CRISC IT Risk Identification Practice Question
A risk practitioner is conducting a risk assessment for a new customer-facing mobile application. The practitioner wants to identify risks by examining how data flows between the mobile client, the API gateway, and the backend database. Which of the following techniques is being applied?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is selecting vulnerability scanning because it also identifies weaknesses, when the distinguishing activity is architectural data-flow analysis rather than automated probing.
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 modeling
Threat modeling is the structured technique for examining system architecture, trust boundaries, and data flows to identify where threats can act. Tracing data between the mobile client, API gateway, and database is exactly the data-flow analysis that threat modeling performs. The other techniques address control evaluation, automated weakness detection, or business process criticality rather than architectural data movement.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Vulnerability scanning
Why it's wrong here
Vulnerability scanning uses automated tools to probe hosts and applications for known weaknesses such as missing patches or misconfigurations. It produces findings at specific points but does not model how data moves across the architecture. The practitioner's activity is architectural analysis of data flows, not automated probing of the running environment.
- ✗
Business impact analysis
Why it's wrong here
Business impact analysis identifies critical business processes and the consequences of disruption, typically to set recovery objectives. It works at the process and service level rather than at the component and data-flow level. It would not trace how a mobile client interacts with an API gateway or how records reach the backend database.
- ✓
Threat modeling
Why this is correct
Threat modeling examines a system's architecture and data flows to identify where threats could exploit weaknesses. By tracing data between the mobile client, API gateway, and backend database, the practitioner is building the data-flow view that threat modeling uses to find exposure points such as unvalidated input or weak authentication between tiers. This makes it the technique being applied.
- ✗
Control self-assessment
Why it's wrong here
Control self-assessment is a process in which business and process owners evaluate the effectiveness of controls in their own areas. It focuses on control design and operation rather than on tracing data movement across system components. While it can surface control weaknesses, it does not systematically map how data moves between the mobile client, API gateway, and database.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official ISACA exam blueprint
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.