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CISA Study Notes Who is responsible for imposing an IT governance model encompassing IT strategy, information security, and formal enterprise architectural mandates? correct answer IT executives and the Board of Directors The party that performs strategic planning, addresses near-term and long-term requirements aligning business objectives, and technology strategies. correct answer The Steering Committee What three elements allow validation of business practices against acceptable measures of regulatory compliance, performance, and standard operational guidelines. correct answer (1.) Polices (2.) Procedures (3.) Standards What activity involves the identification of potential risk and the appropriate response for each threat based on impact assessment using qualitative and/or quantitative measures for an enterprise-wide risk management strategy? correct answer Risk Management IT Governance is most concerned with.... correct answer IT Strategy Describe the advantages of outsourcing. correct answer Outsourcing is an opportunity for the organization to focus on core competencies. When an organization oursources a business function, it no longer needs to be concerned about training employees in that function. Outsources does not always reduce costs, because cost reduction is not always the primary goal of oursourcing. An external IS auditor has discovered a segregation of duties issue in a high value process. What is the best action for the auditor to take? correct answer The external auditor can only document the finding in the audit report. An external auditor is not in a position to implement controls. An organization has chosen to open a business office in another country where labor costs are lower and has hired workers to perform business functions there. This organization has done what? correct answer The organization is insourcing - while they may have opened the office in
a foreign country, they have hired locals to do the work as opposed to contracting with a third party. An organization has discovered that some of its employees have criminal records. What is the best course of action for the organization to take? correct answer The organization should have background checks performed on all of its existing employees and also begin instituting background checks of all new-hires. It is not necessarily required to terminate the employees - their offenses may not warrant termination. The options for Risk Treatment are: correct answer Risk Mitigation Risk Avoidance Risk Transfer Risk Acceptance Annualized Loss Expectance (ALE) is defined as: correct answer ALE is the annual expected loss to an asset. It is calculated as the single loss expectancy (SLE) X the annualized rate of occurrence (ARO.) A quantitative risk analysis is more difficult to perform because: correct answer It is difficult to get accurate figures on the frequency of specific threats. It is difficult to determine the probability that a threat will be realized. It is relatively easy to determine the value of an asset and the impact of a threat event. An IS auditor is examining the IT standards document for an organization that was last reviewed two years earlier. The best course of action for the IS auditor is: correct answer Report that the IT standards are not being reviewed often enough. Two years is far too long between reviews of IT standards. The purpose of a Balanced Scorecard is: correct answer To measure organizational performance and effectiveness against strategic goals. The 4-item focus of a Balanced Scorecard is: correct answer (1.) Financial (2.) Customer (3.) Internal processes (4.) Innovation / Learning
What is the purpose of an auditor doing interviews? correct answer To observe personnel to better understand their discipline, as well as organizational culture and maturity Name the seven types of sampling an auditor can perform. correct answer (1.) Statistical (2.) Judgmental (3.) Attribute (4.) Variable (5.) Stop-or-Go (6.) Discovery (7.) Stratified Confidence coefficient means what? correct answer The probability that a sample selected actually represents the entire population. This is usually expressed as a percentage. Sampling Risk means what? correct answer The probability that a sample selected does not represent the entire population. This is usually expressed as a percentage, as the numeric inverse of the confidence coefficient. Precision means what? correct answer A representation of how closely a sample represents an entire population. Expected Error Rate means: correct answer An estimate that expresses the percent of errors or exceptions that may exist in an entire population Sampling means: correct answer A technique that is used to select a portion of a population when it is not feasible to test an entire population. Sample Standard Deviation means: correct answer A computation of the variance of sample values from the sample mean. This is a measurement of the spread of values in a sample Tolerable Error Rate means: correct answer The highest number of errors that can exist without a result being materially misstated. An Operational Audit is: correct answer An audit of IS controls, security controls, or business controls to determine control existence and effectiveness.
A Financial Audit is: correct answer An audit of an accounting system, accounting department processes, and procedures to determine if business controls are sufficient to ensure the integrity of financial statements. An Integrated Audit is: correct answer An audit that combines an operational audit and a financial audit. an IS audit is: correct answer An audit of an IS department's operations and systems. An Administrative audit is: correct answer An audit of operational efficiency. A Compliance audit is: correct answer An audit to determine the level and degree of compliance to a law, regulation, standard, contract provision, or internal control. A Sample Mean is: correct answer The sum of all samples divided by the number of samples. A Forensic Audit means: correct answer An audit that is performed in support of an anticipated or active legal proceeding. A Service Provider audit means: correct answer An audit of a third-party organization that provides services to other organizations. Statistical Sampling means: correct answer A sampling technique where items are chosen at random; each item has a statistically equal probability of being chosen. Judgmental sampling means: correct answer A sampling technique where items are chosen based upon the auditor's judgment, usually based on risk or materiality.
