ISACA CISA Sample Questions & Practice Test for 2026 Exam

Prepare with confidence using these ISACA CISA sample questions, modeled on the latest 2026 exam blueprint. Ideal for professionals pursuing CISA certification, this set includes scenario-based and multiple-choice questions across key domains like information system auditing, governance, risk management, and security control implementation. Whether you're reviewing ISACA CISA exam dumps, solving CISA practice questions, or testing your skills through a full CISA exam practice test, this resource ensures a structured and exam-aligned experience. It's perfect for aspirants looking to boost their readiness with Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) concepts, paired with real exam-style difficulty and explanations.

ISACA CISA Sample Questions List :

1."Nowadays, computer security comprises mainly "preventive"" measures."

1. True

2. True only for trusted networks

3. True only for untrusted networks

4. False

5. None of the choices.

2. Which of the following auditing techniques would be used to detect the validity of a credit card transaction based on time, location, and date of purchase?

1. Benford's analysis

2. Gap analysis

3. Stratified sampling

4. Data mining

3. Which of the following layer from an enterprise data flow architecture captures all data of interest to an organization and organize it to assist in reporting and analysis?

1. Desktop access layer

2. Data preparation layer

3. Core data warehouse

4. Data access layer

4. Which of the following activities would allow an IS auditor to maintain independence while facilitating a control self-assessment (CSA)?

1. Developing the CSA questionnaire

2. Developing the remediation plan

3. Implementing the remediation plan

4. Partially completing the CSA

5.What are the different types of Audits?

1. Compliance, financial, operational, forensic and integrated

2. Compliance, financial, operational, G9 and integrated

3. Compliance, financial, SA1, forensic and integrated

4. Compliance, financial, operational, forensic and capability

6. During a review of an application system, an IS auditor identifies automated controls designed to prevent the entry of duplicate transactions. What is the BEST way to verify that the controls work as designed?

1. Implement periodic reconciliations.

2. Review quality assurance (QA) test results.

3. Use generalized audit software for seeking data corresponding to duplicate transactions.

4. Enter duplicate transactions in a copy of the live system.

7. What benefit does using capacity-monitoring software to monitor usage patterns and trends provide to management? Choose the BEST answer.

1. The software produces nice reports that really impress management.

2. It allows users to properly allocate resources and ensure continuous efficiency of operations.

3. It allows management to properly allocate resources and ensure continuous efficiency of operations.

4. The software can dynamically readjust network traffic capabilities based upon current usage.

8. Which of the following audit risk is related to material error exist that would not be prevented or detected on timely basis by the system of internal controls?

1. Inherent Risk

2. Control Risk

3. Detection Risk

4. Overall Audit Risk

9. Which of the following audit combines financial and operational audit steps?

1. Compliance Audit

2. Financial Audit

3. Integrated Audit

4. Forensic audit

10. How does the process of systems auditing benefit from using a risk-based approach to audit planning?

1. Controls testing starts earlier.

2. Controls testing is more thorough.

3. Auditing resources are allocated to the areas of highest concern.

4. Auditing risk is reduced.

11. An IS auditor has obtained a large data set containing multiple fields and non-numeric data for analysis. Which of the following activities will MOST improve the quality of conclusions derived from the use of a data analytics tool for this audit?

1. Data anonymization

2. Data classification

3. Data stratification

4. Data preparation

12. Which of the following E-commerce model covers all the transactions between companies and government organization?

1. B-to-C relationships

2. B-to-B relationships

3. B-to-E relationships

4. B-to-G relationships

13. Which of the following should be of GREATEST concern to an IS auditor reviewing the controls for a continuous software release process?

1. Release documentation is not updated to reflect successful deployment.

2. Test libraries have not been reviewed in over six months.

3. Developers are able to approve their own releases.

4. Testing documentation is not attached to production releases.

14. The BEST overall quantitative measure of the performance of biometric control devices is:

1. false-rejection rat

2. false-acceptance rat

3. equal-error rat

4. estimated-error rat

15. Which of the following is the BEST way to mitigate the risk associated with technology obsolescence?

1. Make provisions in the budgets for potential upgrades

2. Create a technology watch team that evaluates emerging trends

3. Invest in current technology

4. Create tactical and strategic IS plans

16. Which of the following is an appropriate test method to apply to a business continuity plan (BCP)?

1. Pilot

2. Paper

3. Unit

4. System

17. Which of the following is MOST important when duties in a small organization cannot be appropriately segregated?

1. Exception reporting

2. Variance reporting

3. Independent reviews

4. Audit trail

18. What is the FIRST step an auditor should take when beginning a follow-up audit?

1. Review workpapers from the previous audit.

2. Gather evidence of remediation to conduct tests of controls.

3. Review previous findings and action plans.

4. Meet with the auditee to discuss remediation progress.

19. Which of the following is the MOST appropriate responsibility of an IS auditor involved in a data center renovation project?

