This CRISC practice question tests your understanding of it risk assessment. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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.
During a risk assessment, an organization identifies that its primary data center is located in a flood-prone area. Which risk treatment option would best address this risk?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Clue: "primary"
Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
Purchase business interruption insurance
Why wrong: Insurance is a transfer, not mitigation.
Move all operations to a cloud provider
Why wrong: This is avoidance, but not the best treatment if operations are critical.
Implement flood barriers and redundant cooling systems
This is a mitigation action.
Accept the risk and document it in the risk register
Why wrong: Acceptance does not implement controls.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Implement flood barriers and redundant cooling systems
Implementing flood barriers and redundant cooling systems directly reduces the likelihood and impact of a flood event on the data center's physical infrastructure. This is a risk mitigation strategy that proactively addresses the root cause of the risk (flooding) by hardening the facility, which is the most effective treatment for a high-probability, high-impact physical threat.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Purchase business interruption insurance
Why it's wrong here
Insurance is a transfer, not mitigation.
Move all operations to a cloud provider
Why it's wrong here
This is avoidance, but not the best treatment if operations are critical.
Implement flood barriers and redundant cooling systems
Why this is correct
This is a mitigation action.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "best", "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Accept the risk and document it in the risk register
Why it's wrong here
Acceptance does not implement controls.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse risk transfer (insurance) with risk mitigation, failing to recognize that insurance does not prevent operational downtime or data loss, whereas physical controls directly reduce the risk's likelihood and impact.
Detailed technical explanation
Flood barriers (e.g., deployable water gates, sandbags, or permanent flood walls) are physical controls that prevent water ingress, while redundant cooling systems (e.g., N+1 or 2N configuration with elevated outdoor condensers) ensure that if one cooling unit is flooded or fails, another can maintain thermal stability. In practice, a data center in a flood zone might also incorporate sump pumps, raised floors, and waterproofing of critical conduits to achieve a layered defense-in-depth approach, as recommended by standards like Uptime Institute's Tier classifications.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A practitioner preparing for the CRISC exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
IT Risk Assessment — This question tests IT Risk Assessment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Implement flood barriers and redundant cooling systems — Implementing flood barriers and redundant cooling systems directly reduces the likelihood and impact of a flood event on the data center's physical infrastructure. This is a risk mitigation strategy that proactively addresses the root cause of the risk (flooding) by hardening the facility, which is the most effective treatment for a high-probability, high-impact physical threat.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "best", "primary". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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