The answer is avoid the risk by delaying deployment until a thorough risk assessment and independent security testing are completed. This is the most appropriate risk treatment strategy because the high uncertainty surrounding the startup’s untested IoT devices, combined with the criticality of patient safety and HIPAA compliance, makes avoidance the only prudent choice when the threat landscape is unknown. In the context of the Systems Security Certified Practitioner SSCP exam, this question tests your ability to apply risk treatment strategies—specifically avoidance, mitigation, transference, and acceptance—to real-world scenarios where the organization lacks expertise and the risk is poorly understood. A common trap is choosing mitigation, such as adding encryption or firewalls, but that assumes known vulnerabilities can be addressed; here, the unknowns make avoidance the safer path. Remember the memory tip: when uncertainty is high and stakes are critical, avoid first, assess second.
SSCP Risk Identification, Monitoring and Analysis Practice Question
This SSCP practice question tests your understanding of risk identification, monitoring and analysis. Compare every option against the stated constraints before choosing — the best answer satisfies all requirements, not just the most obvious one. 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.
You are a security consultant for a hospital that is deploying a new IoT medical device system. The devices wirelessly transmit patient vital signs to a central server. The hospital is subject to HIPAA. The devices were developed by a startup and are not widely field-tested. The IT department wants to connect the devices to the existing network for real-time monitoring. The risk management team has identified potential threats including data interception, device tampering, and denial of service. They have no prior experience with IoT security. Which of the following risk treatment strategies is MOST appropriate given the high uncertainty?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Avoid the risk by delaying deployment until a thorough risk assessment and independent security testing are completed
Option C is correct because the high uncertainty surrounding the startup's untested IoT devices, combined with the criticality of patient safety and HIPAA compliance, makes avoidance the most prudent strategy. Delaying deployment allows for a thorough risk assessment and independent security testing to identify vulnerabilities before exposing the hospital network to potential data interception, device tampering, or denial-of-service attacks. This approach directly addresses the risk management team's lack of IoT security experience by preventing exposure until the threat landscape is better understood.
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.
✗
Accept the risk because the devices improve patient care
Why it's wrong here
Acceptance is unwise with high uncertainty and potential patient safety impact.
✗
Transfer the risk by purchasing cyber insurance
Why it's wrong here
Insurance does not reduce the impact on patient safety.
✓
Avoid the risk by delaying deployment until a thorough risk assessment and independent security testing are completed
Why this is correct
Avoidance is justified when risks are not well understood and potential impact is high.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Mitigate the risk by segmenting the devices on a separate VLAN and encrypting all communications
Why it's wrong here
Mitigation is good but may not be sufficient given unknown vulnerabilities.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often choose mitigation (Option D) because it seems proactive and technically sound, but they overlook the principle that mitigation is only appropriate when the risk is well-understood and the controls are proven effective—neither of which applies to untested IoT devices with unknown vulnerabilities.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In IoT medical device security, independent testing often includes fuzzing of wireless protocols (e.g., Bluetooth LE or Zigbee) and static analysis of firmware to uncover hardcoded credentials or buffer overflows. A real-world scenario is the 2017 FDA recall of St. Jude Medical's implantable cardiac devices, where vulnerabilities in the RF communication protocol allowed unauthorized commands; a thorough risk assessment and testing before deployment could have prevented the recall. The high uncertainty here means the risk management team cannot accurately calculate the probability or impact, making avoidance the only strategy that does not rely on incomplete data.
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 security analyst at a medium-sized enterprise encounters this scenario during an investigation or architecture review. The correct answer reflects best practice for the specific threat or control described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Security exam questions test whether you can match controls to threats in context — not just recall definitions.
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.
Risk Identification, Monitoring and Analysis — This question tests Risk Identification, Monitoring and Analysis — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Avoid the risk by delaying deployment until a thorough risk assessment and independent security testing are completed — Option C is correct because the high uncertainty surrounding the startup's untested IoT devices, combined with the criticality of patient safety and HIPAA compliance, makes avoidance the most prudent strategy. Delaying deployment allows for a thorough risk assessment and independent security testing to identify vulnerabilities before exposing the hospital network to potential data interception, device tampering, or denial-of-service attacks. This approach directly addresses the risk management team's lack of IoT security experience by preventing exposure until the threat landscape is better understood.
What should I do if I get this SSCP 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
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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. During a quarterly risk review, a hospital's security team identifies that legacy medical devices cannot be patched and run outdated operating systems. Which risk treatment strategy is most appropriate for these devices?
medium
A.Remediate by applying vendor patches
✓ B.Implement compensating controls such as network segmentation and strict access control
C.Retire and replace all devices immediately
D.Transfer the risk by purchasing cyber insurance
Why B: Since the legacy medical devices cannot be patched due to vendor obsolescence, the most appropriate risk treatment strategy is to implement compensating controls. Network segmentation (e.g., VLANs or firewalls) isolates the devices from the main hospital network, while strict access control (e.g., 802.1X or MAC-based filtering) limits exposure to threats. This reduces the likelihood of exploitation without relying on patching the outdated operating systems.
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This SSCP 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 SSCP exam.
Question Discussion
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