Which practice can help reduce the effort required to assess controls?

Which practice can help reduce the effort required to assess controls?

• A. Assess control enhancements first
• B. Maximize the use of common controls in the system
• C. Utilize automated tools exclusively
• D. Conduct assessments every six months

Answer: (B)

Choosing to maximize the use of common controls in the system is an effective practice for reducing the effort required to assess controls. Common controls are security mechanisms that serve multiple information systems, allowing organizations to implement and assess a single control for several systems simultaneously. By centralizing the assessment of these common controls, organizations can streamline their audit processes and decrease duplication of efforts, thus leading to greater efficiency and reduced resource expenditure. Implementing common controls helps to minimize the number of unique controls that need to be assessed individually for each system. It also facilitates consistency across systems, as common controls can help ensure that baseline security measures are uniformly applied, simplifying compliance and risk management efforts. Utilizing automated tools exclusively, for example, may improve certain aspects of the assessment process but does not inherently reduce the overall effort required since the tools will still need proper configuration, management, and oversight. Additionally, conducting assessments every six months may not lead to less effort; in fact, more frequent assessments without appropriate focus could increase the overall workload. Assessing control enhancements first could potentially postpone addressing foundational controls, thereby complicating the assessment process when handled improperly.

Choosing to maximize the use of common controls in the system is an effective practice for reducing the effort required to assess controls. Common controls are security mechanisms that serve multiple information systems, allowing organizations to implement and assess a single control for several systems simultaneously. By centralizing the assessment of these common controls, organizations can streamline their audit processes and decrease duplication of efforts, thus leading to greater efficiency and reduced resource expenditure.

Implementing common controls helps to minimize the number of unique controls that need to be assessed individually for each system. It also facilitates consistency across systems, as common controls can help ensure that baseline security measures are uniformly applied, simplifying compliance and risk management efforts.

Utilizing automated tools exclusively, for example, may improve certain aspects of the assessment process but does not inherently reduce the overall effort required since the tools will still need proper configuration, management, and oversight. Additionally, conducting assessments every six months may not lead to less effort; in fact, more frequent assessments without appropriate focus could increase the overall workload. Assessing control enhancements first could potentially postpone addressing foundational controls, thereby complicating the assessment process when handled improperly.