hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
Legal Hold
Exhibit
Data Retention Policy: Customer records: 7 years after account closure. Email logs: 90 days. Payment card data: 3 years post transaction per PCI DSS.
Refer to the exhibit. An organization has a lawsuit requiring preservation of all records related to a customer dispute from 2018. Which data set must be preserved beyond its scheduled retention?
Quick Answer
The correct answer is all of the above because a legal hold immediately overrides any scheduled data retention policy, requiring the preservation of every data set that could contain relevant evidence. In this scenario, the lawsuit mandates the preservation of all records related to the 2018 customer dispute, meaning email logs, payment card data, and customer records must all be kept intact, even if their normal retention periods have expired. This tests your understanding of legal hold and eDiscovery under FRCP Rule 26, a critical concept in the Certified Information Systems Professional CISSP exam’s Asset Security domain, where the common trap is assuming only the most obvious data set must be preserved. Instead, remember that any data potentially relevant to litigation—regardless of its scheduled retention—falls under the hold. A useful memory tip: “Hold all, not just the bold”—when a legal hold is active, preserve every data set that might touch the dispute.
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers assume only the most obvious data set (e.g., customer records) needs preservation, but the legal hold applies to all data sets that could contain relevant information, including logs and payment data, regardless of their normal retention schedules.
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
✓
All of the above
A legal hold overrides any scheduled retention policy. The lawsuit requires preservation of all records related to the 2018 customer dispute, which includes email logs (for communication evidence), payment card data (for transaction records), and customer records (for account details). Under eDiscovery rules (FRCP Rule 26), any data set that may contain relevant information must be preserved, even if its normal retention period has expired.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Email logs from 2018
Why it's wrong here
Email logs are included if related to the dispute.
- ✗
Payment card data from 2018 transactions
Why it's wrong here
Payment data is also subject to legal hold.
- ✓
All of the above
Why this is correct
Legal hold applies to all relevant data, overriding retention schedules.
- ✗
Customer records from 2018 accounts that are still open
Why it's wrong here
Even closed accounts' records from 2018 must be preserved.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Asset Security: Privacy and Data Retention
Key term
Policy
A policy is a set of rules or guidelines that defines how an organization manages, secures, and operates its IT systems and services.
Key term
Retention policy
A retention policy is a set of rules that determines how long an organization keeps its data and what happens to it when the retention period expires.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on CISSP
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. Refer to the exhibit. A legal hold exception preserves FinancialRecords FIN-001 and FIN-002. What is the correct action for FinancialRecords that are not under legal hold?
hard- A.They should be audited and then preserved indefinitely
- B.They should be archived after 2555 days
- ✓ C.They should be deleted after 2555 days
- D.They should be deleted after 365 days
Why C: In CISSP and general data lifecycle management, a retention policy defines the maximum period for which data should be kept. Once the retention period (e.g., 2555 days / 7 years) expires, the standard and legally compliant action is to securely destroy/delete the data to limit liability and adhere to data minimization principles (unless a legal hold is active). Archiving is a method of retention, not an action taken after the retention period expires. Therefore, Option C (deleted after 2555 days) is typically the correct compliance action, not Option B.
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.