Quick Answer
The answer is discontinuing a high-risk business process and migrating to a different technology platform. Both are examples of risk avoidance because they eliminate the risk entirely rather than reducing or transferring it. Discontinuing a process removes the associated threat by ceasing the activity, while migrating platforms moves operations away from a vulnerable or unsupported system, such as an outdated operating system with unpatched vulnerabilities, thereby removing the attack surface. On the CRISC exam, risk avoidance is frequently tested by contrasting it with mitigation or acceptance; a common trap is confusing platform migration with risk mitigation, but remember that avoidance means the risk no longer exists. For memory, think of the phrase “cut and move”—cut the process, move the platform—to recall that avoidance is about total elimination, not reduction.
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.
Which TWO of the following are examples of risk avoidance?
Implementing a firewall
Why wrong: Firewall mitigates risk.
Purchasing cyber insurance
Why wrong: Insurance transfers risk.
Accepting the risk
Why wrong: Acceptance does not avoid risk.
Migrating to a different technology platform
Changing platforms can avoid risks of the old platform.
Discontinuing a high-risk business process
Eliminates the risk by stopping the activity.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Migrating to a different technology platform
Migrating to a different technology platform (Option D) is a risk avoidance strategy because it eliminates the risk entirely by moving away from the vulnerable or high-risk technology. For example, if an organization uses an outdated operating system with known unpatched vulnerabilities, migrating to a modern, supported platform removes the attack surface, avoiding the risk rather than mitigating or transferring it.
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.
Implementing a firewall
Why it's wrong here
Firewall mitigates risk.
Purchasing cyber insurance
Why it's wrong here
Insurance transfers risk.
Accepting the risk
Why it's wrong here
Acceptance does not avoid risk.
Migrating to a different technology platform
Why this is correct
Changing platforms can avoid risks of the old platform.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Discontinuing a high-risk business process
Why this is correct
Eliminates the risk by stopping the activity.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates confuse risk mitigation (e.g., implementing controls like firewalls) with risk avoidance, failing to recognize that avoidance requires completely eliminating the risk source, not just reducing it.
Detailed technical explanation
Risk avoidance is a deliberate decision to avoid exposure to a specific risk by discontinuing or not engaging in the activity that generates the risk. In practice, this might involve decommissioning a legacy system (e.g., Windows Server 2003) and migrating to a cloud-native platform (e.g., AWS with auto-patching), thereby removing all associated vulnerabilities. Unlike mitigation, which reduces risk to an acceptable level, avoidance ensures the risk probability is zero for that activity.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
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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: Migrating to a different technology platform — Migrating to a different technology platform (Option D) is a risk avoidance strategy because it eliminates the risk entirely by moving away from the vulnerable or high-risk technology. For example, if an organization uses an outdated operating system with known unpatched vulnerabilities, migrating to a modern, supported platform removes the attack surface, avoiding the risk rather than mitigating or transferring it.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
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.
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