Free Practice Questions for Isaca CDPSE Exam

A data dictionary is a document that defines and describes the data elements, attributes, formats, sources, destinations, purposes and relationships of a data set or system. A data dictionary would be the best way to ensure personal data usage is standardized across the entire organization, as it would provide a common and consistent understanding and reference for how personal data is collected, used, disclosed and transferred within and outside the organization. A data dictionary would also help to ensure compliance with privacy principles, such as accuracy, transparency and accountability. The other options are not as effective as developing a data dictionary in ensuring personal data usage is standardized across the entire organization. De-identify all data is a technique that removes or modifies direct and indirect identifiers in a data set to prevent or limit the identification of the data subjects, but it does not ensure standardization or consistency of personal data usage across the organization. Encrypt all sensitive data is a technique that transforms plain text data into cipher text using an algorithm and a key, making it unreadable by unauthorized parties, but it does not ensure standardization or consistency of personal data usage across the organization. Perform data discovery is a process of identifying and locating personal data within an organization’s systems, databases, applications or files, but it does not ensure standardization or consistency of personal data usage across the organization1, p. 69-70 References: 1: CDPSE Review Manual (Digital Version)

Sectoral is a privacy protection reference model that refers to a system of laws and regulations that apply to specific sectors or industries within a jurisdiction, such as health, finance, education or telecommunications. Sectoral privacy protection is typically characterized by having different rules and standards for different types of personal data or data processing activities, depending on the sensitivity and value of the data or the impact and risk of the processing. When a government’s health division established the complete privacy regulation for only the health market, it is using a sectoral privacy protection reference model, as it is addressing the specific needs and challenges of the health sector in terms of privacy protection. The other options are not applicable in this scenario. Co-regulatory is a privacy protection reference model that refers to a system of laws and regulations that are supplemented by self-regulation mechanisms, such as codes of conduct, standards or certification schemes, developed by industry associations or professional bodies with oversight from government agencies or regulators. Comprehensive is a privacy protection reference model that refers to a system of laws and regulations that apply to all sectors and industries within a jurisdiction, regardless of the type or nature of personal data or data processing activities. Self-regulatory is a privacy protection reference model that refers to a system of laws and regulations that rely on voluntary compliance by organizations with their own policies and procedures, without any external oversight or enforcement from government agencies or regulators1, p. 63-64 References: 1: CDPSE Review Manual (Digital Version)

The first step for an IT privacy practitioner following a decision to expand remote working capability is to evaluate the impact resulting from this change on the organization’s privacy policies, programs and practices. This will help identify the risks and gaps that need to be addressed, as well as the opportunities for improvement and optimization. The other options are possible actions that may be taken after the impact assessment, depending on the results and recommendations.

References:

CDPSE Exam Content Outline, Domain 1 – Privacy Governance (Governance, Management & Risk Management), Task 1: Identify issues requiring remediation and opportunities for process improvement1.

CDPSE Review Manual, Chapter 1 – Privacy Governance, Section 1.3 – Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA)2.

Privacy by design is an approach that embeds privacy principles and considerations into the design and development of products, services, systems, and processes that involve personal data. Privacy by design aims to protect the privacy and security of the data subjects, as well as to comply with the applicable privacy laws and regulations. One of the key principles of privacy by design is to obtain the consent and choice of the data subjects regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of their personal data. Therefore, the best example of privacy by design in the development of a consumer mobile application is to require consent before sharing locations, as this gives the data subjects control and transparency over their personal data. The other options are not as effective or sufficient as requiring consent before sharing locations, as they do not address the principle of consent and choice, or they may violate other privacy principles or requirements.

