CRISC Risk Response and Mitigation Practice Question
Which TWO of the following are examples of risk avoidance? (Select TWO.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse risk avoidance with risk mitigation or transfer, mistakenly selecting options like 'installing a firewall' (mitigation) or 'purchasing insurance' (transfer) as examples of avoidance, when avoidance requires ceasing or not starting the risk-generating activity.
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
✓
Deciding not to enter a new market
Risk avoidance involves taking action to eliminate the risk entirely by not engaging in the activity that introduces it. Option C, 'Deciding not to enter a new market,' avoids all associated market, regulatory, and competitive risks by simply not pursuing that business opportunity. Option E, 'Discontinuing a risky product line,' removes the risk by ceasing the activity that generates it, such as halting production of a product with known safety or compliance issues.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Accepting the risk
Why it's wrong here
Accepting a risk retains it and covers any loss from the organisation's own resources, which is risk acceptance. It is tempting because no action is taken, which can look like the risk has gone, but the exposure remains; avoidance requires removing the underlying cause or not undertaking the activity.
- ✗
Installing a firewall
Why it's wrong here
A firewall applies controls that reduce the likelihood or impact of an attack, which is risk mitigation. It is tempting because it blocks threats and feels like removing them, but the risk of attack persists; avoidance requires eliminating the activity or asset exposure that creates the risk.
- ✓
Deciding not to enter a new market
Why this is correct
Declining to enter a new market eliminates the exposure entirely rather than reducing or transferring it, satisfying the stem's requirement for risk avoidance. Unlike mitigation, which lowers likelihood or impact, or acceptance, which retains the risk, avoidance removes the underlying activity generating the threat.
- ✗
Purchasing insurance
Why it's wrong here
Insurance transfers the financial consequence of a risk to a third party, which is risk transference, not avoidance. It is tempting because it removes the monetary impact from the organisation, but the risk event itself still occurs; avoidance requires eliminating the activity or condition that creates the exposure.
- ✓
Discontinuing a risky product line
Why this is correct
Discontinuing a risky product line eliminates the activity generating the risk entirely, so no residual exposure remains to be managed. This satisfies risk avoidance, which requires abandoning the undertaking rather than mitigating, transferring or accepting it. Unlike controls that reduce likelihood or impact, cessation removes the risk source outright.
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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.