CISSP Security Operations Practice Question
Which of the following best describes the primary purpose of an incident response plan?
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
✓
To provide a structured approach for managing and resolving security incidents
An incident response plan provides a structured approach to manage and resolve security incidents, minimizing impact.
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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To replace the need for a disaster recovery plan
Why it's wrong here
An Incident Response (IR) plan is designed to manage and mitigate the immediate impact of security incidents, aiming to restore normal operations quickly. Conversely, a Disaster Recovery (DR) plan addresses larger-scale, catastrophic events that cause significant system or facility loss, focusing on business continuity and long-term restoration. These plans are complementary, with IR often preceding DR if an incident escalates beyond immediate containment, rather than one replacing the other.
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To assign blame after an incident occurs
Why it's wrong here
The core objective of an Incident Response (IR) plan is to minimize damage, restore services, and learn from security incidents to prevent recurrence. While post-incident analysis may identify contributing factors, the plan's structured approach prioritizes rapid containment and eradication over assigning individual blame. Focusing on punitive measures during or immediately after an incident can impede effective collaboration and delay critical recovery efforts.
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To document all security controls in place
Why it's wrong here
Documenting all security controls, configurations, and their operational status is characteristic of a security baseline or a comprehensive security policy framework. An Incident Response (IR) plan, however, is a procedural document outlining the steps, roles, and responsibilities for detecting, analyzing, containing, eradicating, and recovering from security incidents. While an IR plan leverages existing controls, its purpose is not to enumerate them but to guide actions during a breach.
- ✓
To provide a structured approach for managing and resolving security incidents
Why this is correct
An Incident Response (IR) plan establishes a systematic and predefined set of procedures, roles, and communication protocols for an organization to effectively handle security breaches. This structured approach ensures that incidents are detected promptly, analyzed thoroughly, contained efficiently, eradicated completely, and that systems are recovered swiftly. Its primary purpose is to minimize impact, restore normal operations, and learn from each event to enhance overall security posture.
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Security Governance and Principles
Key term
Security
Security in IT is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and data from unauthorized access, damage, or theft.
Key term
Incident response
Incident response is the structured approach an organization uses to identify, contain, and recover from cybersecurity incidents like data breaches or ransomware attacks.
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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.