CRISC Risk Response and Mitigation Practice Question
An organization uses a legacy system that cannot be patched because the vendor is defunct. The system supports a core business function. The risk assessment shows a high likelihood of exploitation and high impact. The board has decided to keep the system operational due to its criticality. Which risk response should the risk manager recommend?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to choose 'Accept the risk' because they misunderstand risk acceptance as a passive decision, but in CRISC, acceptance is only valid when the risk is within the risk appetite, not when the likelihood and impact are both high and the system is critical.
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
✓
Implement compensating controls
When a legacy system cannot be patched and the risk is high, compensating controls are the most appropriate response to reduce the residual risk to an acceptable level. Compensating controls, such as network segmentation, strict access controls, or an application-layer firewall, mitigate the exploitation vector without decommissioning the critical system. The board's decision to keep the system operational means avoidance is not an option, and acceptance alone would leave the organization exposed to an unacceptable risk level.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Accept the risk
Why it's wrong here
Acceptance ignores the high risk level.
- ✓
Implement compensating controls
Why this is correct
Controls like segmentation and monitoring reduce the risk.
- ✗
Transfer via insurance
Why it's wrong here
Insurance does not prevent exploitation.
- ✗
Avoid by decommissioning
Why it's wrong here
Board decision overrides avoidance.
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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.