- A
Compensating control
Why wrong: Compensating controls are alternatives when primary controls are not feasible, not necessarily preventive.
- B
Preventive control
Preventive controls, like access controls and authentication mechanisms, stop unauthorized access before it happens.
- C
Corrective control
Why wrong: Corrective controls fix issues after they occur, not prevent them.
- D
Detective control
Why wrong: Detective controls identify unauthorized access after it has occurred, not prevent it.
Question 827 of 1,000
CRISC Risk Response and Reporting Practice Question
This CRISC practice question tests your understanding of risk response and reporting. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
An organization is implementing a new control to prevent unauthorized access to its critical database. Which type of control is most appropriate for this requirement?
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
✓
Preventive control
A preventive control is the most appropriate because it directly stops unauthorized access before it can occur. For a critical database, this could involve implementing database-level access control lists (ACLs), network firewall rules restricting traffic to specific IP ranges, or mandatory multi-factor authentication (MFA) on the database service. These mechanisms enforce the security policy at the point of entry, blocking the threat actor before any interaction with the data.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Compensating control
Why it's wrong here
Compensating controls are alternatives when primary controls are not feasible, not necessarily preventive.
- ✓
Preventive control
Why this is correct
Preventive controls, like access controls and authentication mechanisms, stop unauthorized access before it happens.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Corrective control
Why it's wrong here
Corrective controls fix issues after they occur, not prevent them.
- ✗
Detective control
Why it's wrong here
Detective controls identify unauthorized access after it has occurred, not prevent it.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'preventive' with 'detective' controls, mistakenly choosing detective controls (like logging) because they are more visible in audit reports, but the question explicitly asks for a control that 'prevents' access, which requires a proactive blocking mechanism.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In database security, preventive controls operate at multiple layers: at the network layer, a firewall rule (e.g., using iptables or AWS Security Groups) can restrict inbound traffic to only specific source IPs and ports (e.g., TCP 1433 for SQL Server). At the application layer, a database management system (DBMS) enforces role-based access control (RBAC) via SQL GRANT/REVOKE statements, preventing any query execution from unauthenticated or unauthorized principals. A real-world scenario where this matters is a financial database where a misconfigured public-facing endpoint could allow a SQL injection attack; a preventive Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule blocking malicious SQL patterns would stop the attack before the query reaches the database engine.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A security administrator must allow nursing staff to reach a patient records server while blocking access from the guest Wi-Fi VLAN. After applying an extended ACL, traffic is still blocked from nursing workstations. The ACL was applied outbound instead of inbound on the wrong interface. Questions like this test ACL direction and placement rules.
Visual reference
What to study next
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CRISC question test?
Risk Response and Reporting — This question tests Risk Response and Reporting — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Preventive control — A preventive control is the most appropriate because it directly stops unauthorized access before it can occur. For a critical database, this could involve implementing database-level access control lists (ACLs), network firewall rules restricting traffic to specific IP ranges, or mandatory multi-factor authentication (MFA) on the database service. These mechanisms enforce the security policy at the point of entry, blocking the threat actor before any interaction with the data.
What should I do if I get this CRISC question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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.
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