Quick Answer
The answer is legal counsel, whose approval is required before contacting law enforcement during an incident involving data exfiltration. This is because legal counsel ensures that any disclosure to authorities complies with data privacy laws like GDPR or CCPA, protects chain-of-custody requirements, and prevents premature contact that could compromise forensic investigations or expose the organization to liability. On the ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity CC exam, this tests your understanding of incident response coordination and the critical role of legal oversight in sensitive breaches. A common trap is assuming the incident response team lead or executive management can authorize law enforcement contact, but only legal counsel has the authority to navigate the complex legal and regulatory landscape. Remember the memory tip: “Law before law enforcement”—legal approval must come first to avoid legal pitfalls.
This CC practice question tests your understanding of business continuity, dr & incident response. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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.
During an incident, the incident response team discovers that an attacker has exfiltrated sensitive customer data. According to incident response best practices, whose approval is REQUIRED before contacting law enforcement?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
CISO
Why wrong: The CISO is operational but does not provide legal clearance.
CEO
Why wrong: The CEO needs to be informed but legal counsel should approve external reporting.
Legal counsel
Legal counsel ensures compliance and manages liability.
Public relations
Why wrong: PR handles communications after legal approval.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Legal counsel
Legal counsel approval is required before contacting law enforcement because they ensure that the disclosure complies with data privacy laws (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) and does not violate chain-of-custody requirements or expose the organization to liability. The incident response team must coordinate with legal to determine the appropriate timing and scope of law enforcement involvement, as premature contact can compromise ongoing forensic investigations or breach legal agreements.
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.
CISO
Why it's wrong here
The CISO is operational but does not provide legal clearance.
CEO
Why it's wrong here
The CEO needs to be informed but legal counsel should approve external reporting.
Legal counsel
Why this is correct
Legal counsel ensures compliance and manages liability.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Public relations
Why it's wrong here
PR handles communications after legal approval.
Common exam traps
ISC2 often tests the misconception that the CISO or CEO has the final say on law enforcement contact, but the correct answer is always legal counsel because they are the only ones who can navigate the legal and regulatory implications of involving external authorities.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the NIST SP 800-61 incident response framework, the decision to involve law enforcement is a legal and policy matter, not purely technical. Legal counsel evaluates whether the incident meets mandatory reporting thresholds (e.g., HIPAA breach notification rules) and ensures that evidence preservation follows forensic best practices (e.g., maintaining chain of custody via write-blockers and hashing). In real-world scenarios, premature law enforcement contact can lead to seizure of systems, disrupting business operations and potentially violating data protection laws if customer data is shared without proper authorization.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A SOC analyst notices unusual lateral movement in the network at 2 AM. The IR playbook dictates: identify and contain (isolate the affected machine), then eradicate (remove the malware), then recover (restore from backup), then document. Skipping containment before eradication risks the attacker regaining access. Questions like this test the sequence and rationale of incident response phases.
What to study next
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FAQ
Business Continuity, DR & Incident Response — This question tests Business Continuity, DR & Incident Response — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Legal counsel — Legal counsel approval is required before contacting law enforcement because they ensure that the disclosure complies with data privacy laws (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) and does not violate chain-of-custody requirements or expose the organization to liability. The incident response team must coordinate with legal to determine the appropriate timing and scope of law enforcement involvement, as premature contact can compromise ongoing forensic investigations or breach legal agreements.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
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.
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