An information security manager learns that a departmental system is out of compliance with the information security policy's authentication requirements.
Which of the following should be the information security manager's FIRST course of action?
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A. B. C. D.D.
The first course of action for the information security manager in this scenario should be to isolate the noncompliant system from the rest of the network. Therefore, the correct answer is A.
Here's the reasoning behind this:
Authentication is a critical aspect of information security. If a departmental system is out of compliance with authentication requirements, it can pose a significant risk to the organization's information security. For example, if user accounts are not properly secured, unauthorized individuals could gain access to sensitive data or systems.
Therefore, the information security manager's priority should be to contain the risk by isolating the noncompliant system from the rest of the network. This will prevent any potential security breaches from spreading to other systems, applications, or data repositories.
Once the system is isolated, the information security manager can investigate the cause of the noncompliance and work with the relevant stakeholders to bring the system back into compliance. Depending on the situation, this may involve updating security policies, configuring security controls, or providing additional training to users.
Submitting the issue to the steering committee for escalation (option B) or requesting risk acceptance from senior management (option C) may be appropriate in certain circumstances, but they are not the first course of action. These options should only be considered after the immediate risk has been addressed.
Conducting an impact analysis to quantify the associated risk (option D) may also be helpful in identifying the potential consequences of the noncompliance. However, this should not delay the immediate action of isolating the noncompliant system to prevent further security incidents.