The answer is to adjust the control’s threshold or criteria. This is the best action because a high false positive rate in a detective control indicates that the control is too sensitive, triggering alerts for benign events that do not represent actual risk. By recalibrating the threshold—such as raising the number of failed login attempts before an alert fires—you reduce noise while preserving the control’s ability to catch genuine incidents, directly improving detective control efficiency with high false positives. On the CRISC exam, this question tests your understanding of control optimization versus redesign; a common trap is choosing to transform the control type, but that is a costly design change, not a tuning action. Another trap is adding more rules, which often increases false positives. Remember the mnemonic “Tune, Don’t Transform” to recall that adjusting thresholds is the first, most efficient step for reducing false positives without sacrificing detection.
CRISC Risk and Control Monitoring and Reporting Practice Question
This CRISC practice question tests your understanding of risk and control monitoring and reporting. 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.
A risk analyst is reviewing control monitoring results and notices that a detective control has a high false positive rate. What is the BEST action to improve the control's efficiency?
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.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Adjust the control's threshold or criteria
Option B is correct because adjusting thresholds or criteria reduces false positives while maintaining detection capability. Option A is not feasible as transforming the control type is a design change. Option C may increase false positives. Option D does not improve efficiency.
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.
✓
Adjust the control's threshold or criteria
Why this is correct
Fine-tuning thresholds can reduce false positives while keeping detection effective.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Accept the false positives as operational tolerance
Why it's wrong here
Acceptance does not improve efficiency and may lead to analyst fatigue.
✗
Increase the monitoring frequency
Why it's wrong here
More frequent monitoring does not reduce false positives and may increase them.
✗
Convert the control to a preventive control
Why it's wrong here
Changing control type is a major redesign and not a direct fix for false positives.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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 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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which CRISC exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Risk and Control Monitoring and Reporting — This question tests Risk and Control Monitoring and Reporting — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Adjust the control's threshold or criteria — Option B is correct because adjusting thresholds or criteria reduces false positives while maintaining detection capability. Option A is not feasible as transforming the control type is a design change. Option C may increase false positives. Option D does not improve efficiency.
What should I do if I get this CRISC question wrong?
Identify which CRISC exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". 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.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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. An organization has implemented a continuous monitoring solution for its critical applications. The IT team reports that the monitoring tool generates a high volume of false positives. What is the BEST course of action?
medium
✓ A.Refine the monitoring rules and thresholds to reduce false positives.
B.Disable the monitoring for applications that generate the most false positives.
C.Increase the size of the monitoring team to handle the alerts.
D.Implement additional detective controls for all false positive alerts.
Why A: Option B is correct because reducing false positives improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the monitoring program. Option A is wrong because increasing the number of analysts does not address the root cause. Option C is wrong because ignoring false positives may lead to missing real incidents. Option D is wrong because removing controls that trigger false positives could increase risk exposure.
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.