The use of tools simplifies this process. Not only do they usually have a database of assests, threats, and vulnerabilities but they also speed up the entire process.
Using Automated tools for performing a risk assessment can reduce the time it takes to perform them and can simplify the process as well. The better types of these tools include a well-researched threat population and associated statistics. Using one of these tools virtually ensures that no relevant threat is overlooked, and associated risks are accepted as a consequence of the threat being overlooked.
In most situations, the assessor will turn to the use of a variety of automated tools to assist in the vulnerability assessment process. These tools contain extensive databases of specific known vulnerabilities as well as the ability to analyze system and network configuration information to predict where a particular system might be vulnerable to different types of attacks. There are many different types of tools currently available to address a wide variety of vulnerability assessment needs. Some tools will examine a system from the viewpoint of the network, seeking to determine if a system can be compromised by a remote attacker exploiting available services on a particular host system. These tools will test for open ports listening for connections, known vulnerabilities in common services, and known operating system exploits.
Michael Gregg says: Automated tools are available that minimize the effort of the manual process. These programs enable users to rerun the analysis with different parameters to answer “what-ifs.” They perform calculations quickly and can be used to estimate future expected losses easier than performing the calculations manually.
Shon Harris in her latest book says:
The gathered data can be reused, greatly reducing the time required to perform subsequent analyses. The risk analysis team can also print reports and comprehensive graphs to present to management.
Reference(s) used for this question: Hernandez CISSP, Steven (2012-12-21). Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK, Third Edition ((ISC)2 Press) (Kindle Locations 4655-4661). Auerbach Publications. Kindle Edition.
and CISSP Exam Cram 2 by Michael Gregg and Harris, Shon (2012-10-25). CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, 6th Edition (Kindle Locations 2333-2335). McGraw-Hill. Kindle Edition.
The following answers are incorrect:
Much of the data gathered during the review cannot be reused for subsequent analysis. Is incorrect because the data can be reused for later analysis.
Automated methodologies require minimal training and knowledge of risk analysis. Is incorrect because it is not the best answer. While a minimal amount of training and knowledge is needed, the analysis should still be performed by skilled professionals.
Most software tools have user interfaces that are easy to use and does not require any training. Is incorrect because it is not the best answer. While many of the user interfaces are easy to use it is better if the tool already has information built into it. There is always a training curve when any product is being used for the first time.

There are some conflicting figures as to which group is a bigger threat hackers or employees. Employees are still considered to the leading source of computer crime losses. Employees often have an easier time gaining access to systems or source code then ousiders or other means of creating computer crimes.
A word of caution is necessary: although the media has tended to portray the threat of cybercrime as existing almost exclusively from the outside, external to a company, reality paints a much different picture. Often the greatest risk of cybercrime comes from the inside, namely, criminal insiders. Information security professionals must be particularly sensitive to the phenomena of the criminal or dangerous insider, as these individuals usually operate under the radar, inside of the primarily outward/external facing security controls, thus significantly increasing the impact of their crimes while leaving few, if any, audit trails to follow and evidence for prosecution.
Some of the large scale crimes committed agains bank lately has shown that Internal Threats are the worst and they are more common that one would think. The definition of what a hacker is can vary greatly from one country to another but in some of the states in the USA a hacker is defined as Someone who is using resources in a way that is not authorized. A recent case in Ohio involved an internal employee who was spending most of his day on dating website looking for the love of his life. The employee was taken to court for hacking the company resources.
The following answers are incorrect:
hackers. Is incorrect because while hackers represent a very large problem and both the frequency of attacks and overall losses have grown hackers are considered to be a small segment of combined computer fraudsters.
industrial saboteurs. Is incorrect because industrial saboteurs tend to go after trade secrets. While the loss to the organization can be great, they still fall short when compared to the losses created by employees. Often it is an employee that was involved in industrial sabotage.
foreign intelligence officers. Is incorrect because the losses tend to be national secrets. You really can’t put t cost on this and the number of frequency and occurances of this is less than that of employee related losses.
Reference(s) used for this question: Hernandez CISSP, Steven (2012-12-21). Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK, Third Edition ((ISC)2 Press) (Kindle Locations 22327-22331). Auerbach Publications. Kindle Edition.

