The expected annual loss amount is the value of losses that could occur in the future, equalized on an annual basis based on the frequency of occurrence. Therefore, it is the Single Loss Expectancy (SLE) multiplied by the annual frequency of occurrence (ALO).

〇：Cessation of activities that pose a risk.

This question is about choosing what is not included. Discontinuing an activity that introduces risk is a way to address risk through avoidance. For example, there are many risks surrounding the use of instant messaging (IM) within a company. If a company decides not to allow the use of IM because there is no business need to do so, banning this service is an example of risk avoidance. The risk assessment does not include the implementation of such measures. Therefore, the correct answer is “discontinue the activity that poses a risk”.

×：Asset Identification

This is incorrect because identifying the asset is part of the risk assessment and is required to identify what is not included in the risk assessment. To determine the value of an asset, the asset must first be identified. Identifying and valuing assets is another important task of risk management.

×：Threat Identification

This is incorrect because identifying threats is part of risk assessment and requires identifying what is not included in the risk assessment. A risk exists because a threat could exploit a vulnerability. If there are no threats, there are no risks. Risk links vulnerabilities, threats, and the resulting potential for exploitation to the business.

×：Risk analysis in order of cost

Analyzing risks in order of cost or criticality is part of the risk assessment process and is inappropriate because questions are asked to identify what is not included in the risk assessment. A risk assessment examines and quantifies the risks a company faces. Risks must be addressed in a cost-effective manner. Knowing the severity of the risk allows the organization to determine how to effectively address it.

Defense-in-Depth is the concept that protection should not be monolithic, but should be multi-layered in all aspects. The term “defense-in-depth” comes close to the alternative, as multiple layers of protection are required to protect against a single vulnerability.

〇：Parallel testing or full interruption testing

A Business Impact Analysis (BIA) is considered a functional analysis where the team gathers data through interviews and documentation sources. Document business functions, activities, and transactions. Develop a hierarchy of business functions. Finally, a classification scheme is applied that indicates the level of importance of each individual function. Parallel and full interruption tests are not part of the BIA. These tests are performed to ensure the ongoing effectiveness of the business continuity plan to accommodate the constantly changing environment. While full interruption testing involves shutting down the original site and resuming operations and processing at an alternate site, parallel testing is performed to ensure that a particular system will actually function properly at the alternate off-site function.

×：Application of a classification scheme based on criticality levels.

This is incorrect because it is performed during a BIA. This is done by identifying a company’s critical assets and mapping them to characteristics such as maximum allowable downtime, operational disruption and productivity, financial considerations, regulatory liability, and reputation.

×：Gathering information through interviews

This is not correct as it is done during the BIA. The BCP committee does not truly understand all business processes, the steps to be taken, or the resources and supplies those processes require. Therefore, the committee should collect this information from people in the know, which are department heads and specific employees within the organization.

×：Document business functions

This is incorrect because the BCP committee makes this part of the BIA. Business activities and transactions must be documented. This information can come from department managers and specific employees who are interviewed or surveyed. Once the information is documented, the BCP committee can conduct an analysis to determine which processes, equipment, or operational activities are most critical.

〇：Regular training to change employee attitudes

Behavior-directed controls are intended to direct the behavior required of employees as part of organizational management. Regular training that changes employee awareness falls under the action-directed type. Therefore, the correct answer is “Regular training to change employee attitudes”.

×：Remotely directed defenses using drone audits

This falls under reinforcing (compensating) defensive measures.

×：Defensive measures to be behavioral psychological barriers due to physical barriers

This is a physical (physically) defensive measure.

×：Developing recurrence prevention measures to review certain actions

This is a corrective measure.

Users can logically guess the URL or path to access resources they should not. If an organization’s network has access to a report name ending in “financials_2017.pdf”, it is possible to guess other file names that should not be accessed, such as “financials_2018.pdf” or “financials.pdf”.

〇：Security Management Committee

Steve serves on the Security Steering Committee, which is responsible for making decisions on tactical and strategic security issues within the company. The committee consists of individuals from across the organization and should meet at least quarterly. In addition to the responsibilities outlined in this question, the Security Steering Committee is responsible for establishing a clearly defined vision statement that supports it in cooperation with the organizational intent of the business. It should provide support for the goals of confidentiality, integrity, and availability as they relate to the business goals of the organization. This vision statement should be supported by a mission statement that provides support and definition to the processes that apply to the organization and enable it to reach its business goals.

Each organization may call it by a different name, or they may be entrusted with a series of definition-to-approval processes for security. In this case, the term “operations” is the closest that comes to mind.

