CRISC IT Risk Assessment Practice Question
An organization is assessing the risk of a ransomware attack. The threat actor capability is high, but vulnerability is low due to strong patching. However, the business impact is severe. According to FAIR, which factor most directly influences Loss Event Frequency (LEF)?
⚠ Common exam trap
The ISACA CRISC exam often tests the distinction between factors that affect LEF (vulnerability and threat event frequency) versus factors that affect loss magnitude (impact), so candidates mistakenly pick 'business impact severity' because it seems most urgent, but it does not influence how often an attack succeeds.
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
✓
Vulnerability severity
In FAIR, Loss Event Frequency (LEF) is directly influenced by the probability that a threat actor will successfully exploit a vulnerability. Vulnerability severity (how easily a vulnerability can be exploited) is a key component of the 'Vulnerability' factor in FAIR's decomposition, which feeds into LEF. Even with high threat capability and severe impact, if vulnerability is low (strong patching), LEF remains low because the attack is unlikely to succeed.
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 severity
Why this is correct
Vulnerability directly multiplies TEF to determine LEF.
- ✗
Threat actor capability and motivation
Why it's wrong here
This influences TEF, not directly LEF as a standalone factor.
- ✗
Control effectiveness
Why it's wrong here
Control effectiveness is assessed separately to derive residual risk.
- ✗
Business impact severity
Why it's wrong here
Impact affects Loss Magnitude, not LEF.
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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.