Risk Mitigation for Ransomware: Examples and Best Practices
Which TWO of the following are examples of risk mitigation controls?
⚠ Common exam trap
The CRISC exam often tests the distinction between risk mitigation (reducing likelihood/impact) and risk transfer (e.g., insurance) or risk avoidance (e.g., discontinuing a service), so candidates mistakenly classify insurance or service discontinuation as mitigation when they are separate risk response strategies.
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
✓
Implementing a firewall
Implementing a firewall is a risk mitigation control because it reduces the likelihood and impact of unauthorized network access by enforcing access control policies based on source/destination IP addresses, ports, and protocols. Firewalls operate at Layers 3 and 4 (and sometimes Layer 7) of the OSI model to filter traffic, thereby directly reducing the attack surface and preventing exploitation of vulnerabilities.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Implementing a firewall
Why this is correct
Mitigation reduces risk through preventive controls.
- ✗
Purchasing cyber insurance
Why it's wrong here
Insurance transfers risk.
- ✗
Accepting the risk
Why it's wrong here
Acceptance is not mitigation.
- ✓
Encrypting sensitive data
Why this is correct
Encryption mitigates data breach risk.
- ✗
Discontinuing a high-risk service
Why it's wrong here
Discontinuation is avoidance.
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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. A risk practitioner is reviewing the organization's risk response strategies for a high-value asset. Which TWO of the following are examples of risk mitigation techniques? (Choose two.)
easy- ✓ A.Implementing firewalls to protect the network perimeter.
- ✓ B.Conducting regular vulnerability assessments and patching.
- C.Avoiding the risk by discontinuing the vulnerable activity.
- D.Accepting the risk because the cost of mitigation exceeds the potential loss.
- E.Purchasing cyber insurance to cover potential losses.
Why A: Implementing firewalls to protect the network perimeter is a risk mitigation technique because it reduces the likelihood of unauthorized access by filtering traffic based on security rules. Firewalls operate at layers 3 and 4 (and sometimes layer 7) of the OSI model, using stateful inspection or application-layer filtering to block malicious packets. This directly lowers the probability of a successful attack on the high-value asset, which is the essence of 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.