References: CDPSE Review Manual, 2021, p. 35

Classifying sensitive unstructured data should be done first to address the situation of the proliferation of personal data held as unstructured data, as it helps to identify the types, locations, and owners of the data, and to apply the appropriate privacy controls and measures based on the data classification level. Classifying sensitive unstructured data also facilitates the data discovery, data minimization, data retention, and data disposal processes. References: 2 Domain 3, Task 2; 5 Page 9

Domain name system (DNS) sinkhole is a technology that redirects malicious or unwanted domain names to alternative destinations, such as a fake or harmless website, a warning page, or a null address. DNS sinkhole is the most effective technology deployed at an enterprise level to block malicious tracking of user internet browsing, as it would prevent users from accessing websites that use tracking technologies, such as cookies, web beacons, or fingerprinting, to collect and analyze user behavior or preferences. DNS sinkhole would also protect users from other malicious activities, such as malware distribution, phishing attempts, or botnet command and control. The other options are not as effective as DNS sinkhole in blocking malicious tracking of user internet browsing at an enterprise level. Web application firewall (WAF) is a technology that monitors and filters incoming and outgoing web traffic to protect web applications from attacks, such as cross-site scripting (XSS), SQL injection, or denial-of-service (DoS), but it does not block malicious tracking of user internet browsing. Website URL blacklisting is a method of blocking access to websites that are known or suspected to be malicious or harmful, but it does not block malicious tracking of user internet browsing from unknown or legitimate websites that use tracking technologies. Desktop antivirus software is a technology that scans and removes viruses, malware, spyware, or other threats from desktop computers or devices, but it does not block malicious tracking of user internet browsing from websites that use tracking technologies1, p. 92 References: 1: CDPSE Review Manual (Digital Version)

Data anonymization is a method of protecting personal data by modifying or removing any information that can be used to identify an individual, either directly or indirectly, in a data set. Data anonymization aims to prevent the re-identification of the data subjects, even by the data controller or processor, or by using additional data sources or techniques. Data anonymization also helps to comply with data protection laws and regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which require data controllers and processors to respect the privacy rights and preferences of the data subjects.

The data is transformed such that re-identification is impossible is an example of data anonymization, as it involves applying irreversible techniques, such as aggregation, generalization, perturbation, or synthesis, to alter the original data in a way that preserves their utility and meaning, but eliminates their identifiability. For example, a database of customer transactions can be anonymized by replacing the names and addresses of the customers with random codes, and by adding noise or rounding to the amounts and dates of the transactions.

The other options are not examples of data anonymization, but of other methods of protecting personal data that do not guarantee the impossibility of re-identification. The data is encrypted and a key is required to re-identify the data is an example of data pseudonymization, which is a method of replacing direct identifiers with pseudonyms, such as codes or tokens, that can be linked back to the original data with a key or algorithm. Data pseudonymization does not prevent re-identification by authorized parties who have access to the key or algorithm, or by unauthorized parties who can break or bypass the encryption. Key fields are hidden and unmasking is required to access to the data is an example of data masking, which is a method of concealing or obscuring sensitive data elements, such as names or credit card numbers, with characters, symbols or blanks. Data masking does not prevent re-identification by authorized parties who have permission to unmask the data, or by unauthorized parties who can infer or guess the hidden data from other sources or clues. Names and addresses are removed but the rest of the data is left untouched is an example of data deletion, which is a method of removing direct identifiers from a data set. Data deletion does not prevent re-identification by using indirect identifiers, such as age, gender, occupation or location, that can be combined or matched with other data sources to re-establish the identity of the data subjects.

References:

Big Data Deidentification, Reidentification and Anonymization - ISACA, section 2: “Anonymization is the ability for the data controller to anonymize the data in a way that it is impossible for anyone to establish the identity of the data.”

Data Anonymization - Overview, Techniques, Advantages, section 1: “Data anonymization is a method of ensuring that the company understands and enforces its duty to secure sensitive, personal, and confidential data in a world of highly complex data protection mandates that can vary depending on where the business and the customers are based.”

