CISSP Security and Risk Management Practice Question
An organization wants to avoid a particular risk entirely by not engaging in the activity that creates the risk. Which risk response strategy is being used?
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
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Avoid
Risk avoidance involves eliminating the risk by not performing the activity that causes it. Transfer shifts risk to a third party, mitigate reduces impact/likelihood, and accept acknowledges the risk.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Avoid
Why this is correct
Risk avoidance is a strategy where an organization eliminates a particular risk entirely by choosing not to engage in the activity or process that gives rise to it. This approach completely removes the potential for the risk event to occur, rather than merely reducing its likelihood or impact. It is typically employed when the potential consequences of a risk are deemed unacceptable and cannot be effectively managed through other means.
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Transfer
Why it's wrong here
Risk transfer involves shifting the financial or operational burden of a risk to a third party, such as an insurance company or an outsourced vendor. While this strategy reduces the organization's direct exposure and financial liability, it does not eliminate the underlying risk itself. The risk still exists, but responsibility for its management or the cost of its impact is reallocated.
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Mitigate
Why it's wrong here
Risk mitigation focuses on implementing controls and countermeasures to reduce either the likelihood of a risk event occurring or the severity of its impact if it does. This strategy aims to lower the risk to an acceptable level through proactive measures like deploying security technologies, enforcing policies, or conducting training. Mitigation does not remove the risk entirely but rather manages and diminishes its overall magnitude.
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Accept
Why it's wrong here
Risk acceptance is the deliberate decision to take no action to reduce the likelihood or impact of a particular risk, often because the cost of mitigation outweighs the potential benefit. This strategy involves acknowledging the existence of the risk and its potential consequences, typically with ongoing monitoring, but without implementing specific controls to alter its inherent level. It does not avoid the risk; instead, the organization consciously chooses to bear the potential consequences.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Incident Response and Business Continuity
Key term
Risk avoidance
Risk avoidance is a risk management strategy that involves eliminating any activity, process, or technology that introduces a specific risk, rather than trying to reduce or accept it.
Key term
Risk
Risk is the possibility that an event or action will negatively affect an organization's ability to achieve its goals, often measured in terms of likelihood and impact.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.