×：Security Policy Committee

This is incorrect because senior management is the committee that develops the security policy. Usually, senior management has this responsibility unless they delegate it to an officer or committee. The security policy determines the role that security plays within the organization. It can be organizational, issue specific, or system specific. The Governing Board does not directly create the policy, but reviews and approves it if acceptable.

×：Audit Committee

Incorrect because it provides independent and open communication between the Board of Directors, management, internal auditors, and external auditors. Its responsibilities include the system of internal controls, the engagement and performance of the independent auditors, and the performance of the internal audit function. The Audit Committee reports its findings to the Governing Board, but does not fail to oversee and approve the security program.

×：Risk Management Committee

Incorrect as it is to understand the risks facing the organization and work with senior management to bring the risks down to acceptable levels. This committee does not oversee the security program. The Security Steering Committee typically reports its findings to the Risk Management Committee on information security. The risk management committee should consider the entire business risk, not just the IT security risk.

Student numbers, which are left to the control of each school, cannot be considered privacy information because they are not sufficient information to identify an individual.

〇：Trojan Horse

A Trojan horse is a seemingly harmless piece of malware that is contagious. Have you ever downloaded a nasty image and suddenly your computer stopped working?

×：Spyware

Spyware is malware that looks harmless when it does its evil. It secretly takes information from your computer to the outside.

×：Virus

Viruses are malware that can spread without user intervention and attach itself to other programs. It looks harmless but does not match in that it downloads applications.

×：Data diddlers

A data diddler is malware that gradually changes data over time.

〇：Yes. The same goal should be held because there is security in achieving corporate goals.

There are KPIs and other marketin indicators to achieve organizational goals. Developing a security function in the organization also exists to achieve these goals.

×：Yes. Marketing in the security industry is allowed to be risk-off.

By “marketing in the security industry,” I do not mean aligning the security function within the organization.

×：No. The division of labor should be strictly enforced and left to specialists.

While the division of labor in an organization is certainly important, all members of the organization need to be security conscious.

×：No. Security has nothing to do with confidential information that would be an executive decision.

Security should be addressed by the entire organization. It is not irrelevant.

〇：Business Continuity Processes Integrate Change Management Processes

Unfortunately, business continuity plans can quickly become outdated. An outdated BCP can give a company a false sense of security, which can be fatal if a disaster actually occurs. One of the simplest, most cost-effective, and process-efficient ways to keep your plan current is to incorporate it into your organization’s change management process. Are new applications, equipment, and services documented? Are updates and patches documented? The change management process should be updated to incorporate fields and triggers that alert the BCP team when significant changes occur and provide a means to update recovery documentation. Ensure that the BCP is kept up-to-date, and other measures include maintaining personnel evaluations of the plan and conducting regular training on using the plan, such as making business continuity part of all business decisions.

×：Update hardware, software, and application changes

Wrong because hardware, software, and application changes occur frequently; unless the BCP is part of a change management process, these changes are not included in the BCP. The BCP should be updated when changes to the environment occur. If it is not updated after a change, it is out of date.

×：Infrastructure and Environment Change Updates

Incorrect because infrastructure and environment changes occur frequently. Unless the BCP is part of a change management process, as with software, hardware, and application changes, infrastructure and environment changes are unlikely to result in a transition to the BCP.

×：Personnel changes

Incorrect, as the plan may become obsolete. It is not uncommon for BCPs to be abandoned when the person or persons responsible for maintenance leave the company. These responsibilities must be reassigned. To ensure this, maintenance responsibilities must be built into job descriptions and properly monitored.

〇：Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

Almost every country has its own set of rules regarding what constitutes private data and how it should be protected. With the advent of the digital and information age, these different laws have begun to adversely affect business and international trade. Thus, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) created guidelines for different countries to ensure that data is properly protected and that everyone follows the same rules.

×：COSO

An organization that studies fraudulent financial reporting and which elements lead to them is fraudulent because the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) was established in 1985. The acronym COSO refers to a model of corporate governance that addresses IT at the strategic level, corporate culture, and financial accounting principles.

×：COBIT (Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology)

Incorrect, as this framework defines control objectives to ensure that IT is properly managed and that IT is responsive to business needs. It is an international open standard that provides control and security requirements for sensitive data and reference frameworks.

×：International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

Incorrect because it is an international standards organization composed of representatives of national standards bodies. Its purpose is to establish global standardization. But its standardization goes beyond the privacy of data moving across international borders. For example, some standards address quality control; others address assurance and security.

