easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
CRISC Practice Question: A risk manager is identifying risks for a new…
A risk manager is identifying risks for a new mobile payment application. The application will use end-to-end encryption. Which of the following is the BEST source of risk information for identifying potential threats?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse 'historical internal data' (Option C) or 'generic benchmarks' (Option A) as reliable for risk identification, when in fact only current, external, and sector-specific threat intelligence can identify emerging threats that bypass encryption or target the application's unique implementation.
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
✓
Threat intelligence feeds specific to the financial services sector
Threat intelligence feeds specific to the financial services sector provide real-time, contextualized information about emerging threats, attack patterns, and vulnerabilities targeting mobile payment systems. Since the application uses end-to-end encryption, the risk manager needs to identify threats that could bypass or undermine encryption (e.g., side-channel attacks, key interception, or man-in-the-middle attacks on the handshake), which generic or historical sources would not capture. This source is the best because it is current, sector-specific, and directly relevant to the technology stack.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Industry benchmark risk assessments from similar organizations
Why it's wrong here
Benchmarks are useful for comparison but not for identifying specific threats to the new app.
- ✓
Threat intelligence feeds specific to the financial services sector
Why this is correct
Threat intelligence provides current, relevant threat information for risk identification.
- ✗
Previous internal audit reports on legacy applications
Why it's wrong here
Historical reports may not reflect current threats for new technology.
- ✗
Vendor-provided security white papers for the encryption product
Why it's wrong here
Vendor documentation may lack objectivity and breadth of threats.
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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.