- A
Percentage of blocked intrusion attempts
This directly measures how well the firewall is performing its preventive function.
- B
Time since last firewall firmware update
Why wrong: This indicates maintenance, not effectiveness in blocking threats.
- C
Number of firewall rule changes per month
Why wrong: This measures change activity, not control effectiveness.
- D
Number of firewall alerts generated
Why wrong: Alerts could be false positives; blocked attempts are a better measure.
Question 973 of 1,000
CRISC Risk Response and Reporting Practice Question
This CRISC practice question tests your understanding of risk response 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.
Which of the following is the BEST Key Control Indicator (KCI) for measuring the effectiveness of a firewall?
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
✓
Percentage of blocked intrusion attempts
The percentage of blocked intrusion attempts directly measures how effectively the firewall is enforcing its security policies to prevent unauthorized access. A high block rate indicates the firewall is correctly identifying and stopping threats, making it the most direct KCI for firewall effectiveness.
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.
- ✓
Percentage of blocked intrusion attempts
Why this is correct
This directly measures how well the firewall is performing its preventive function.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Time since last firewall firmware update
Why it's wrong here
This indicates maintenance, not effectiveness in blocking threats.
- ✗
Number of firewall rule changes per month
Why it's wrong here
This measures change activity, not control effectiveness.
- ✗
Number of firewall alerts generated
Why it's wrong here
Alerts could be false positives; blocked attempts are a better measure.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is confusing operational metrics (like patch age or change volume) with direct effectiveness metrics, leading candidates to choose a maintenance or activity indicator instead of a performance-based KCI.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
A firewall's effectiveness is best measured by its ability to match traffic against rule sets and drop packets that violate policy, typically tracked via syslog or netflow data showing permit/deny ratios. For example, a next-generation firewall using stateful inspection and application-layer filtering will log blocked sessions with details like source IP, destination port, and signature ID, allowing calculation of the block percentage. In a real-world scenario, a sudden drop in block percentage might indicate a rule misconfiguration or a new evasion technique, prompting immediate review.
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.
TExam Day Tips
- 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 exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CRISC question test?
Risk Response and Reporting — This question tests Risk Response and Reporting — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Percentage of blocked intrusion attempts — The percentage of blocked intrusion attempts directly measures how effectively the firewall is enforcing its security policies to prevent unauthorized access. A high block rate indicates the firewall is correctly identifying and stopping threats, making it the most direct KCI for firewall effectiveness.
What should I do if I get this CRISC question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 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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