CRISC IT Risk Assessment Practice Question
An organization is implementing controls to mitigate the risk of data exfiltration. Which TWO control types would be considered preventive? (Select TWO)
⚠ Common exam trap
CRISC often tests the confusion between preventive and detective controls, tempting candidates to select monitoring or response plans as preventive when they are actually detective or corrective.
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
✓
Access controls to restrict data access
Option D (access controls to restrict data access) is preventive because it stops unauthorized users from reaching sensitive data in the first place, enforcing least privilege and authorization before any exfiltration attempt can succeed. Option E (data encryption at rest and in transit) is preventive because it renders intercepted or stolen data unreadable without the keys, blocking the exfiltration objective even if data is copied or transmitted. By contrast, A (incident response plan) is reactive, guiding actions after a breach has occurred, and B (backup restoration procedures) is corrective/recovery-oriented, restoring data after loss or corruption. Option C (log monitoring and analysis) is detective, since it identifies and alerts on suspicious activity rather than stopping it beforehand.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Incident response plan
Why it's wrong here
An incident response plan guides containment, eradication and recovery after a breach has occurred, so it cannot stop exfiltration in progress. It is tempting because it is a documented control, and it would be correct as a corrective or recovery control once data loss is detected.
- ✗
Backup restoration procedures
Why it's wrong here
Backup restoration procedures recover data after loss or corruption, which is corrective and cannot prevent exfiltration. It is tempting because backups are a core resilience control, and they would be correct when addressing availability or ransomware recovery rather than outbound data theft.
- ✗
Log monitoring and analysis
Why it's wrong here
Log monitoring and analysis detects and records suspicious activity after the fact, providing detective rather than preventive coverage. It is tempting because it underpins many security programmes, and it would be correct when the requirement is to identify exfiltration attempts, not to block them.
- ✓
Access controls to restrict data access
Why this is correct
Access controls restrict who can reach data, directly blocking exfiltration attempts before they occur. This satisfies the stem's preventive requirement by enforcing authorisation at the point of access, denying unauthorised reads or transfers. Unlike detective controls, which log after the fact, access controls stop the action itself, making them a genuine preventive measure.
- ✓
Data encryption at rest and in transit
Why this is correct
Encryption renders exfiltrated data unintelligible, directly satisfying the preventive requirement by stopping unauthorised parties from reading it. Unlike detective controls that log or alert after the fact, encryption acts before exposure, protecting confidentiality both when data sits on storage and when it crosses the network.
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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
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