ISC Systems Security Engineering Foundations Practice Question
When engineering a cryptographically secure system, what is the primary risk associated with custom cryptographic implementations?
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
✓
It lacks the rigorous peer review of standard algorithms
Custom cryptography is prone to subtle implementation errors that are difficult to detect and often break the security of the underlying algorithm.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
It lacks the rigorous peer review of standard algorithms
Why this is correct
Standard algorithms are vetted by the global community; custom ones are not.
- ✗
It makes key management too difficult
Why it's wrong here
Key management is a separate issue from algorithm implementation.
- ✗
It is always too slow for real-time systems
Why it's wrong here
Speed is not the primary risk; correctness is.
- ✗
It requires special hardware
Why it's wrong here
Not necessarily.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every ISC question from scratch — 209 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed August 2026 · checked against the official (ISC)² exam blueprint
This ISC practice question is part of Courseiva's free (ISC)² 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 ISC exam.