CRISC IT Risk Assessment Practice Question
A risk assessment identifies that a critical application has a vulnerability with a high likelihood of exploitation. The risk owner proposes to implement a web application firewall (WAF) as a mitigating control. Which TWO of the following are likely benefits of this control?
⚠ Common exam trap
The CRISC exam often tests the misconception that a WAF is a silver bullet that eliminates all risk or replaces other controls, when in fact it is a layered defense that reduces likelihood but does not transfer, eliminate, or remove the need for complementary security measures.
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
✓
Reduces the likelihood of successful exploitation
A WAF reduces the likelihood of successful exploitation by inspecting and filtering HTTP/HTTPS traffic for common attack patterns such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS). It blocks malicious payloads before they reach the application, directly lowering the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited. This aligns with the risk mitigation strategy of reducing threat exposure.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Reduces the likelihood of successful exploitation
Why this is correct
WAF blocks malicious traffic, reducing likelihood.
- ✗
Transfers the risk to the vendor
Why it's wrong here
WAF does not transfer risk; it mitigates.
- ✗
Eliminates the need for other controls
Why it's wrong here
Defense in depth requires multiple controls.
- ✗
Eliminates all residual risk
Why it's wrong here
No control can eliminate all risk.
- ✓
Provides detective capabilities by logging blocked attacks
Why this is correct
WAF logs provide detection.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This CRISC question is part of Courseiva's 983-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.