- A
Project management office
Why wrong: PMO oversees projects, not changes.
- B
Incident response team
Why wrong: They handle incidents, not changes.
- C
Change Advisory Board (CAB)
CAB is responsible for change approval.
- D
Security operations center
Why wrong: SOC monitors security, not changes.
CISSP Security Operations Practice Question
This CISSP practice question tests your understanding of security operations. 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.
An organization is implementing a change management process. Which group is responsible for reviewing and approving major changes?
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
Change Advisory Board (CAB)
The Change Advisory Board (CAB) is the formal group within ITIL-based change management responsible for reviewing, assessing, and approving major or high-risk changes. Major changes typically require a CAB meeting to evaluate impact, resource requirements, and rollback plans before authorization. This ensures changes do not introduce security vulnerabilities or disrupt critical operations.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Project management office
Why it's wrong here
PMO oversees projects, not changes.
- ✗
Incident response team
Why it's wrong here
They handle incidents, not changes.
- ✓
Change Advisory Board (CAB)
Why this is correct
CAB is responsible for change approval.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Security operations center
Why it's wrong here
SOC monitors security, not changes.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the distinction between operational roles (SOC, Incident Response) and governance/approval bodies (CAB), leading candidates to confuse real-time monitoring functions with change authorization responsibilities.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under ITIL v3/v4, the CAB is a cross-functional body that includes stakeholders from IT, security, operations, and business units. For emergency changes, a subset called the Emergency CAB (ECAB) may convene rapidly. The CAB evaluates change requests against RFC (Request for Change) documentation, including risk assessment, backout plans, and testing results, and may use a voting or consensus model to approve or reject. In regulated environments, CAB decisions are often recorded in a Change Management System (CMS) for audit trails.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CISSP question test?
Security Operations — This question tests Security Operations — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Change Advisory Board (CAB) — The Change Advisory Board (CAB) is the formal group within ITIL-based change management responsible for reviewing, assessing, and approving major or high-risk changes. Major changes typically require a CAB meeting to evaluate impact, resource requirements, and rollback plans before authorization. This ensures changes do not introduce security vulnerabilities or disrupt critical operations.
What should I do if I get this CISSP question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
This CISSP 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 CISSP exam.
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