Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC)-100 Questions

1. What is Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC)?

Improved Answer:

Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) is an integrated framework that ensures an organization operates effectively, manages risks proactively, and complies with applicable laws, regulations, and internal policies.
Governance defines strategic direction, accountability, and oversight.
Risk management identifies, assesses, and mitigates risks that may impact organizational objectives.
Compliance ensures adherence to legal, regulatory, and policy requirements.

What to remember:
👉 GRC is not just rules — it is decision-making, risk control, and accountability.

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2. Why is GRC critical for a national organization like NADRA?

Improved Answer:

GRC is critical for NADRA because it manages highly sensitive citizen data and national identity systems. A strong GRC framework helps protect against cyber threats, data breaches, misuse of information, and operational failures.
It ensures secure service delivery, legal compliance, public trust, and continuity of critical national services, especially during high-risk operations such as elections.

What to remember:
👉 Link GRC with citizen data, elections, and national trust.

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3. Explain the difference between governance and management.

Improved Answer:

Governance focuses on setting policies, strategic objectives, and oversight mechanisms, while management is responsible for implementing those policies and managing daily operations.
Governance answers “what and why”, whereas management addresses “how and when.”

What to remember:
👉 Governance = direction & oversight
👉 Management = execution & operations

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4. What is information security, and why is it important?

Improved Answer:

Information security is the practice of protecting information systems and data from unauthorized access, misuse, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction.
It is important because it ensures confidentiality, integrity, and availability of critical information, protects organizational reputation, ensures legal compliance, and maintains operational continuity.

What to remember:
👉 Always mention CIA + legal compliance + trust.

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5. Explain the CIA triad (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability).

Improved Answer:

Confidentiality ensures that information is accessible only to authorized individuals.
Integrity ensures that information remains accurate, complete, and unaltered.
Availability ensures that information and systems are accessible when needed by authorized users.

What to remember:
👉 Simple, clean, and professional definition.

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6. How does information security governance support organizational objectives?

Improved Answer:

Information security governance aligns security initiatives with organizational goals by ensuring risks are managed effectively and controls are implemented strategically.
It enables secure operations, supports regulatory compliance, protects assets, and builds confidence among stakeholders, allowing the organization to achieve its objectives without disruption.

What to remember:
👉 Governance supports business, it does not slow it down.

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7. What is risk in information security?

Improved Answer:

In information security, risk is the potential for a threat to exploit a vulnerability and cause harm to an organization’s assets, operations, or reputation.

What to remember:
👉 Risk = Threat × Vulnerability × Impact

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8. Difference between risk, threat, and vulnerability.

Improved Answer:

A threat is a potential cause of an unwanted incident, such as malware or insider misuse.
A vulnerability is a weakness in a system or process that can be exploited.
Risk is the likelihood and impact of a threat exploiting a vulnerability.

What to remember:
👉 Threat uses vulnerability → creates risk.

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9. What is risk appetite and risk tolerance?

Improved Answer:

Risk appetite is the amount of risk an organization is willing to accept in pursuit of its objectives.
Risk tolerance defines the acceptable level of variation or deviation from that risk appetite in specific situations.

What to remember:
👉 Appetite = strategic level
👉 Tolerance = operational limit

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10. How do you identify risks in an organization?

Improved Answer:

Risks are identified through structured risk assessment processes, including asset identification, threat analysis, vulnerability assessment, review of past incidents, audits, stakeholder interviews, and compliance evaluations.

What to remember:
👉 Risk identification is systematic, not random.