1. Performing independent reviews of responsible parties engaged in the project

2. Ensuring the project progresses as scheduled and milestones are achieved

3. Performing day-to-day activities to ensure the successful completion of the project

4. Providing sign off on the design of controls for the data center

   
   

   

20. Which of the following should be of concern to an IS auditor performing a software audit on virtual machines?

1. Software licensing does not support virtual machines.

2. Software has been installed on virtual machines by privileged users.

3. Multiple users can access critical applications.

4. Applications have not been approved by the CFO.

21. An IS auditor has obtained a large data set containing multiple fields and non-numeric data for analysis. Which of the following activities will MOST improve the quality of conclusions derived from the use of a data analytics tool for this audit?

1. Data anonymization

2. Data classification

3. Data stratification

4. Data preparation

22. An online retailer is receiving customer about receiving different items from what they ordered on the organization's website. The root cause has been traced to poor data quality. Despite efforts to clean erroneous data from the system, multiple data quality issues continue to occur. Which of the following recommendations would be the BEST way to reduce the likelihood of future occurrences?

1. Implement business rules to validate employee data entry.

2. Invest in additional employee training for data entry.

3. Assign responsibility for improving data quality.

4. Outsource data cleansing activities to reliable third parties.

23. The purpose of a deadman door controlling access to a computer facility is primarily to:

1. prevent piggybackin

2. prevent toxic gases from entering the data center.

3. starve a fire of oxygen.

4. prevent an excessively rapid entry to, or exit from, the facility.

24. What should be an IS auditor's NEXT course of action when a review of an IT organizational structure reveals IT staff members have duties in other departments?

1. Determine whether any segregation of duties conflicts exist.

2. Recommend that segregation of duties controls be implemente

3. Report the issue to human resources (HR) management.

4. Immediately report a potential finding to the audit committe

25. An IS auditor follows up on a recent security incident and finds the incident response was not adequate. Which of the following findings should be consideredMOST critical?

1. The attack could not be traced back to the originating person.

2. The security weakness facilitating the attack was not identifie

3. Appropriate response documentation was not maintaine

4. The attack was not automatically blocked by the intrusion detection system (IDS).

26. The operations team of an organization has reported an IS security attack. Which of the following should be the NEXT step for the security incident response team?

1. Document lessons learne

2. Prioritize resources for corrective action.

3. Perform a damage assessment.

4. Report results to management.

27. Which of the following is the GREATEST concern when an organization allows personal devices to connect to its network?

1. It is difficult to enforce the security policy on personal devices

2. Help desk employees will require additional training to support devices.

3. IT infrastructure costs will increas

4. It is difficult to maintain employee privacy.

28. Which of the following refers to any program that invites the user to run it but conceals a harmful or malicious payload?

1. virus

2. worm

3. trojan horse

4. spyware

5. rootkits

6. None of the choices.

29. Which of the following is the PRIMARY advantage of using computer forensic software for investigations?

1. Time and cost savings

2. The preservation of the chain of custody for electronic evidence

3. Ability to search for violations of intellectual property rights

4. Efficiency and effectiveness

30. Default permit is only a good approach in an environment where:

1. security threats are non-existent or negligibl

2. security threats are non-negligibl

3. security threats are serious and sever

4. users are traine

5. None of the choices.

31. ________________ (fill in the blank) should be implemented as early as data preparation to support data integrity at the earliest point possible.

1. Control totals

2. Authentication controls

3. Parity bits

4. Authorization controls

32. A proposed transaction processing application will have many data capture sources and outputs in paper and electronic form. To ensure that transactions are not lost during processing, the IS auditor should recommend the inclusion of:

1. validation controls.

2. internal credibility checks.

3. clerical control procedures.

4. automated systems balancing.

33. An IS auditor discovered abnormalities in a monthly report generated from a system upgraded six months ago. Which of the following should be the auditorג€™sFIRST course of action?

