This CRISC practice question tests your understanding of risk response and mitigation. 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 THREE of the following are examples of risk mitigation controls? (Select THREE.)
Firewall
Firewalls reduce the likelihood of network attacks.
Outsourcing IT helpdesk
Why wrong: Outsourcing transfers operational risk.
Encryption
Encryption reduces impact of data exposure.
Security awareness training
Training reduces human error.
Cyber insurance
Why wrong: Insurance is risk transfer, not mitigation.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Firewall
A firewall is a risk mitigation control because it enforces network security policies by filtering traffic based on rules, thereby reducing the likelihood of unauthorized access or attacks. It directly reduces the probability of a threat exploiting a vulnerability, which is the essence of mitigation.
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.
Firewall
Why this is correct
Firewalls reduce the likelihood of network attacks.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Outsourcing IT helpdesk
Why it's wrong here
Outsourcing transfers operational risk.
Encryption
Why this is correct
Encryption reduces impact of data exposure.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Security awareness training
Why this is correct
Training reduces human error.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Cyber insurance
Why it's wrong here
Insurance is risk transfer, not mitigation.
Common exam traps
The trap here is confusing risk mitigation (which reduces likelihood or impact) with risk transfer (which shifts the financial burden to another party), leading candidates to incorrectly select outsourcing or insurance as mitigation controls.
Detailed technical explanation
Firewalls operate at Layers 3 and 4 of the OSI model (and some at Layer 7 for next-gen firewalls) using stateful inspection, access control lists (ACLs), and application-level filtering to block malicious traffic. Encryption, as a mitigation control, uses algorithms like AES-256 or RSA-2048 to render data unreadable without the correct key, reducing the impact of data exposure. Security awareness training reduces human error—a leading cause of breaches—by teaching users to recognize phishing attempts and follow secure practices, thereby lowering the likelihood of successful social engineering attacks.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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FAQ
Risk Response and Mitigation — This question tests Risk Response and Mitigation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Firewall — A firewall is a risk mitigation control because it enforces network security policies by filtering traffic based on rules, thereby reducing the likelihood of unauthorized access or attacks. It directly reduces the probability of a threat exploiting a vulnerability, which is the essence of mitigation.
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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