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CRISC Practice Question: After a security incident, a company implements a…
After a security incident, a company implements a new control and begins monitoring its effectiveness. Which of the following metrics would BEST indicate that the control is achieving its objective?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse control effectiveness (preventing harm) with control efficiency (reducing vulnerabilities or improving detection speed), leading candidates to pick metrics that measure secondary benefits rather than the primary objective.
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
✓
Decrease in the number of successful attacks.
A decrease in the number of successful attacks directly measures the control's primary objective: preventing or mitigating actual security breaches. If the control is effective, it should stop or reduce the frequency of attacks that compromise the system, making this the most direct indicator of success.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Decrease in the number of successful attacks.
Why this is correct
Directly reflects the control's ability to prevent or mitigate attacks.
- ✗
Reduction in the number of vulnerabilities.
Why it's wrong here
Vulnerabilities are inputs, not direct outcomes.
- ✗
Number of incidents reported.
Why it's wrong here
Incidents may include both successful and attempted, not a precise measure.
- ✗
Time to detect incidents.
Why it's wrong here
This measures response efficiency, not control effectiveness.
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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.