1. Inspect source code for proof of abnormalities

2. Perform a change management review of the system

3. Schedule an access review of the system

4. Determine the impact of abnormalities in the report

34. An internal audit has found that critical patches were not implemented within the timeline established by policy without a valid reason. Which of the following is theBEST course of action to address the audit findings?

1. Monitor and notify IT staff of critical patches.

2. Evaluate patch management training.

3. Perform regular audits on the implementation of critical patches.

4. Assess the patch management process.

35. A major portion of what is required to address nonrepudiation is accomplished through the use of:

1. strong methods for authentication and ensuring data validity

2. strong methods for authentication and ensuring data integrity.

3. strong methods for authorization and ensuring data integrity.

4. strong methods for authentication and ensuring data reliability.

5. None of the choices.

36. What uses questionnaires to lead the user through a series of choices to reach a conclusion? Choose the BEST answer.

1. Logic trees

2. Decision algorithms

3. Decision trees

4. Logic algorithms

37. What is the purpose of using a write blocker during the acquisition phase of a digital forensics investigation?

1. To preserve chain of custody

2. To protect against self-destruct utilities

3. To prevent the activation of installed malware

4. To prevent evidence alteration

   
   

   

38. Which of the following is a mechanism for mitigating risks?

1. Contracts and service level agreements (SLAs)

2. Property and liability insurance

3. Security and control practices

4. Audit and certification

39. An IS auditor has been asked to assess the security of a recently migrated database system that contains personal and financial data for a bankג€™s customers.Which of the following controls is MOST important for the auditor to confirm it in place?

1. The default configurations have been changed.

2. All tables in the database are normalized.

3. The service port used by the database server has been changed.

4. The default administration account is used after changing the account password.

40. When an organization outsources a payroll system to a cloud service provider, the IS auditor's PRIMARY concern should be the:

1. service level agreement (SLA) is not reviewed annually.

2. lack of independent assurance from a third party.

3. service provider's data center is on the ground floor.

4. service provider's platform is not compatible with legacy systems.

41. An example of a direct benefit to be derived from a proposed IT-related business investment is:

1. increased market penetration.

2. enhanced reputation.

3. the use of new technology.

4. enhanced staff morale.

42. Which of the following human resources management practices BEST leads to the detection of fraudulent activity?

1. Background checks

2. Time reporting

3. Employee code of ethics

4. Mandatory time off

43. An IS auditor finds that confidential company data has been inadvertently leaked through social engineering. The MOST effective way to help prevent a recurrence of this issue is to implement:

1. penalties to staff for security policy breaches.

2. a third-party intrusion prevention solution.

3. a security awareness program.

4. data loss prevention (DLP) softwar

44. An organization was recently notified by its regulatory body of significant discrepancies in its reporting data. A preliminary investigation revealed that the discrepancies were caused by problems with the organization's data quality. Management has directed the data quality team to enhance their program. The audit committee has asked internal audit to be advisors to the process. To ensure that management concerns are addressed, which data set should internal audit recommend be reviewed FIRST?

1. Data impacting business objectives

2. Data supporting financial statements

3. Data reported to the regulatory body

4. Data with customer personal information

45. An IT balanced scorecard is MOST useful in determining the effectiveness of which of the following?

1. Key IT controls

2. Change management processes

3. IT departmentג€™s financial position

4. Governance of enterprise IT

46. Squid is an example of:

1. IDS

2. caching proxy

3. security proxy

4. connection proxy

5. dialer

6. None of the choices.

47. An organization allows employee use of personal mobile devices for corporate email. Which of the following should be the GREATEST IS audit concern?

1. Email forwarding to private devices requires excessive network bandwidth

2. There is no corporate policy for the acceptable use of private devices

3. There is no adequate tracking of the working time spent out-of-hours

4. The help desk is not able to fully support different kinds of private devices

48. Which of the following audit include specific tests of control to demonstrate adherence to specific regulatory or industry standard?

1. Compliance Audit

2. Financial Audit

3. Operational Audit

4. Forensic audit

49. What is the best defense against Distributed DoS Attack?

1. patch your systems.

2. run a virus checker.

3. run an anti-spy softwar

4. find the DoS program and kill it.

5. None of the choices.

50. Which of the following refers to a symmetric key cipher which operates on fixedlength groups of bits with an unvarying transformation?

1. stream cipher

2. block cipher

3. check cipher

4. string cipher

5. None of the choices.

51. While performing a risk-based audit, which of the following would BEST enable an IS auditor to identify and categorize risk?

