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FRM Part II · FRM Exam Part II · Case Study: Cyberthreats and Information Security Risks

An analyst at an asset manager discovers that an unauthorised insider changed the settlement account numbers on several pending trade instructions before they were released. The firm's systems stayed online and no data left the firm. Which CIA property was breached, and which control best addresses it?

Integrity was breached, and the best control is change control with logging and dual authorisation of instruction edits. The insider altered data without authority while systems stayed up and nothing leaked, so the failure is unauthorised modification, which maker-checker and audit trails detect and prevent.

  1. AIntegrity; change controls with logging and dual authorisation of instruction editsCorrect
  2. BConfidentiality; encryption of data at rest
  3. CAvailability; redundant data centres with failover
  4. DConfidentiality; stronger perimeter firewalls

Explanation

Unauthorised modification of data is an integrity failure. Controls such as maker-checker dual authorisation, audit logging and change detection directly address it. Encryption, failover and firewalls address confidentiality or availability, which were not the issue here.

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