Which of the following should be of GREATEST concern to an IS auditor reviewing the controls for a continuous software release process?
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A. B. C. D.C.
The IS auditor's primary concern when reviewing the controls for a continuous software release process is to ensure that the process is adequately controlled and managed to mitigate the risk of introducing errors or vulnerabilities into the production environment. This is a critical process in software development, as a failure to control the release process can lead to numerous problems, including production outages, data loss, and unauthorized access.
Out of the options given, the control that should be of the GREATEST concern to the IS auditor is the one that poses the most significant risk to the release process. Based on this criterion, option C - "Developers are able to approve their own releases" - is the correct answer.
The ability of developers to approve their own releases poses a significant risk to the software release process as it undermines the principle of segregation of duties, which is a fundamental control in information security. This means that the same person who is responsible for developing code is also responsible for testing and approving it, which increases the likelihood of errors or vulnerabilities being introduced into the production environment.
To mitigate this risk, a strong control environment should be established, which separates the development, testing, and approval functions, and ensures that each is performed by a different person or team. This will help to prevent any one person from having too much control over the release process and will help to ensure that the process is transparent and auditable.
In contrast, the other options, such as A - "Release documentation is not updated to reflect successful deployment" - and D - "Testing documentation is not attached to production releases" - pose lower risks as they are primarily administrative in nature and can be remedied through process improvements or training. Option B - "Test libraries have not been reviewed in over six months" - is also a lower risk as it relates to testing activities and can be addressed through regular reviews of the test libraries.