The best way to address privacy concerns when an organization captures personal data from a third party through an open application programming interface (API) is to obtain consent from the data subjects. Consent is a freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous indication of the data subject’s wishes by which they agree to the processing of their personal data by the organization for a defined purpose. Consent is one of the legal bases for processing personal data under various privacy laws and regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Obtaining consent from the data subjects can help ensure that they are aware of and agree to the collection and use of their personal data by the organization through the open API. Obtaining consent can also help respect the data subject’s rights and preferences regarding their personal data.

Developing a service level agreement (SLA) with the third party, implementing encryption for the data transmission, or reviewing the specification document of the open API are also good practices for addressing privacy concerns when using an open API to capture personal data from a third party, but they are not the best way. Developing an SLA with the third party can help define the roles, responsibilities, expectations, and obligations of both parties regarding the provision and use of the open API and the personal data involved. Implementing encryption for the data transmission can help protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the personal data transferred between the third party and the organization through the open API. Reviewing the specification document of the open API can help understand the functionality, features, parameters, or requirements of the open API and how it handles personal data.

References: Open APIs and Security Risks | Govenda Board Portal Software, The top API security risks and how to mitigate them - Appinventiv, Critical API security risks: 10 best practices | TechBeacon

A third-party privacy control assessment is an independent and objective evaluation of the design and effectiveness of the privacy controls implemented by an organization to protect personal data and comply with privacy laws and regulations. A third-party privacy control assessment can help senior management to verify the success of its commitment to privacy by design, by providing the following benefits:

It can measure the extent to which the organization has adopted and integrated the principles and practices of privacy by design throughout its products, services, processes and systems.

It can identify the strengths and weaknesses of the organization’s privacy governance, policies, procedures, standards and guidelines, and provide recommendations for improvement.

It can validate the organization’s compliance with the applicable privacy requirements and expectations of its customers, stakeholders, regulators and auditors.

It can enhance the organization’s reputation and trustworthiness as a responsible and transparent data controller and processor.

The other options are less effective or irrelevant for verifying the success of the commitment to privacy by design. Reviewing the findings of an industry benchmarking assessment may provide some insights into how the organization compares with its peers or competitors in terms of privacy performance, but it may not reflect the specific privacy goals, risks and challenges of the organization. Identifying trends in the organization’s amount of compromised personal data or number of privacy incidents may indicate some aspects of the organization’s privacy maturity, but they are reactive and lagging indicators that do not capture the proactive and preventive nature of privacy by design. Moreover, these metrics may not account for other factors that may influence the occurrence or impact of data breaches or privacy violations, such as external threats, human errors or environmental changes.

References:

Privacy by Design: How Far Have We Come? - ISACA, section 1: “Privacy by design challenges conventional system thinking. It mandates that any system, process or infrastructure that uses personal data consider privacy throughout its development life cycle.”

Privacy Control Assessment - ISACA, section 1: “A Privacy Control Assessment (PCA) is an independent evaluation performed by a qualified assessor to determine whether an entity’s controls are suitably designed and operating effectively to meet its objectives related to protecting personal information.”

Privacy by Design: The New Competitive Advantage - ISACA, section 2: “Privacy by design is a proactive approach to embedding privacy into the design specifications of various technologies, business practices and networked infrastructure.”

The best testing method to identify and review the application’s runtime modules is dynamic application security testing (DAST). DAST is a testing technique that analyzes the application’s behavior and functionality during its execution. DAST can detect security and privacy vulnerabilities that are not visible in the source code, such as injection attacks, cross-site scripting, broken authentication, sensitive data exposure, or improper error handling. DAST can also simulate real-world attacks and test the application’s response and resilience. DAST can provide a comprehensive and realistic assessment of the application’s security and privacy posture in the pre-production environment. References:

[ISACA Glossary of Terms]

[OWASP Top 10 Web Application Security Risks]

[ISACA CDPSE Review Manual, Chapter 2, Section 2.4.2]

[ISACA Journal, Volume 6, 2018, “Dynamic Application Security Testing”]