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CRISC Practice Question: A risk assessment team is evaluating the…
A risk assessment team is evaluating the effectiveness of existing controls for a critical application. Which of the following approaches best determines whether controls are operating as intended?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse 'design effectiveness' (confirmed by documentation and interviews) with 'operating effectiveness' (confirmed only by walkthroughs and testing), leading them to choose Option B or A when the question explicitly asks whether controls are operating as intended.
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
✓
Conducting a walkthrough and testing the controls
Walkthroughs and testing provide direct, empirical evidence that controls are functioning as designed. For a critical application, this approach validates actual control execution (e.g., verifying that an automated access control list (ACL) on a database server actually blocks unauthorized queries), rather than relying on secondhand accounts or static documentation. Testing confirms operational effectiveness in real-time, which is essential for accurate risk assessment.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Interviewing the control owner
Why it's wrong here
Subjective and may not reflect actual operation.
- ✗
Reviewing control documentation
Why it's wrong here
Only verifies design, not operation.
- ✓
Conducting a walkthrough and testing the controls
Why this is correct
Provides direct evidence of effectiveness.
- ✗
Analyzing historical audit findings
Why it's wrong here
Past findings may be outdated.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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