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Difficulty: MediumRisk Identification, Assessment, and Response Strategies

A healthcare organization's security team identified a critical remote code execution vulnerability in a legacy diagnostic server. Because replacing or updating the server would temporarily disrupt essential patient care operations, the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) approves placing the server on an isolated microsegmented subnet, restricting inbound network traffic using strict firewall rules, and deploying specialized host monitoring to reduce the likelihood of exploitation. Which risk response strategy did the organization primarily execute?

  1. Risk MitigationAnswer
  2. B
    Risk Avoidance
  3. C
    Risk Transference
  4. D
    Risk Acceptance

Answer

Risk Mitigation
Risk mitigation (also called risk reduction) involves implementing technical, administrative, or physical security controls to diminish the likelihood and potential impact of a vulnerability exploitation. Placing the server on an isolated subnet and enforcing strict firewall rules reduces the attack surface while allowing the medical organization to continue essential patient care operations.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the operational decision made by the CISO.
The organization decided to keep the vulnerable legacy diagnostic server operational rather than taking it offline.
Identifying whether the underlying risk-bearing activity continues helps narrow down the risk strategy category.
2
Evaluate the specific technical actions implemented around the server.
The team implemented microsegmentation, firewall rules, and host-based monitoring.
These controls actively reduce both the likelihood of exploitation and the potential impact of an attack.
3
Map the technical controls to the standard risk response definitions.
Deploying security controls to lower risk to an acceptable tolerance level without stopping the business process is defined as Risk Mitigation (or Risk Reduction).
Mitigation differs from avoidance (stopping the process), transference (shifting financial impact to insurance/contractors), and acceptance (taking no defensive action).

Key Concept

Selecting and classifying risk response strategies (Mitigation, Avoidance, Transference, Acceptance)
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Risk Identification, Assessment, and Response Strategies

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