CGA Information Technology & Systems Flashcards

What is the primary purpose of an access control matrix in information security?

Answer: To define which users are authorized to access which system resources

An access control matrix maps users to the specific systems, data, and functions they are authorized to access, enforcing the principle of least privilege.

Which of the following poses the greatest cybersecurity risk in financial systems?

Answer: Unpatched software vulnerabilities exploited by attackers

Unpatched software contains known vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit; timely patching is one of the most critical cybersecurity practices.

What does the 'integrity' component of the CIA triad in information security mean?

Answer: Data is accurate, complete, and has not been improperly modified

Integrity ensures that data remains accurate and unaltered except through authorized processes, protecting against unauthorized modification.

An organization using a relational database management system (RDBMS) relies on which property to ensure that a transaction is fully completed or fully rolled back?

Answer: Atomicity

Atomicity is the ACID property that ensures a transaction is treated as an indivisible unit — either all changes commit or none do, preventing partial updates.

Which of the following is the best control to verify that all transactions submitted to a batch processing system are actually processed?

Answer: Batch control totals reconciled before and after processing

Batch control totals (record counts, financial totals) established before processing and verified after confirm that all input transactions were processed accurately.

In IT audit terminology, what is a 'ghost employee' scheme?

Answer: A payroll fraud involving fictitious employees added to the payroll system

A ghost employee scheme involves adding fictitious workers to the payroll system and diverting their paychecks to the perpetrator.