CRISC Information Technology and Security Practice Question
Which component of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework is primarily concerned with developing and implementing appropriate safeguards to ensure delivery of critical infrastructure services?
⚠ Common exam trap
CRISC often tests the precise NIST CSF function definitions, and candidates commonly confuse Protect with Detect because both involve security controls — the key discriminator is that Protect is about safeguards implemented before an event, while Detect is about discovering events in progress.
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
✓
Protect
The NIST Cybersecurity Framework Core consists of five functions: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover. The Protect function is explicitly defined as developing and implementing appropriate safeguards to ensure delivery of critical infrastructure services, covering areas like access control, awareness training, data security, and protective technology. This matches the question's wording exactly, making Protect the correct answer.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Detect
Why it's wrong here
Detect defines activities to identify the occurrence of cybersecurity events through monitoring and anomaly detection. It is tempting because detection underpins safeguarding. The stem describes developing and implementing safeguards to ensure delivery of critical services, which is the Protect function, not Detect.
- ✗
Identify
Why it's wrong here
Identify concerns understanding cybersecurity risk to systems, assets, data and capabilities, producing an organisational risk assessment; it does not deploy safeguards. It is tempting because asset inventory and governance underpin later protection, and Identify would be correct when the goal is cataloguing assets or establishing risk context before controls are selected.
- ✗
Recover
Why it's wrong here
Recover covers resilience planning and restoration of services impaired by an incident, so it acts after disruption rather than preventing it. It is tempting because recovery planning is a core Framework Function, and Recover would be correct when the requirement is resuming normal operations, such as restoring backups after ransomware.
- ✓
Protect
Why this is correct
The Protect function covers safeguards that limit or contain the impact of a cybersecurity event, securing delivery of critical services. It encompasses identity management, access control, data security and protective technology, directly matching the stem's focus on implementing safeguards.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 1,062 original CRISC practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official ISACA exam blueprint
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.