Inherent Risk means: correct answer The risk that there are material weaknesses in existing business processes and no compensating controls to detect or prevent them Sampling Risk means: correct answer The probability that a sample selected does not represent the entire population. This is usually expressed as a percentage, the numeric inverse of the confidence coefficient External auditors are needed under what conditions? correct answer (1.) When the organization lacks specific expertise or resources to conduct an internal audit. (2.) Some regulations and standards require external, independent auditors What is the best approach for identifying high risk areas for an audit? correct answer The IS auditor should conduct a risk assessment first to determine which areas have highest risk. She should devote more testing resources to those high-risk areas. An auditor has detected potential fraud while testing a control objective. What should the auditor do next? correct answer Notify the Audit Committee. Because Audit committee members are generally not involved in business operations, they will be sufficiently remove from the matter, and they will have the authority to involve others as needed. The possibility that a process or procedure will be unable to prevent or deter serious errors and wrongdoing is known as: correct answer Control Risk. The 4 categories of risk treatment are: correct answer (1.) Avoidance (2.) Transfer (3.) Mitigation (4.) Acceptance An IS auditor needs to perform an audit of a financial system and needs to trace individual transactions through the system. What type of testing should the auditor perform? correct answer Substantive Testing, which is a test of transaction integrity. An IS auditor is auditing the change management process for a financial application. The auditor has two primary pieces of evidence: change logs and a written analysis of the change logs
performed by a business analyst. Which evidence is best and why? correct answer The change log is best because it is objective and unbiased. Under what circumstances should an auditor use subjective sampling? correct answer Subjective sampling is used when the auditor wants to concentrate on samples known to represent high risk. An IS auditor has discovered a high-risk exception during control testing. What is the best course of action for the IS auditor to take? correct answer The IS auditor should immediately inform the auditee when any high-risk situation is discovered. What is the appropriate role of an IS auditor in a control self-assessment? correct answer The IS auditor should act as a SME in the control self-assessment, but should not play a major role in the process. What is Business Realization? correct answer Business Realization is the result of strategic planning, process development, and systems development, which all contribute towards a launch of business operations to reach a set of business objectives. What are Project Management Strategies useful for? correct answer Project Management strategies guide program execution through organization of resources and development of clear project objectives. What are the 7 SDLC Phases? correct answer (1.) Feasibility Study (2.) Definition of Requirements (3.) Design (4.) Development (5.) Testing (6.) Implementation (7.) Post- implementation phase The Business Process Life Cycle aids in the coordinating of business processes using a sequence of what three events? correct answer (1.) Business process creation (2.) Implementation (3.) Maintenance 3a. Benchmarking: Facilitates continuous improvement within the BPLC
A project manager needs to identify the tasks that are responsible for project delays. What approach should the project manager use? correct answer Critical Path Methodology helps a project manager determine which activities are on a project's critical list. A software developer has informed the project manager that a portion of the application development is going to take five additional days to complete. The project manager should do what? correct answer When any signification change needs to occur in a project plan, a project change request should be created to document the reason for the change. The 7 phases and their order in the SDLC are: correct answer (1.) Feasibility (2.) Requirements (3.) Design (4.) Development (5.) Testing (6.) Implementation (7.) Post-implementation What personnel should be involved in the requirements phase of a software development project? correct answer (1.) Developers (2.) Architects (3.) Analysts (4.) Users The primary source for test plans in a software development project is: correct answer The REQUIREMENTS that are developed for a project should be the primary source for detailed tests. The primary purpose for a change management process is to: correct answer The main purpose for change management is to review and approve proposed changes to systems and infrastructure. This helps to reduce the risk of unintended events and unplanned downtime. What is the purpose of a Capability Maturity Model? correct answer A CMM helps an organization to assess the maturity of its business processes, which is an important first step to any large-scale process improvement effort. The purpose of Input validation checking is: correct answer To ensure that input values are within established ranges, of the correct character types, and free of harmful contents. IT Service Management consists of 11 distinct activities: correct answer (1.) Service Desk (2.) Incident Management (3.) Problem Management (4.) Change Management (5.) Configuration