〇：Shoulder Surfing Attacks

Shoulder surfing is a type of browsing attack in which an attacker looks over the shoulder of another person to see what is being typed on that person’s monitor items or keyboard. Of the attacks listed, this is the easiest to perform in that it requires no knowledge of the computer system. Therefore, the correct answer is a shoulder surfing attack.

×：Dictionary attack

A dictionary attack is an unauthorized login that targets users who use words as passwords.

×：Side-channel attack

A side-channel attack is an attack that eavesdrops on system data from physical information.

×：Timing Attacks

A timing attack is an attack in which various input information is given to a device that processes ciphers, and the cipher key or other information is deduced from the difference in processing time. If processing time is taken, it can be inferred as a rough indication that the process is proceeding normally as a process, and so on.

The EU Data Protection Directive is a very aggressive privacy law. Organizations must inform individuals how their data is collected and used. Organizations must allow people to opt out of data sharing with third parties. Opt-in is required to share the most sensitive data. No transmissions from the EU unless the recipient country is found to have adequate (equivalent) privacy protections, and the U.S. does not meet this standard.

〇：Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime

The Council of Europe (CoE) Convention on Cybercrime is an example of an attempt to create a standard international response to cybercrime. It is the first international treaty to address computer crime by coordinating national laws and improving investigative techniques and international cooperation. The treaty’s objectives include creating a framework to bind the jurisdiction of the accused and the perpetrators of the crimes. For example, extradition is possible only if the case is a crime in both countries.

×：World Congress Council on Cybercrime

The World Congress Council on Cybercrime is misleading and therefore wrong. The official name of the Convention is the Council of Europe’s Convention on Cybercrime. It establishes comprehensive legislation against cybercrime and serves as a framework for international cooperation among the signatories to the Convention to guide all countries.

×：Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

Image C is wrong because the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is an international organization that brings together different governments to help address the economic, social, and governance challenges of a globalized economy. For this reason, the OECD has developed national guidelines to ensure that data is properly protected and that everyone adheres to the same kinds of rules.

×：Organization for Cooperation and Development in Cybercrime

Organization for Cooperation and Development of Cybercrime is the wrong answer. There is no formal entity of this name.

〇：Creating Data Collection Techniques

Of the steps listed, the first step in a Business Impact Analysis (BIA) is to create a data collection technique. The BCP committee will use questionnaires, surveys, and interviews to collect key person information on how different tasks are accomplished within the organization, along with any relevant dependencies of processes, transactions, or services. Process flow diagrams should be created from this data and used throughout the BIA and planning and development phases.

×：Risk calculations for each different business function

This is incorrect because the risk for each business function is calculated after the business function has been identified. And before that happens, the BCP team needs to collect data from key personnel. To calculate the risk for each business function, qualitative and quantitative impact information must be collected, properly analyzed, and interpreted. Once the data analysis is complete, it should be reviewed with the most knowledgeable people in the company to ensure that the results are relevant and to explain the actual risks and impacts facing the organization. This will flush out any additional data points that were not captured initially and allow for a full understanding of all possible business impacts.

×：Identifying Critical Business Functions

Image B is incorrect because the identification of critical business functions is done after the BCP committee has learned about the business functions that exist by interviewing and surveying key individuals. Once the data collection phase is complete, the BCP committee conducts an analysis to determine which processes, devices, or business activities are critical. If a system stands on its own, does not affect other systems, and is less critical, it can be classified as a Tier 2 or Tier 3 recovery step. In other words, these resources are not processed in the recovery phase until the most critical (Tier 1) resources are up and running.

×：Vulnerability and Threat Identification to Business Functions

This is not the first step and is incorrect because it identifies vulnerabilities and threats to business functions toward the end of the business impact analysis. It is the last of the steps listed in the answer. Threats can be man-made, natural, or technical. It is important to identify all possible threats and estimate their likelihood of occurring. When developing these plans, some issues may not be immediately apparent. These issues are best addressed by groups conducting scenario-based exercises. This ensures that when the threat becomes reality, the plan will have an impact on all business tasks, departments, and critical operations. The more issues that are planned for, the better prepared you will be should these events occur.

〇：Regular software updates

You are the system administrator. As an administrator, what you should be doing is updating software on a regular basis. Therefore, the correct answer is “regular software updates.

There may be some that you should implement, but choosing the better of the two will also be tested in the actual exam.

×：Sophisticated product selection

In most cases, products that meet the requirements will be selected in accordance with the Request for Proposal (RFP) presented by the customer. Existing system administrators may be involved in some of these discussions, but this is not an appropriate response.

×：Early reporting to your supervisor

In all jobs, reporting to the supervisor is probably an essential part of the job. Here, however, it is more appropriate to focus on your position as a software system administrator.

