed a new security information and event management (SIEM) system to monitor thousands of servers, network devices, and applications. The system is generating over 1,000 alerts per hour, of which 80% are false positives. The security operations center (SOC) team is overwhelmed and has started ignoring all but the most critical alerts. As a result, a real attack recently went undetected for 48 hours. The risk manager is asked to recommend improvements. The SOC team has 12 analysts working in shifts. The SIEM is properly configured but the correlation rules are broad and noisy. The firm cannot add more staff due to budget freeze. What should the risk manager prioritize?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Tune the alerting rules and adopt risk-based prioritization to filter out known false positives.
Tuning alerting rules with risk-based prioritization reduces noise and ensures the SOC focuses on true positives. Disabling low-priority alerts (A) may cause missing important events; hiring (C) is not feasible; machine learning (D) is complex and still needs tuning.
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.
✗
Disable all low-priority alerts to reduce volume immediately.
Why it's wrong here
Not all low-priority alerts are irrelevant; some may indicate early signs of compromise.
✗
Implement a machine learning algorithm to automatically classify alerts.
Why it's wrong here
ML requires tuning and data; may take time and still suffer from false positives without proper training.
✓
Tune the alerting rules and adopt risk-based prioritization to filter out known false positives.
Why this is correct
Reduces false positives while retaining meaningful alerts; improves SOC efficiency.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Request budget to hire five additional SOC analysts.
Why it's wrong here
Budget is frozen; not feasible in short term.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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 CRISC 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 CRISC exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Risk and Control Monitoring and Reporting — This question tests Risk and Control Monitoring and Reporting — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Tune the alerting rules and adopt risk-based prioritization to filter out known false positives. — Tuning alerting rules with risk-based prioritization reduces noise and ensures the SOC focuses on true positives. Disabling low-priority alerts (A) may cause missing important events; hiring (C) is not feasible; machine learning (D) is complex and still needs tuning.
What should I do if I get this CRISC question wrong?
Identify which CRISC exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. An organization deployed a new intrusion detection system (IDS) that generates many alerts. The security team is overwhelmed and has started ignoring some alerts. What is the BEST way to address this issue?
medium
A.Implement a SIEM to filter and prioritize alerts.
B.Deactivate the IDS until it can be properly configured.
✓ C.Tune the IDS to reduce false positive alerts.
D.Hire additional security analysts to handle the alert volume.
Why C: Option C is correct because tuning the IDS to reduce false positives will make alerts more actionable. Option A is wrong because hiring more staff may not be efficient. Option B is wrong because deactivating is risky. Option D is wrong because filtering without tuning may still miss real threats.
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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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.
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