Management (6.) Release Management (7.) Service-level Management (8.) Financial Management (9.) Capacity Management (10.) Service Continuity Management 1(1.) Availability Management IT Service Management is defined in what International Process Framework? correct answer ITIL - IT Infrastructure Library. ITIL content is managed by the UK-based Office of Government Commerce. The purpose of the ISO 20000 Standard: correct answer Framework for auditing and measuring IT Service Management Processes. Incident Management - any event which is not part of the standard operation of service and which causes or may cause an interruption to or reduction in quality of that service. Includes THREE incident types: correct answer (1.) Service Outage (2.) Service Slowdown (3.) Software Bug PROBLEM MANAGEMENT: correct answer When several incidents have occurred that appear to have the same or a similar root cause, a PROBLEM is occurring. ITIL definition of PROBLEM: correct answer A condition often identified as a result of multiple incidents that exhibit common symptoms. Problems can also be identified from a single significant incident for which the impact is significant. ITIL definition of CHANGE MANAGEMENT: correct answer The process to ensure that standardized methods and procedures are used for efficient and prompt handling of all changes. Change Management includes a formal waterfall of six steps: correct answer (1.) Proposal or Request (2.) Review (3.) Approval (4.) Implementation (5.) Verification (6.) Post-change Review EMERGENCY CHANGES should include 4 steps: correct answer (1.) Emergency Approval (2.) Implementation (3.) Verification (4.) Review
The availability of IT systems is governed by: correct answer (1.) Effective Change Management (2.) Effective Application Testing (3.) Resilient Architecture (4.) Serviceable Components The Software Program Library is a facility that is used to store and manage access to an organization's application source and object code. It consists of 5 parts: correct answer (1.) Access and authorization controls (2.) Program checkout (3.) Program Check-in (4.) Version Control (5.) Code Analysis The CPU is: correct answer the main hardware component of a computer system, which executes instructions in computer programs. The CPU has: correct answer (1.) Arithmetic Logic Unit (2.) Control Unit (3.) a small amount of memory (usually in to form of registers) Registers are: correct answer The memory locations in the CPU where arithmetic values are stored. A computer uses RAM for several purposes: correct answer (1.) Operating System, to store info re running processes (2.) Buffers, that are used to temporarily store information retrieved from hard disks (3.) Storage of program code (4.) Storage of program variables Blade Computer Architecture: correct answer consists of main chassis component that is equipped with slots are fitted with individual cpu modules. Main advantage is lower cost per unit. Grid Computing is: correct answer a large number of loosely coupled computers that are used to solve a common task may be in close proximity to each other or scattered over a large geographical area.
A Server Cluster is: correct answer a tightly coupled collection of computers that are used to solve a common task. One or more actively perform tasks, while zero or more may be in a standby state. A Virtual Server is: correct answer an active, instance of a server operating system running on a machine that is designed to house two or more such virtual servers. Cloud computing is: correct answer a dynamically scalable and usually virtualized computing environment that is provided as a service. Clout computing services may be rented or leased so that an organization can have a scalable application without the need for supporting hardware. A database primary key is: correct answer one of a database table's fields, whose value is unique. A Foreign Key is: correct answer a field in a record in one table that can reference a primary key in another table that can reference a primary key in another table. Referential Integrity correct answer A database term, which means that the database will not permit a program (or user) to deleted rows from a table if there are records in other tables whose foreign keys reference the row to be deleted. 3 primary security features of relational databases: correct answer (1.) Access controls (2.) Encryption (3.) Audit logging OSI: Physical Layer: correct answer concerned with electrical and physical specifications for devices. No frames or packets involved. OSI: Data Link Layer: correct answer Information is arranged in frames and transported across the medium. Collision detection. Checksum verification of delivery.
TCP/IP Link Layer correct answer lowest layer. Delivers messages (frames) from one station to another vial local network. TCP/IP Internet Layer correct answer Deliver messages from one station to another on the same network or on different networks. Messaging at this layer is not guaranteed. TCP/IP Transport Layer correct answer consists of two main packet transport protocols: TCP and UDP. Features of TCP/IP Transport Layer packet delivery correct answer (1.) Reliable delivery (2.) Connection oriented (persistent connection) (3.) Order of Delivery (4.) Flow Control (transfer rate is throttled) (5.) Port Number WAN Protocols: correct answer (1.) MPLS (2.) SONET (3.) T-Carrier (4.) Frame Relay (5.) ISDN (6.) X. A web application is displaying information incorrectly and many users have contacted the IT service desk. This matter should be considered: correct answer A problem.A problem is defined as a condition that is the result of multiple incidents that exhibit common symptoms. A database administrator has been asked to configure a database management system so that it records all changes made by users. What should the DBA implement? correct answer The DBA should implement audit logging. This will cause the database to record every change that is made to it. The purpose of the Internet Layer in the TCP/IP model is: correct answer Delivery of packets from one station to another, on the same network or on different networks. The foundation of an effective information security program is an information security policy that includes: correct answer (1.) Executive Support (2.) Well-defined roles and responsibilities.
