ISACA CRISC Certification (Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control)

Domain 1—Risk Identification

Identify the universe of IT risk to contribute to the execution of the IT risk management strategy in support of business objectives and in alignment with the enterprise risk management (ERM) strategy.

• 1.1 Collect and review information, including existing documentation, regarding the organization’s internal and external business and IT environments to identify potential or realized impacts of IT risk to the organization’s business objectives and operations.
• 1.2 Identify potential threats and vulnerabilities to the organization’s people, processes and technology to enable IT risk analysis.
• 1.3 Develop a comprehensive set of IT risk scenarios based on available information to determine the potential impact to business objectives and operations.
• 1.4 Identify key stakeholders for IT risk scenarios to help establish accountability.
• 1.5 Establish an IT risk register to help ensure that identified IT risk scenarios are accounted for and incorporated into the enterprise-wide risk profile.
• 1.6 Identify risk appetite and tolerance defined by senior leadership and key stakeholders to ensure alignment with business objectives.
• 1.7 Collaborate in the development of a risk awareness program, and conduct training to ensure that stakeholders understand risk and to promote a risk-aware culture.

Domain 2—IT Risk Assessment

Analyze and evaluate IT risk to determine the likelihood and impact on business objectives to enable risk-based decision making.

• 2.1 Analyze risk scenarios based on organizational criteria (e.g., organizational structure, policies, standards, technology, architecture, controls) to determine the likelihood and impact of an identified risk.
• 2.2 Identify the current state of existing controls and evaluate their effectiveness for IT risk mitigation.
• 2.3 Review the results of risk and control analysis to assess any gaps between current and desired states of the IT risk environment.
• 2.4 Ensure that risk ownership is assigned at the appropriate level to establish clear lines of accountability.
• 2.5 Communicate the results of risk assessments to senior management and appropriate stakeholders to enable risk-based decision making.
• 2.6 Update the risk register with the results of the risk assessment.

Domain 3—Risk Response and Mitigation

Determine risk response options and evaluate their efficiency and effectiveness to manage risk in alignment with business objectives.

• 3.1 Consult with risk owners to select and align recommended risk responses with business objectives and enable informed risk decisions.
• 3.2 Consult with, or assist, risk owners on the development of risk action plans to ensure that plans include key elements (e.g., response, cost, target date).
• 3.3 Consult on the design and implementation or adjustment of mitigating controls to ensure that the risk is managed to an acceptable level.
• 3.4 Ensure that control ownership is assigned to establish clear lines of accountability.
• 3.5 Assist control owners in developing control procedures and documentation to enable efficient and effective control execution.
• 3.6 Update the risk register to reflect changes in risk and management’s risk response.
• 3.7 Validate that risk responses have been executed according to the risk action plans.

Domain 4—Risk and Control Monitoring and Reporting

Continuously monitor and report on IT risk and controls to relevant stakeholders to ensure the continued efficiency and effectiveness of the IT risk management strategy and its alignment to business objectives.

• 4.1 Define and establish key risk indicators (KRIs) and thresholds based on available data, to enable monitoring of changes in risk.
• 4.2 Monitor and analyze key risk indicators (KRIs) to identify changes or trends in the IT risk profile.
• 4.3 Report on changes or trends related to the IT risk profile to assist management and relevant stakeholders in decision making.
• 4.4 Facilitate the identification of metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to enable the measurement of control performance.
• 4.5 Monitor and analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) to identify changes or trends related to the control environment and determine the efficiency and effectiveness of controls.
• 4.6 Review the results of control assessments to determine the effectiveness of the control environment.
• 4.7 Report on the performance of, changes to, or trends in the overall risk profile and control environment to relevant stakeholders to enable decision making.

CRISC Knowledge Statements

Knowledge of:

• 1. Laws, regulations, standards and compliance requirements
• 2. Industry trends and emerging technologies
• 3. Enterprise systems architecture (e.g., platforms, networks, applications, databases and operating systems)
• 4. Business goals and objectives
• 5. Contractual requirements with customers and third-party service providers
• 6. Threats and vulnerabilities related to:
• 6.1. Business processes and initiatives
• 6.2. Third-party management
• 6.3. Data management
• 6.4. Hardware, software and appliances
• 6.5. The system development life cycle (SDLC)
• 6.6. Project and program management
• 6.7. Business continuity and disaster recovery management (DRM)
• 6.8. Management of IT operations
• 6.9. Emerging technologies
• 7. Methods to identify risk
• 8. Risk scenario development tools and techniques
• 9. Risk identification and classification standards, and frameworks
• 10. Risk events/incident concepts (e.g., contributing conditions, lessons learned, loss result)
• 11. Elements of a risk register
• 12. Risk appetite and tolerance
• 13. Risk analysis methodologies (quantitative and qualitative)
• 14. Organisational structures
• 15. Organisational culture, ethics and behavior
• 16. Organisational assets (e.g., people, technology, data, trademarks, intellectual property) and business processes, including enterprise risk management (ERM)
• 17. Organisational policies and standards
• 18. Business process review tools and techniques
• 19. Analysis techniques (e.g., root cause, gap, cost-benefit, return on investment [ROI])
• 20. Capability assessment models and improvement techniques and strategies
• 21. Data analysis, validation and aggregation techniques (e.g., trend analysis, modeling)
• 22. Data collection and extraction tools and techniques
• 23. Principles of risk and control ownership
• 24. Characteristics of inherent and residual risk
• 25. Exception management practices
• 26. Risk assessment standards, frameworks and techniques
• 27. Risk response options (i.e., accept, mitigate, avoid, transfer) and criteria for selection
• 28. Information security concepts and principles, including confidentiality, integrity and availability of information
• 29. Systems control design and implementation, including testing methodologies and practices
• 30. The impact of emerging technologies on design and implementation of controls
• 31. Requirements, principles, and practices for educating and training on risk and control activities
• 32. key risk indicators (KRIs)
• 33. Risk monitoring standards and frameworks
• 34. Risk monitoring tools and techniques
• 35. Risk reporting tools and techniques
• 36. IT risk management best practices
• 37. Key performance indicator (KPIs)
• 38. Control types, standards, and frameworks
• 39. Control monitoring and reporting tools and techniques
• 40. Control assessment types (e.g., self-assessments, audits, vulnerability assessments, penetration tests, third-party assurance)
• 41. Control activities, objectives, practices and metrics related to:
• 41.1. Business processes
• 41.2. Information security, including technology certification and accreditation practices
• 41.3. Third-party management, including service delivery
• 41.4. Data management
• 41.5. The system development life cycle (SDLC)
• 41.6. Project and program management
• 41.7. Business continuity and disaster recovery management (DRM)
• 41.8. IT operations management
• 41.9. The information systems architecture (e.g., platforms, networks, applications, databases and operating systems)

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