ISC2 CC Security Principles Practice Question
A security manager is documenting how the organization decides which safeguards to apply to a new customer database. The team identifies the value of the data, the threats that could exploit weaknesses, and the potential business impact, then selects controls that reduce risk to an acceptable level. Which concept best describes this activity?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is choosing vulnerability assessment because weaknesses are mentioned, but the scenario includes asset valuation, impact analysis, and control selection, which together define risk management.
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 management
The manager is following a structured process: identify and value the asset, determine threats and vulnerabilities, assess potential business impact, and choose safeguards that bring risk to an acceptable level. That end-to-end process is risk management, which includes risk identification, analysis, evaluation, and treatment. Business continuity planning addresses disruptions, awareness training changes user behavior, and vulnerability assessment only finds weaknesses; none of those encompasses the full decision cycle described.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Risk management
Why this is correct
Risk management is the ongoing process of identifying, assessing, and treating risk to an acceptable level. The scenario describes exactly that cycle: valuing the asset, identifying threats and vulnerabilities, evaluating business impact, and selecting controls to reduce risk. Risk treatment options include mitigation, transfer, avoidance, and acceptance. Because the team is deciding which safeguards to apply based on assessed risk, the activity is risk management rather than a single control or one-time audit.
- ✗
Vulnerability assessment
Why it's wrong here
A vulnerability assessment identifies and catalogs weaknesses in systems, often through scanning and manual review. It is only one input into the broader process described, which also weighs asset value, threats, and business impact before selecting controls. The scenario goes beyond finding weaknesses to deciding how to treat the resulting risk, so vulnerability assessment alone does not capture the full activity being performed by the security manager.
- ✗
Business continuity planning
Why it's wrong here
Business continuity planning focuses on keeping critical business functions operating during and after a disruption, using strategies such as alternate sites, manual workarounds, and recovery priorities. The scenario is about selecting safeguards for a new database based on threats and impact, not about maintaining operations during an outage. Continuity planning may be informed by risk assessment, but the described activity of choosing controls to reduce risk is broader and is properly called risk management.
- ✗
Security awareness training
Why it's wrong here
Security awareness training educates users about threats such as phishing, social engineering, and password hygiene so they can avoid risky behavior. The scenario involves a security manager analyzing asset value, threats, and impact and then selecting safeguards; no user education program is described. While training can be one chosen control, the activity of assessing and treating risk across the organization is not equivalent to delivering awareness training.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Security Awareness and Training
Key term
Business Continuity Planning
Business Continuity Planning is the process of creating a strategy to keep an organization's essential functions running during and after a major disruption.
Key term
Analysis
In incident response, analysis is the process of examining data and events to determine what happened, how it happened, and what actions to take.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official ISC2 exam blueprint
This CC practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 CC exam.