Which of the following should be of GREATEST concern to an IS auditor conducting an audit of incident response procedures?
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A. B. C. D.B.
As an IS auditor, the incident response procedures are critical to ensuring the security of an organization's information systems. These procedures are designed to prevent and detect security breaches, as well as to respond to them in a timely and effective manner. Of the given options, the greatest concern to an IS auditor conducting an audit of incident response procedures would be option B, "Senior management is not involved in the incident response process."
The involvement of senior management in the incident response process is crucial for the success of the response effort. Senior management has the responsibility to allocate the necessary resources, communicate effectively with stakeholders, and make critical decisions in a timely manner. Without their involvement, the incident response team may lack the necessary resources or authority to take appropriate actions.
Option A, "End users have not completed security awareness training," is important, but not as critical as senior management's involvement. End users are the first line of defense against security breaches and need to be trained to identify and report suspicious activities. However, security awareness training alone cannot compensate for inadequate incident response procedures.
Option C, "There is no procedure in place to learn from previous security incidents," is also important for an effective incident response process. Learning from previous incidents can help identify vulnerabilities, improve response procedures, and prevent similar incidents from occurring. However, the lack of such procedures does not directly impede the response effort, as the team can still take appropriate actions based on the information available.
Option D, "Critical incident response events are not recorded in a centralized repository," is also significant as it can hinder incident response efforts. Recording critical incident response events in a centralized repository can help ensure that critical information is easily accessible to the response team, facilitate communication, and improve the overall response effort. However, the lack of a centralized repository does not necessarily impede the response effort if alternative methods of recording and sharing information are in place.
In summary, while all the options provided are important for an effective incident response process, the greatest concern to an IS auditor conducting an audit of incident response procedures would be senior management's lack of involvement.