CRISC IT Risk Assessment Practice Question
A risk analyst is assessing the impact of a potential ransomware attack. Which THREE categories of business impact should be considered?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse risk factors (like technical complexity or geographic diversity) with impact categories, leading candidates to select options that describe the attack's nature or mitigation rather than its direct business consequences.
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
✓
Operational downtime
Operational downtime (B) is a direct consequence of a ransomware attack, as encryption of critical systems halts business processes, leading to lost productivity and revenue. This category is essential for impact assessment because it quantifies the duration and scope of service disruption, which directly affects operational continuity.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Geographic diversity
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect; not a standard impact category.
- ✓
Operational downtime
Why this is correct
Correct; operational impact affects productivity.
- ✓
Financial losses (direct and indirect)
Why this is correct
Correct; financial impact is key.
- ✗
Technical complexity
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect; technical complexity is not a business impact category.
- ✓
Regulatory fines
Why this is correct
Correct; regulatory impact includes fines and remediation.
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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.