hardMultiple Choice
First Step When Suspecting Firewall Misconfiguration
During a risk assessment, a risk manager is evaluating the effectiveness of a firewall rule set. The manager notes that the firewall logs show a high number of dropped packets from a specific IP range, but no policy changes have been made. The manager suspects the firewall rule set may be misconfigured. Which of the following should the manager do FIRST?
Quick Answer
The answer is to review the change management records for the firewall. This is the correct first step in a misconfiguration investigation because the logs show dropped packets without any known policy changes, meaning the root cause could be an undocumented or unauthorized alteration to the rule set. By checking change management records first, you establish a baseline of what was actually modified, ruling out human error or unapproved changes before diving into technical troubleshooting. On the CRISC exam, this tests your understanding of risk management’s foundational principle: always verify process controls before technical controls, as jumping to block IP ranges or run a penetration test wastes resources and may introduce new risks. A common trap is to assume the firewall itself is faulty, but the exam emphasizes that change management is the first line of defense against misconfiguration. Memory tip: “Check the log, then check the change log.”
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often jump to immediate remediation (blocking the IP range) or escalation (updating the risk register) without first investigating the root cause through change management records, which is the foundational step in IT risk assessment.
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
✓
Review the change management records for the firewall.
The first step when a misconfiguration is suspected without any known policy changes is to verify the change management records. This ensures that any recent modifications to the firewall rule set are accounted for, ruling out unauthorized or undocumented changes before proceeding with more invasive actions like penetration testing or blocking IP ranges.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Conduct a penetration test on the firewall.
Why it's wrong here
A penetration test probes for exploitable vulnerabilities from an attacker's viewpoint; it does not read existing firewall logs to establish whether the drop pattern reflects a misconfiguration or legitimate traffic. It is tempting because penetration testing genuinely validates rule-set effectiveness during periodic assurance reviews, but here the manager must first analyse the logged drops.
- ✗
Immediately block the IP range.
Why it's wrong here
Blocking the range acts on the symptom without first confirming whether the drops indicate misconfiguration or expected denied traffic, and could disrupt legitimate users. It is tempting because immediate blocking is the right containment step once analysis confirms active malicious traffic, but the manager has not yet established that.
- ✓
Review the change management records for the firewall.
Why this is correct
Reviewing change management records verifies whether the firewall rule set was altered without the risk manager's knowledge, directly addressing the suspected misconfiguration. This evidence-based step confirms whether the high volume of dropped packets stems from an unauthorised or undocumented change, satisfying the need to establish cause before remediation or escalation.
- ✗
Update the risk register with a new risk.
Why it's wrong here
Logging a risk before investigating the dropped packets records an unvalidated assumption, potentially misdirecting treatment. Risk-register updates suit confirmed exposures with assessed likelihood and impact. The manager should first analyse whether the drops reflect legitimate blocking or a genuine rule-set misconfiguration.
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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. During a risk assessment, a financial institution identifies that its online banking application uses an outdated encryption protocol. The likelihood of exploitation is high, and the impact is moderate. What should the risk owner do FIRST?
medium- A.Implement a compensating control to mitigate the risk
- ✓ B.Validate the risk rating with additional data
- C.Transfer the risk via cyber insurance
- D.Accept the risk as low priority
Why B: The risk owner's first responsibility is to ensure the risk assessment is accurate before deciding on a response. Validating the risk rating with additional data (option B) confirms that the high likelihood and moderate impact are correctly assessed, which is a prerequisite for selecting an appropriate treatment. Jumping to implement controls, transfer, or accept the risk without validation could lead to misallocation of resources or inadequate mitigation.
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.