ISC Risk Management Practice Question
Which of the following is a 'Leading Indicator' for an enterprise risk management program?
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 assets with missing security patches
A leading indicator predicts future risk, whereas a lagging indicator reports past occurrences.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Total cost of a data breach
Why it's wrong here
Lagging indicator.
- ✓
Percentage of assets with missing security patches
Why this is correct
A high patch backlog indicates a future vulnerability risk.
- ✗
Number of systems compromised
Why it's wrong here
Lagging indicator.
- ✗
Number of security incidents in the last month
Why it's wrong here
This is a lagging indicator.
About these practice questions
One of 219 original ISC 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 August 2026 · checked against the official (ISC)² exam blueprint
This ISC practice question is part of Courseiva's free (ISC)² 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 ISC exam.