CISA - Certified Information Systems Auditor Practice Questions: Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience Domain

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: A well-implemented incident management process is indicated by incident response times consistently being within defined SLAs. This demonstrates that the process is effective and meets organizational expectations. Manual logging, escalation of all incidents, and annual reporting do not necessarily reflect the effectiveness of the incident management process.

Correct Answer: C

Explanation: The primary concern should be that the DRP may not effectively recover systems in the event of a disaster (C). Testing is essential to ensure the plan works as intended and that any flaws are identified and corrected. While alignment with operations (A), role awareness (B), and documentation (D) are important, the effectiveness of recovery is the primary objective of the DRP.

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: The primary risk associated with the absence of a formal change management process is that unauthorized changes could be made to the IT systems. Without a structured process, it is difficult to track, approve, and validate changes, increasing the risk of unauthorized modifications that could compromise system integrity. Options A, C, and D are potential consequences, but the risk of unauthorized changes is the most critical.

Correct Answer: C

Explanation: The primary focus of an IS auditor should be on ensuring that the backup solution aligns with the organization's recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs). These metrics are crucial for assessing whether the backup solution can meet the organization's business continuity and resilience requirements. While the speed of backup and restoration (A), cost-effectiveness (B), and user-friendliness (D) are important considerations, they are secondary to ensuring that the solution meets critical recovery objectives.

Correct Answer: D

Explanation: Testing changes in a separate environment before implementation is the best indicator of a well-controlled change management process, as it helps prevent disruptions in the production environment. While approval, logging, and post-implementation reviews are important, pre-implementation testing is crucial for minimizing risks associated with changes.

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: The primary concern during the audit of a cloud service implementation (B) is ensuring the cloud service provider's compliance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements. This is critical to protect the organization from legal liabilities and ensure data protection. While cost-effectiveness (A), scalability (C), and integration (D) are important considerations, compliance is the most critical factor to address from an audit perspective to ensure business resilience and regulatory adherence.

Correct Answer: C

Explanation: The best recommendation to enhance business resilience is to store backups at an off-site location. This mitigates the risk of losing both primary and backup data due to a localized disaster. While encryption, testing, and increased frequency are good practices, off-site storage is crucial for ensuring data availability in the event of a site-specific disaster.

Correct Answer: C

Explanation: To ensure the effectiveness of a disaster recovery plan, it is crucial that the plan has been tested under simulated conditions. Testing verifies that the plan can be executed successfully and reveals any weaknesses or gaps that need to be addressed. While annual reviews, asset inventories, and IT department approval are important, they do not directly demonstrate the plan's effectiveness in practice.

Correct Answer: D

Explanation: The primary focus should be on whether the BCP includes procedures for maintaining critical business functions (D). This ensures the organization can continue essential operations during a disruption. While having an updated plan (B), senior management approval (C), and a contact list (A) are important, maintaining critical functions is the core purpose of the BCP.

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: Regular updates and testing of the business continuity plan (BCP) are the most important elements to verify for ensuring effective business resilience. Regular testing ensures that the plan is effective and that personnel are familiar with their roles during a disruption. Updates ensure that the plan remains relevant to current business processes and technologies. While detailed recovery procedures, alignment with best practices, and senior management approval are important, they are secondary to the need for ongoing testing and updates to ensure the plan's effectiveness.