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CRISC Practice Question: A mid-sized retail company operates 50 stores…
A mid-sized retail company operates 50 stores across three regions. Each store uses a point-of-sale (POS) system that transmits credit card transactions to a centralized payment processor. The company recently deployed a new SaaS-based inventory management application that connects to the POS system via API. The IT department has no formal process for tracking third-party connections. The risk manager suspects that unknown or unauthorized connections may exist. During a risk identification review, the risk manager discovers that the POS vendor's API documentation was shared with the inventory SaaS provider without a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). Additionally, the API keys for the POS system are stored in plain text configuration files on the inventory SaaS application server. The company's security policy requires encryption of all sensitive data in transit and at rest. Which of the following should the risk manager prioritize as the HIGHEST risk scenario to document in the risk register?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often prioritize procedural or compliance gaps (like missing NDAs or lack of formal processes) over a concrete, exploitable technical vulnerability, failing to recognize that a realized risk with immediate impact must be documented before addressing root causes.
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
✓
Exposure of POS system API keys stored in plain text on the inventory SaaS server
The plain-text storage of API keys on the inventory SaaS server represents an active, exploitable vulnerability that directly violates the company's encryption-at-rest policy. Unlike the other options, this is a confirmed technical control failure that could allow an attacker to impersonate the POS system, intercept or manipulate credit card transactions, and compromise the entire payment processing pipeline. The risk is immediate and high-impact because the keys are already exposed, not merely a procedural gap or missing legal agreement.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Exposure of POS system API keys stored in plain text on the inventory SaaS server
Why this is correct
Plain-text API keys on the SaaS server breach the policy requiring encryption at rest and grant direct access to POS transaction functions, making unauthorised payment activity and data exposure the most immediate, highest-impact scenario to document.
- ✗
The POS system may not be PCI DSS compliant due to API sharing without NDA
Why it's wrong here
PCI DSS compliance status is a governance consequence inferred from the NDA gap, not the exposure itself; documentation sharing alone does not process or store cardholder data. Compliance-scope questions are prioritised when cardholder data environments are directly affected, whereas the plaintext API keys create an immediate, exploitable credential compromise.
- ✗
No formal process for tracking third-party connections
Why it's wrong here
An absent tracking process is a governance weakness that allowed the unknown connections to arise, but it does not itself expose cardholder data. Inventorying third-party connections would be the priority where the concern is visibility and ownership of integrations rather than an active, policy-violating exposure of live credentials.
- ✗
The lack of an NDA with the inventory SaaS provider
Why it's wrong here
Important but does not directly expose sensitive data; can be remediated later.
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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.