hardMultiple Choice
Risk Treatment Strategies: Avoidance, Mitigation, and Beyond
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?
Quick Answer
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.
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — 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.
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
✓
Avoid the risk by delaying deployment until a thorough risk assessment and independent security testing are completed
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.
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 leaves interception, tampering and denial-of-service untreated against HIPAA-regulated patient data from untested devices, so residual risk stays unquantified. It is tempting because acceptance suits low-impact risks where treatment cost exceeds expected loss, and would fit a field-proven device with negligible exposure.
- ✗
Transfer the risk by purchasing cyber insurance
Why it's wrong here
Insurance compensates financial loss after an incident but neither prevents data interception nor satisfies HIPAA's requirement to safeguard ePHI; the vulnerability remains. Transfer suits risks with quantifiable, bounded financial impact, such as a well-understood liability where another party can bear the loss.
- ✓
Avoid the risk by delaying deployment until a thorough risk assessment and independent security testing are completed
Why this is correct
Avoidance eliminates the risk by not undertaking the activity. Given untested devices, HIPAA exposure and no IoT experience, delaying deployment until independent testing and assessment complete removes the threat rather than transferring or accepting it under high uncertainty.
- ✗
Mitigate the risk by segmenting the devices on a separate VLAN and encrypting all communications
Why it's wrong here
Segmentation and encryption address interception and tampering but leave the untested devices' unknown vulnerabilities and denial-of-service exposure unmanaged, which high uncertainty demands avoiding or transferring. Mitigation suits risks already understood and bounded, not novel devices lacking field validation.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on SSCP
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.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.