×：Human resources to monitor the system

A resident system may allow you to deal with problems in a timely manner. However, here, it is more appropriate to focus on the position as a system administrator of the software.

〇：Tell your business partner that your company is not ready

Planned business continuity procedures can provide an organization with many benefits. In addition to the other response options listed previously, organizations can provide a quick and appropriate response to an emergency, mitigate the impact on their business, and work with outside vendors during the recovery period. Efforts in these areas should communicate to business partners that they are prepared in the event of a disaster.

×：Resuming Critical Business Functions

This is incorrect because a business continuity plan allows an organization to resume critical business functions. As part of the BCP development, the BCP team conducts a business impact analysis that includes identifying the maximum allowable downtime for critical resources. This effort helps the team prioritize recovery efforts so that the most critical resources can be recovered first.

×：Protecting Lives and Ensuring Safety

Business continuity planning allows organizations to protect lives and ensure safety, which is wrong. People are a company’s most valuable asset. Therefore, human resources are an integral part of the recovery and continuity process and must be fully considered and integrated into the plan. Once this is done, a business continuity plan will help a company protect its employees.

×：Ensure business viability

This is a fallacy because a well-planned business continuity plan can help a company ensure the viability of its business. A business continuity plan provides methods and procedures for dealing with long-term outages and disasters. It involves moving critical systems to another environment while the original facility is being restored and conducting business operations in a different mode until normal operations return. In essence, business continuity planning addresses how business is conducted after an emergency.

〇：COBIT defines IT goals, ITIL provides process-level procedures

COBIT is a framework developed by ISACA (formerly the Information Systems Audit and Controls) and the IT Governance Institute (ITGI). It defines goals for controls, not just security needs, to ensure that IT is properly managed and that IT is responsive to business needs. The IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is the de facto standard for IT service management best practices. A customizable framework, ITIL provides goals, the general activities required to achieve these goals, and the input and output values for each process required to achieve these determined goals. In essence, COBIT addresses “what needs to be accomplished” and ITIL addresses “how to accomplish”.

×：COBIT is a model of IT governance, ITIL is a model of corporate governance.

While COBIT can be used as a model for IT governance, ITIL is wrong because it is not a model for corporate governance. In fact, the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) is a model of corporate governance. COBIT is derived from the COSO framework. COBIT can be thought of as a way to accomplish many COSO goals, but only from an IT perspective. To achieve many of the goals addressed in COBIT, organizations can use ITIL, which provides process-level steps to achieve IT service management goals.

×：COBIT is a model for corporate governance, ITIL is customizable for IT service management.

As mentioned above, COBIT is incorrect because it can be used as a model for IT governance, not corporate governance. COSO is a model of corporate governance. The second half of the answer is correct. ITIL is a customizable framework and is available as either a series of books or online for IT service management.

×：COBIT provides a business objectives framework, ITIL provides an IT service level objectives framework.

This is inappropriate because COBIT defines the control objectives that should be used to properly manage IT, enabling IT to address business needs as well as IT security needs. ITIL provides steps to achieve IT service management goals related to business needs. ITIL was created because of the increased reliance on information technology to meet business needs.

〇：Risk Mitigation

Risk can be addressed in four basic ways: transfer, avoidance, mitigation, and acceptance. Sue reduces the risk posed by her e-mail system by implementing security controls such as antivirus and anti-spam software. This is also referred to as risk mitigation, where risk is reduced to a level considered acceptable. Risk can be mitigated by improving procedures, changing the environment, erecting barriers to threats, and implementing early detection techniques to stop threats when they occur and reduce damage.

×：Risk Acceptance

This is inappropriate because risk acceptance does not involve spending on protection or countermeasures such as anti-virus software. When accepting a risk, one should be aware of the level of risk faced and the potential damage costs and decide to keep it without implementing countermeasures. If the cost/benefit ratio indicates that the cost of countermeasures exceeds the potential losses, many companies will accept the risk.

×：Risk Avoidance

Wrong because it would mean discontinuing the activity that is causing the risk. In this case, Sue’s firm decides to continue using e-mail. A company may choose to terminate an activity that introduces risk if the risk outweighs the business needs of the activity. For example, a company may choose to block social media websites in some departments because of the risk to employee productivity.

×：Risk Transfer

This is incorrect because it involves sharing risk with other entities, as in the purchase of insurance to transfer some of the risk to the insurance company. Many types of insurance are available to firms to protect their assets. If a company determines that its total or excess risk is too high to gamble, it can purchase insurance.