Your organization has recently undergone a merger, and as the CISO, you are tasked with aligning security policies and risk management practices across both companies. You discover that one company uses a risk tolerance model based on quantitative assessments, while the other relies on qualitative risk matrices. You must produce a combined risk register and recommend a unified risk strategy. Senior leadership is pressing for a decision that allows consistent prioritization of risks across business units. What should you do first? A. Adopt the qualitative risk model from the second company for simplicity and faster implementation. B. Implement the quantitative model to maintain accuracy and support insurance negotiations. C. Conduct a business impact analysis (BIA) to inform which model best supports the new organization. D. Merge the two models to balance simplicity and rigor without needing further analysis.

You’re consulting for a healthcare organization that stores patient records in a hybrid cloud environment. The data is classified as "Highly Confidential." A developer in the team has requested access to production data to troubleshoot issues. The organization lacks a robust data classification enforcement policy. What is the BEST course of action? A. Allow the developer read-only access under supervision. B. Mask or anonymize the data before granting limited access. C. Grant access after requiring the developer to sign a confidentiality agreement. D. Deny access and escalate the request to the compliance team.

Question:An organization has decided to upgrade its data center with new encryption modules to support FIPS 140-3 compliance. As the lead security architect, you must ensure that the hardware security modules (HSMs) meet this requirement. The vendor offers two types: one that is FIPS 140-2 validated and another that is currently undergoing 140-3 testing. What is the MOST appropriate decision? A. Select the FIPS 140-2 validated HSM, as it is already compliant. B. Choose the 140-3 model to future-proof the environment. C. Wait for the 140-3 model to be validated before making a decision. D. Implement the 140-2 version temporarily and plan to migrate to 140-3.

You are reviewing network architecture for a new financial services platform. It must support secure communication between cloud-hosted microservices and on-prem systems. The system should prevent eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks. The services operate across multiple cloud providers. Which of the following provides the MOST effective solution? A. Implement VPN tunnels between all cloud and on-prem endpoints. B. Use SSL/TLS with mutual authentication for all API communications. C. Set up a dedicated leased line between cloud and on-prem environments. D. Rely on the cloud providers’ internal security for all communications.

A large financial institution is undergoing a digital transformation, migrating its core banking systems to a hybrid cloud environment. As part of this initiative, the institution is implementing a Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA). During the design phase, the security team must decide on the most critical component to prioritize for ensuring the success of the ZTA implementation. Given the institution's high-risk profile and regulatory requirements, which of the following should be the TOP priority?