What is the purpose of a Security Awareness program? correct answer To communication security policies, procedures, and other security-related information to an organization's employees. A fire sprinkler system has water in its pipes, and sprinkler heads emit water only if the ambient temperature reaches 220 deg. F. What type of system is this? correct answer A wet pipe fire sprinkler system. The system is charged with water and will discharge water out of any sprinkler head whose fuse has reached a preset temperature. An organization is building a data center in an area frequented by power outages. The organization cannot tolerate power outages. What power system controls should be selected? correct answer The best solution is an electric generator and an uninterruptible power supply. The UPS responds to the outage, and the generator provides backup power for extended periods. An auditor has discovered several errors in user account management: many terminated employees' computer accounts are still active. What is the best course of action? correct answer To improve the employee termination process to reduce the number of exceptions. For a time, the process should be audited more frequently to make sure that improvement is effective. An auditor has discovered that several administrators in an application share an administrative account. What course of action should the auditor recommend? correct answer Several separate administrative accounts should be used. This will enforce accountability for each administrator's actions. An organization that has experienced a sudden increase in its long-distance charges has asked an auditor to investigate. What activity is the auditor likely to suspect is responsible for this? correct answer The auditor is most likely to suspect that intruders have discovered a vulnerability in the organization's PBX and is committing toll fraud. An auditor is examining a key management process and has found that the IT department is not following its split-custody procedure. What is the likely result of this failure? correct answer Someone may be in possession of the entire password for an encryption key. For instance, split
Individual events may often create combined threats to enterprise operations: correct answer A tornado might also spawn structural fires and transportation accidents The BCP process encompasses a lifecycle: correct answer (1.) Develop a BC Policy (2.) Conduct BIA (3.) Perform critical analysis (4.) Establish recovery targets (5.) Develop recovery and continuity strategies and plans (6.) Test recovery and continuity plans and procedures Train personnel Maintain strategies, plans, and procedures through periodic reviews and updates BCP Plans must be tested to validate effectiveness through: correct answer (1.) Document Review (2.) Walkthrough (3.) Simulation (4.) Parallel testing (5.) Cutover testing practices An organization that is undertaking a business continuity plan should perform what first? correct answer A business impact analysis is the first major task in a disaster recovery or business continuity planning project. This first step in Business Impact Analysis is: correct answer The first step in a business impact analysis is the inventory of all in-scope business processes and systems What is the purpose of a Statement of Impact? correct answer A Statement of Impact describes the effect on the business if a process is incapacitated for any appreciable time What is the purpose of a criticality analysis? correct answer A criticality analysis is used to determine which business processes are the most critical, by ranking them in order of criticality A critical application is backed up once per day. The recovery point objective for this system: correct answer The RPO for an application that is backed up once per day cannot be less than 24 hours Recovery time objective is defined as: correct answer A Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is defined as the maximum period of downtime for a process or application
An alternate processing center that contains no application servers is knows as a: correct answer A Cold Site contains no information processing equipment What is the most important consideration for site selection of a hot site? correct answer Geographic location of the hot site is most important. IF they are too close together then a single event may involve both locations A collection of servers that is designed to operate as a single logical server is known as a: correct answer A server cluster is a collection of two or more servers that is designed to appear as a single server. To determine effectiveness of a disaster recovery program, an IT auditor should: correct answer Examine documentation and interview personnel Controls are: correct answer The means by which management establishes and measures processes by which organizational objectives are achieved Frameworks are: correct answer Collections of Controls that work together to achieve an entire range of an organization's objectives. Rating Scale for Process Maturity consists of six levels: correct answer 0. No process at all (1.) Process are ad hoc and disorganized (2.) Consistent processes (3.) Documented processes (4.) Measured and managed processes (5.) Processes are continuously improved Two main types of Controls: correct answer (1.) General (2.) Application General Controls: correct answer Support the functioning of the application controls Application Controls: correct answer handle application processing