Disaster Recovery should never be considered a discretionary expense. It is far too important a task. In order to maintain the continuity of the business Disaster Recovery should be a commitment of and by the organization.
A discretionary fixed cost has a short future planning horizon—under a year. These types of costs arise from annual decisions of management to spend in specific fixed cost areas, such as marketing and research. DR would be an ongoing long term committment not a short term effort only.
A committed fixed cost has a long future planning horizon— more than on year. These types of costs relate to a company’s investment in assets such as facilities and equipment. Once such costs have been incurred, the company is required to make future payments.
The following answers are incorrect:
committed expense. Is incorrect because Disaster Recovery should be a committed expense.
enforcement of legal statutes. Is incorrect because Disaster Recovery can include enforcement of legal statutes. Many organizations have legal requirements toward Disaster Recovery.
compliance with regulations. Is incorrect because Disaster Recovery often means compliance with regulations. Many financial institutions have regulations requiring Disaster Recovery Plans and Procedures.

A reciprocal agreement is where two or more organizations mutually agree to provide facilities to the other if a disaster occurs. The organizations must have similiar hardware and software configurations. Reciprocal agreements are often not legally binding.
Reciprocal agreements are not contracts and cannot be enforced. You cannot force someone you have such an agreement with to provide processing to you.
Government regulators do not accept reciprocal agreements as valid disaster recovery sites.
Cold sites are empty computer rooms consisting only of environmental systems, such as air conditioning and raised floors, etc. They do not meet the requirements of most regulators and boards of directors that the disaster plan be tested at least annually.
Time Brokers promise to deliver processing time on other systems. They charge a fee, but cannot guaranty that processing will always be available, especially in areas that experienced multiple disasters.
With the exception of providing your own hot site, commercial hot sites provide the greatest protection. Most will allow you up to six weeks to restore your sites if you declare a disaster. They also permit an annual amount of time to test the Disaster Plan.
References: OIG CBK Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning (pages 368 -369)
The following answers are incorrect: hot site. Is incorrect because you have a contract in place stating what services are to be provided. warm site. Is incorrect because you have a contract in place stating what services are to be provided. cold site. Is incorrect because you have a contract in place stating what services are to be provided.

You do not want the alternate or recovery site located in close proximity to the original site because the same event that create the situation in the first place might very well impact that site also.
From NIST: “The fixed site should be in a geographic area that is unlikely to be negatively affected by the same disaster event (e.g., weather-related impacts or power grid failure) as the organization’s primary site.
The following answers are incorrect:
It is close enough to become operational quickly. Is incorrect because it is not the best answer. You’d want the alternate site to be close but if it is too close the same event could impact that site as well.
It is close enough to serve its users. Is incorrect because it is not the best answer. You’d want the alternate site to be close to users if applicable, but if it is too close the same event could impact that site as well
It is convenient to airports and hotels. Is incorrect because it is not the best answer, it is more important that the same event does not impact the alternate site then convenience.
References:
OIG CBK Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning (pages 368 -369) NIST document 800-34 pg 21

Is the least expensive because it is basically a structure with power and would be the most difficult to test because you would have to install all of the hardware infrastructure in order for it to be operational for the test.
The following answers are incorrect:
non-mobile hot site. Is incorrect because it is more expensive then a cold site and easier to test because all of the infrastructure is in place.
mobile hot site. Is incorrect because it is more expensive then a cold site and easier to test because all of the infrastructure is in place.
warm site. Is incorrect because it is more expensive then a cold site and easier to test because more of the infrastructure is in place.

