CRISC Risk Response and Mitigation Practice Question
An organization decides to outsource its data center operations to a third party. This is an example of which risk response?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse risk transfer with risk reduction, mistakenly thinking that outsourcing reduces the risk of hardware failure, when in fact it only shifts the financial liability for that failure, not the operational impact on the business.
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
✓
Risk transfer
Outsourcing data center operations transfers the financial and operational risks associated with managing the infrastructure to a third-party provider. This is a classic risk transfer response because the organization retains ownership of the data and business accountability but shifts the liability for physical security, hardware maintenance, and uptime to the vendor via contractual agreements, such as SLAs with penalty clauses.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Risk reduction
Why it's wrong here
Reduction would involve internal controls, not outsourcing.
- ✓
Risk transfer
Why this is correct
Outsourcing transfers operational risk to the third party.
- ✗
Risk acceptance
Why it's wrong here
Acceptance would mean no action is taken.
- ✗
Risk avoidance
Why it's wrong here
The organization is not avoiding the risk; it is still using the data center.
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 →
Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on CRISC
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. Refer to the exhibit. Based on the risk register, which risk response is applied to the risk with the highest inherent risk?
medium- ✓ A.Transfer
- B.Avoid
- C.Accept
- D.Mitigate
Why A: The risk with the highest inherent risk (Risk A, with a score of 25) involves a critical database server lacking encryption at rest. The risk response chosen is 'Transfer,' which is implemented by purchasing a cyber insurance policy that specifically covers data breach costs and regulatory fines. This shifts the financial impact of the risk to the insurer without altering the technical vulnerability or likelihood of the event.
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.