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CRISC Practice Question: Which TWO are characteristics of inherent risk?
Which TWO are characteristics of inherent risk?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse inherent risk with residual risk, mistakenly thinking that inherent risk includes the effect of existing controls, which is a common misconception tested in CRISC questions.
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
✓
Risk level before controls
Inherent risk is defined as the risk level that exists before any controls are applied or considered. It represents the raw, untreated risk exposure that an organization would face if no mitigating actions were in place. This concept is foundational in risk assessment because it establishes the baseline against which the effectiveness of controls is measured.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Based on the effectiveness of current controls
Why it's wrong here
That is residual risk.
- ✗
Used to determine control gap
Why it's wrong here
Control gap is derived from comparing inherent and residual risk.
- ✓
Risk level before controls
Why this is correct
Inherent risk is without controls.
- ✗
Risk level after controls
Why it's wrong here
That is residual risk.
- ✓
Based on the assumption that no controls exist
Why this is correct
Inherent risk assumes no controls are in place.
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This CRISC question is part of Courseiva's 983-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.