A warm site has some basic equipment or in some case almost all of the equipment but it is not sufficient to be operational without bringing in the last backup and in some cases more computers and other equipment.
The following answers are incorrect: hot site. Is incorrect because a hot-site is fully configured with all the required hardware. The only thing missing is the last backup and you are up and running.
Rolling hot site. Is incorrect because a rolling hot-site is fully configured with all the required hardware.
cold site. Is incorrect because a cold site has basically power, HVAC, basic cabling, but no or little as far as processing equipment is concerned. All other equipment must be brought to this site. It might take a week or two to reconstruct. References:
OIG CBK Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning (pages 368 -369)

After a test has been performed the most useful test results for manangement would be knowing what worked and what didn’t so that they could correct the mistakes where needed.
The following answers are incorrect:
elapsed time to perform various activities. This is incorrect because it is not the best answer, these results are not as useful as list of successful and unsuccessful activities would be to managment.
amount of work completed. This is incorrect because it is not the best answer, these results are not as useful as list of successful and unsuccessful activities would be to managment.
description of each activity. This is incorrect because it is not the best answer, these results are not as useful as list of successful and unsuccessful activities would be to managment.

The Business Impact Analysis (BIA) identifies time-critical aspects of the critical business processes, and determines their maximum tolerable downtime. The BIA helps to Identify organization functions, the capabilities of each organization unit to handle outages, and the priority and sequence of functions and applications to be recovered, identify resources required for recovery of those areas and interdependencies
In performing the Business Impact Analysis (BIA) it is very important to consider what the dependencies are. You cannot bring a system up if it depends on another system to be operational. You need to look at not only internal dependencies but external as well. You might not be able to get the raw materials for your business so dependencies are very important aspect of a BIA.
The BIA committee will not truly understand all business processes, the steps that must take place, or the resources and supplies these processes require. So the committee must gather this information from the people who do know— department managers and specific employees throughout the organization. The committee starts by identifying the people who will be part of the BIA data-gathering sessions. The committee needs to identify how it will collect the data from the selected employees, be it through surveys, interviews, or workshops. Next, the team needs to collect the information by actually conducting surveys, interviews, and workshops. Data points obtained as part of the information gathering will be used later during analysis. It is important that the team members ask about how different tasks— whether processes, transactions, or services, along with any relevant dependencies— get accomplished within the organization.
The following answers are incorrect: composition This is incorrect because it is not the best answer. While the make up of business may be important, if you have not determined the dependencies first you may not be able to bring the critical business processes to a ready state or have the materials on hand that are needed.
priorities This is incorrect because it is not the best answer. While the priorities of processes are important, if you have not determined the dependencies first you may not be able to bring the critical business processes to a ready state or have the materials on hand that are needed.
service levels This is incorrect because it is not the best answer. Service levels are not as important as dependencies.
Reference(s) used for this question: Schneiter, Andrew (2013-04-15). Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK, Third Edition : Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning (Kindle Locations 188-191). . Kindle Edition.
and Harris, Shon (2012-10-25). CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, 6th Edition (Kindle Locations 18562-18568). McGraw-Hill. Kindle Edition.

A live disaster test or Full interruption test is an actual simulation of the Disaster Recovery Plan. All operations are shut down and brought back online at the alternate site. This test poses the biggest threat to an organization and should not be performed until a successful Parallell Test has been conducted.
1. A Checklist test would be conducted where each of the key players will get a copy of the plan and they read it to make sure it has been properly developed for the specific needs of their departments.
2. A Structure Walk Through would be conducted next. This is when all key players meet together in a room and they walk through the test together to identify shortcoming and dependencies between department.
3. A simulation test would be next. In this case you go through a disaster scenario up to the point where you would move to the alternate site. You do not move to the alternate site and you learn from your mistakes and you improve the plan. It is the right time to find shortcomings.
4. A Parallell Test would be done. You go through a disaster scenario. You move to the alternate site and you process from both sites simultaneously. 5. A full interruption test would be conducted. You move to the alternate site and you resume processing at the alternate site.
The following answers are incorrect:
Restore all files in preparation for the test. Is incorrect because you would restore the files at the alternate site as part of the test not in preparation for the test.
Document expected findings. Is incorrect because it is not the best answer. Documenting the expected findings won’t help if you have not performed tests prior to a Full interruption test or live disaster test.
Arrange physical security for the test site. Is incorrect because it is not the best answer. why physical security for the test site is important if you have not performed a successful structured walk-through prior to performing a Full interruption test or live disaster test you might have some unexpected and disasterous results.