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CRISC Practice Question: A manufacturing company uses an industrial…
A manufacturing company uses an industrial control system (ICS) that is connected to the corporate network for monitoring. The risk manager is identifying risks related to this connectivity. Which of the following is the MOST significant risk?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often focus on the most common IT risk (data breach or malware) and overlook the unique ICS risk of physical damage, which is the defining characteristic of operational technology risk management.
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
✓
Compromise of ICS causing physical damage to manufacturing equipment.
The most significant risk is that a compromise of the ICS could lead to physical damage, such as equipment destruction, safety hazards, or environmental release. Unlike IT systems where data loss is the primary concern, ICS failures directly impact the physical world, making safety and operational integrity the top priority in risk identification.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Compromise of ICS causing physical damage to manufacturing equipment.
Why this is correct
Physical damage can lead to safety incidents, production loss, and high repair costs.
- ✗
Malware infection spreading from corporate to ICS network.
Why it's wrong here
Malware is a threat vector; the risk is the impact on ICS.
- ✗
Network congestion due to ICS traffic affecting corporate users.
Why it's wrong here
Performance issues are lower priority than safety.
- ✗
Unauthorized access to corporate data through the ICS connection.
Why it's wrong here
Data theft is a concern but less critical than physical damage.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on CRISC
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. A manufacturing company uses IoT sensors on the factory floor to monitor equipment performance. The sensors transmit data to a central server via Wi-Fi. During a risk identification workshop, the operations manager reveals that some sensors are operating on outdated firmware with known vulnerabilities. The IT director proposes replacing all sensors at a high cost. The risk team notes that a breach could cause production downtime but the sensors only collect non-sensitive operational data. The company has a low tolerance for downtime. What should the risk team identify as the most critical risk?
medium- ✓ A.Operational disruption from a potential cyber attack exploiting sensor vulnerabilities.
- B.Legal liability from non-compliance with safety standards.
- C.Reputational damage from a data leak.
- D.Financial loss from replacing sensors.
Why A: The most critical risk is operational disruption from a cyber attack exploiting the known vulnerabilities in the outdated IoT sensor firmware. Since the company has a low tolerance for downtime, any breach that causes production stoppage directly impacts business continuity, outweighing the non-sensitive nature of the data collected. The sensors' Wi-Fi connectivity provides an attack surface for lateral movement or denial-of-service, making exploitation a high-probability, high-impact event.
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.