This CCSP practice question tests your understanding of legal, risk and compliance. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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.
A company is performing a risk assessment of its cloud environment. They have identified a risk with a likelihood of 4 (on a scale of 1-5) and an impact of 3 (on a scale of 1-5). The company decides to implement controls that will reduce the likelihood to 2 and impact to 1. What is the residual risk score after controls?
12
Why wrong: 12 is the inherent risk score, not residual.
4
Why wrong: 4 is not the correct product of likelihood and impact after controls.
2
Correct. Residual risk = 2 (likelihood) * 1 (impact) = 2.
3
Why wrong: 3 is not the correct product.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
2
The residual risk score is calculated by multiplying the reduced likelihood (2) by the reduced impact (1) after controls are applied, yielding a score of 2. This represents the risk that remains after implementing security controls, which is the correct interpretation of residual risk in a quantitative risk assessment. The original risk score of 12 (4×3) is the inherent risk, not the residual risk.
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.
12
Why it's wrong here
12 is the inherent risk score, not residual.
4
Why it's wrong here
4 is not the correct product of likelihood and impact after controls.
2
Why this is correct
Correct. Residual risk = 2 (likelihood) * 1 (impact) = 2.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
3
Why it's wrong here
3 is not the correct product.
Common exam traps
ISC2 often tests the distinction between inherent risk (before controls) and residual risk (after controls), and the trap here is that candidates mistakenly use the original likelihood or impact values in the multiplication instead of the reduced values after controls are applied.
Detailed technical explanation
In quantitative risk assessment, residual risk is computed as (residual likelihood × residual impact) after controls are applied, often using a risk matrix where scores range from 1 to 25. The formula Risk = Likelihood × Impact is standard in frameworks like NIST SP 800-30, and the residual risk score of 2 indicates a low-priority risk that may be accepted or monitored. Real-world scenarios, such as a cloud provider implementing encryption and access controls to reduce both the probability of a data breach and its financial impact, demonstrate how residual risk drives decisions on risk acceptance or additional mitigation.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A security analyst at a medium-sized enterprise encounters this scenario during an investigation or architecture review. The correct answer reflects best practice for the specific threat or control described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Security exam questions test whether you can match controls to threats in context — not just recall definitions.
What to study next
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Legal, Risk and Compliance — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
Legal, Risk and Compliance practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
All CCSP questions
504 questions across all exam domains
Certified Cloud Security Professional CCSP study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
CCSP practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Practise CCSP questions linked to Cloud Application Security.
Practise CCSP questions linked to Cloud Security Operations.
Practise CCSP questions linked to Legal, Risk and Compliance.
Practise CCSP questions linked to Cloud Concepts, Architecture and Design.
Practise CCSP questions linked to Cloud Platform and Infrastructure Security.
Practise CCSP questions linked to Cloud Data Security.
Practise CCSP questions linked to CCSP fundamentals.
Practise CCSP questions linked to CCSP scenario.
Practise CCSP questions linked to CCSP troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Legal, Risk and Compliance — This question tests Legal, Risk and Compliance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: 2 — The residual risk score is calculated by multiplying the reduced likelihood (2) by the reduced impact (1) after controls are applied, yielding a score of 2. This represents the risk that remains after implementing security controls, which is the correct interpretation of residual risk in a quantitative risk assessment. The original risk score of 12 (4×3) is the inherent risk, not the residual risk.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Keep practising
Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
This CCSP 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 CCSP exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.