1. Understanding the control framework

2. Developing a comprehensive risk model

3. Understanding the business environment

4. Adopting qualitative risk analysis

52. The success of control self-assessment (CSA) highly depends on:

1. having line managers assume a portion of the responsibility for control monitoring.

2. assigning staff managers the responsibility for building, but not monitoring, controls.

3. the implementation of a stringent control policy and rule-driven controls.

4. the implementation of supervision and the monitoring of controls of assigned duties.

53. During an audit, an IS auditor notes that an organization's business continuity plan (BCP) does not adequately address information confidentiality during a recovery process. The IS auditor should recommend that the plan be modified to include:

1. the level of information security required when business recovery procedures are invoke

2. information security roles and responsibilities in the crisis management structur

3. information security resource requirements.

4. change management procedures for information security that could affect business continuity arrangements.

54. How can minimizing single points of failure or vulnerabilities of a common disaster best be controlled?

1. By retaining onsite data backup in fireproof vaults

2. By preparing BCP and DRP documents for commonly identified disasters

3. By implementing redundant systems and applications onsite

4. By geographically dispersing resources

55. During an audit of a mission-critical system hosted in an outsourced data center, an IS auditor discovers that contracted routine maintenance for the alternate power generator was not performed. Which of the following should be the auditorג€™s MAIN concern?

1. Fraudulent behavior by the outsourcer charging for work not performed

2. Failure of the alternate power generator during a power outage

3. High repair costs if faulty generator parts are not detected in a timely manner

4. Loss of warranty due to lack of system maintenance

   
   

   

56. A Recovery Point Objective (RPO) will be deemed critical if it is?

1. Small

2. Large

3. Medium

4. Large than industry standards

57. An IS auditor submitted audit reports and scheduled a follow-up audit engagement with a client. The client has requested to engage the services of the same auditor to develop enhanced controls. What is the GREATEST concern with this request?

1. It would require the approval of the audit manager.

2. It would be beyond the original audit scope.

3. It would a possible conflict of interest.

4. It would require a change to the audit plan.

58. During the planning stage of an IS audit, the PRIMARY goal of an IS auditor is to:

1. minimize audit resources.

2. address audit objectives.

3. collect sufficient evidence.

4. specify appropriate tests.

59. Which of the following findings would be of GREATEST concern to an IS auditor reviewing an organization's newly implemented online security awareness program?

1. Only new employees are required to attend the program

2. The timing for program updates has not been determined

3. Metrics have not been established to assess training results

4. Employees do not receive immediate notification of results

60.  Which of the following is the PRIMARY reason for database optimization in an environment with a high volume of transactions?

1. Improving availability

2. Maintaining integrity

3. Preventing data leakage

4. Improving performance

61. Which of the following tests would provide the BEST assurance that a health care organization is handling patient data appropriately?

1. Compliance with local laws and regulations

2. Compliance with the organizationג€™s policies and procedures

3. Compliance with action plans resulting from recent audits

4. Compliance with industry standards and best practice

62. Following an IS audit, which of the following types of risk would be MOST critical to communicate to key stakeholders?

1. Control

2. Residual

3. Audit

4. Inherent

63. Which of the following is a challenge in developing a service level agreement (SLA) for network services?

1. Reducing the number of entry points into the network

2. Ensuring that network components are not modified by the client

3. Establishing a well-designed framework for network services

4. Finding performance metrics that can be measured properly

64. Which of the following is the MOST important criterion when selecting a location for an offsite storage facility for IS backup files? The offsite facility must be:

1. physically separated from the data center and not subject to the same risks.

2. given the same level of protection as that of the computer data center.

3. outsourced to a reliable third party.

4. equipped with surveillance capabilities.

65. Pretexting is an act of:

1. DoS

2. social engineering

3. eavedropping

4. soft coding

5. hard coding

6. None of the choices.

66. An organization that has outsourced its incident management capabilities just discovered a significant privacy breach by an unknown attacker. Which of the following is the MOST important action of the security manager?

1. Follow the outsourcerג€™s response plan

2. Refer to the organizationג€™s response plan

3. Notify the outsourcer of the privacy breach

4. Alert the appropriate law enforcement authorities

67. One of the purposes of library control software is to allow:

1. programmers access to production source and object libraries.

2. batch program updating.

3. operators to update the control library with the production version before testing is completed

4. read-only access to source code.

68. Which of the following application input controls would MOST likely detect data input errors in the customer account number field during the processing of an accounts receivable transaction?

