Question

Difficulty: HardRisk Identification, Assessment, and Response Strategies

An enterprise security analyst is performing a quantitative risk assessment for a high-availability identity authentication cluster with an asset value (AVAV) of $1,200,000\$1,200,000. Threat intelligence data indicates an identity spoofing threat with an annual rate of occurrence (AROARO) of 0.500.50 and an exposure factor (EFEF) of 0.300.30. The organization plans to implement an inline Hardware Security Module (HSM) safeguard costing $25,000\$25,000 per year, which will reduce the EFEF to 0.050.05 while keeping the AROARO constant at 0.500.50. Additionally, to address potential physical facility damage to the datacenter, the organization purchases a third-party commercial insurance policy. Which of the following statements accurately evaluate the risk metrics and risk response strategies in this scenario? (Select TWO.)

  1. The pre-control Annual Loss Expectancy (ALEALE) for the identity spoofing threat is $180,000\$180,000, and the post-control ALEALE after implementing the HSM cluster is $30,000\$30,000.Answer
  2. Purchasing the commercial insurance policy for datacenter facility risks represents a risk transfer strategy.Answer
  3. C
    The Single Loss Expectancy (SLESLE) of the identity spoofing threat prior to HSM deployment is $600,000\$600,000.
  4. D
    Purchasing the commercial insurance policy represents a risk avoidance strategy that eliminates the underlying physical facility threat vector.

Answer

The pre-control ALEALE is $180,000\$180,000 and post-control ALEALE is $30,000\$30,000, while purchasing the commercial insurance policy represents a risk transfer strategy.
Calculating pre-control ALEALE yields 1,200,000×0.30×0.50=$180,0001,200,000 \times 0.30 \times 0.50 = \$180,000, and post-control ALEALE yields 1,200,000×0.05×0.50=$30,0001,200,000 \times 0.05 \times 0.50 = \$30,000. Furthermore, purchasing commercial insurance explicitly transfers financial liabilities of datacenter losses to an insurance provider, satisfying the definition of risk transfer.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Calculate pre-control Single Loss Expectancy (SLESLE) and Annual Loss Expectancy (ALEALE).
SLEpre=AV×EFpre=$1,200,000×0.30=$360,000SLE_{pre} = AV \times EF_{pre} = \$1,200,000 \times 0.30 = \$360,000. ALEpre=SLEpre×ARO=$360,000×0.50=$180,000ALE_{pre} = SLE_{pre} \times ARO = \$360,000 \times 0.50 = \$180,000.
Establishing baseline financial loss potential before safeguard deployment.
2
Calculate post-control Single Loss Expectancy (SLESLE) and Annual Loss Expectancy (ALEALE).
SLEpost=AV×EFpost=$1,200,000×0.05=$60,000SLE_{post} = AV \times EF_{post} = \$1,200,000 \times 0.05 = \$60,000. ALEpost=SLEpost×ARO=$60,000×0.50=$30,000ALE_{post} = SLE_{post} \times ARO = \$60,000 \times 0.50 = \$30,000.
Evaluating residual loss exposure after applying the HSM control.
3
Classify the risk response strategy associated with purchasing commercial insurance.
Purchasing commercial insurance shifts financial exposure to a third party, which defines Risk Transfer.
Distinguishing between risk response options (Acceptance, Avoidance, Mitigation, Transfer).

Key Concept

Quantitative Risk Assessment Metrics (SLE, ARO, ALE) and Risk Response Classification
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