Learn about the key factors that influence an organization’s residual risk, including IT capability, resource availability, and more. Prepare for the ISACA CRISC certification exam with this concise explanation.
Table of Contents
Question
Which of the following will have the GREATEST influence on the residual risk level in an organization?
A. The investment portfolio
B. IT department’s capability
C. The availability of resources
D. The residual risk level in peer organizations
Answer
The factor that will have the greatest influence on the residual risk level in an organization is:
B. IT department’s capability
Explanation
The IT department’s capability has the most direct and significant impact on an organization’s residual risk level compared to the other options. Residual risk is the risk that remains after controls are implemented to mitigate identified risks. The IT department is responsible for implementing, managing, and maintaining many of the critical controls that protect an organization’s information assets and systems.
Some key ways the IT department influences residual risk include:
- Implementing strong security controls like firewalls, antivirus, access controls, encryption, etc. to defend against cyber threats
- Ensuring systems and software are properly patched and updated to remediate vulnerabilities
- Backing up data and establishing disaster recovery and business continuity plans
- Providing security awareness training to employees
- Monitoring systems for suspicious activity and swiftly responding to incidents
If the IT department lacks the skills, knowledge, and resources to effectively carry out these responsibilities, it can lead to weak or missing controls, unaddressed vulnerabilities, and inadequate incident response – ultimately increasing the organization’s residual risk level.
In contrast, the other options have a more indirect or minimal effect on residual risk:
- The investment portfolio may impact financial risk but is less directly tied to residual IT/security risk.
- General resource availability (option C) is important but not as critical as the specific capabilities of the IT department.
- Residual risk levels in peer organizations (option D) may provide useful benchmarks but don’t directly determine the organization’s own risk level, which depends more on its unique environment and the strength of its own controls.
Therefore, the IT department’s capability will have the greatest influence on the residual risk level in an organization. A skilled, well-resourced IT team is essential for implementing strong controls and keeping residual risk at an acceptable level.
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