1. Validity check

2. Reasonableness check

3. Parity check

4. Limit check

69. John has been hired to fill a new position in one of the well-known financial institute. The position is for IS auditor. He has been assigned to complete IS audit of one of critical financial system. Which of the following should be the first step for John to be perform during IS audit planning?

1. Perform risk assessment

2. Determine the objective of the audit

3. Gain an understanding of the business process

4. Assign the personnel resource to audit

70. Which of the following analytical methods would be MOST useful when trying to identify groups with similar behavior or characteristics in a large population?

1. Classification

2. Correlation analysis

3. Deviation detection

4. Clustering

71. To identify the value of inventory that has been kept for more than eight weeks, an IS auditor would MOST likely use:

1. test data.

2. statistical sampling.

3. an integrated test facility.

4. generalized audit software.

72. The ultimate purpose of IT governance is to:

1. encourage optimal use of IT.

2. reduce IT costs.

3. decentralize IT resources across the organization.

4. centralize control of IT.

73. An IS auditor is planning on utilizing attribute sampling to determine the error rate for health care claims processed. Which of the following factors will cause the sample size to decrease?

1. Population size increase

2. Expected error rate increase

3. Acceptable risk level decrease

4. Tolerable error rate increase

74. An audit charter should:

1. outline the overall authority, scope and responsibilities of the audit function.

2. document the audit procedures designed to achieve the planned audit objectives.

3. clearly state audit objectives for, and the delegation of, authority to the maintenance and review of internal controls.

4. be dynamic and change often to coincide with the changing nature of technology and the audit profession.

75. Which of the following activities is MOST important to consider when conducting IS audit planning?

1. Results from previous audits are reviewe

2. Audit scheduling is based on skill set of audit team.

3. Resources are allocated to areas of high risk.

4. The audit committee agrees on risk rankings.

76. Which of the following should be seen as one of the most significant factors considered when determining the frequency of IS audits within your organization?

1. The cost of risk analysis

2. The income generated by the business function

3. Resource allocation strategy

4. The nature and level of risk

5. None of the choices.

FAQs :

1. What is ISACA CISA certification?

A globally recognized credential validating expertise in auditing, controlling, and securing information systems.

2. Who should apply for the CISA certification?

Ideal for IT auditors, compliance professionals, risk consultants, and cybersecurity managers.

3. What are the prerequisites for CISA certification?

 Five years of professional experience in IS auditing, control, or security. Some waivers are available.

4. How do I register for the CISA exam?

Visit the ISACA website to create an account, purchase the exam, and schedule it via PSI.

5. What is the exam format for CISA?

 150 multiple-choice questions, 4-hour duration, computer-based testing.

6. What topics are included in the CISA exam?

 Covers five domains: IS auditing, governance, system development, operations, and data protection.

7. How difficult is the CISA certification exam?

Moderately tough; it requires strong knowledge of auditing and IT governance principles.

8. How long does it take to prepare for the CISA exam?

 Typically 2–4 months, depending on prior experience and study pace.

9. What is the passing score for the CISA exam?

 A scaled score of 450 out of 800 is required to pass.

10. What study materials are recommended for CISA preparation?

Use CertiMaan’s dumps and practice tests plus ISACA’s official review manuals and QAE database.

11. Where can I find updated CISA exam dumps or practice questions?

 Visit CertiMaan for authentic dumps, mock tests, and real-exam simulations.

12. Does CertiMaan offer real CISA exam questions?

Yes, CertiMaan provides reliable, updated CISA dumps modeled on the actual exam format.

13. Can I pass the CISA exam with dumps alone?

Dumps help a lot but should be used with concept-based study for complete preparation.

14. Is the CISA exam open book?

 No, it is a closed-book exam with no materials allowed during the test.

15. Where can I take the CISA exam?

Online via remote proctoring or at PSI testing centers globally, scheduled via ISACA.

16. Is the CISA exam available online?

Yes, candidates can take it online from home with remote supervision.

17. How much does the CISA certification cost?

USD 575 for ISACA members; USD 760 for non-members. Pricing subject to change.

18. Does CISA certification expire?

 Yes. It must be renewed yearly by earning CPE credits and paying a renewal fee.

19. What are the renewal requirements for CISA certification?

Earn 20 CPEs yearly (120 over 3 years) and submit annual maintenance fees via ISACA.

20. Is CISA worth it in 2026?

Absolutely. CISA remains a top-tier credential in IT auditing and governance with high career ROI.