Obtaining management's consent to the testing scope in writing is the most important step prior to finalizing the scope of testing, as it ensures that the penetration testers have the authorization and approval to perform the testing activities. It also protects them from any legal liabilities or accusations of unauthorized access or damage. The other options are not as important as obtaining management's consent, and they may vary depending on the specific situation and agreement. For example, some systems may not be excluded from the testing scope, and some tests may not be restricted to the test environment. References: CISA Review Manual (Digital Version) 1, page 381-382.

Comprehensive and Detailed Step-by-Step Explanation:
Consolidating multiple applications on asingle serverincreases the risk that aserver outagewillimpact multiple applicationssimultaneously.
* More Applications Affected by Outage (Correct Answer - B)
* Asingle point of failurecoulddisrupt multiple services.
* Example:If aconsolidated server crashes, all hosted applications gooffline.
* Higher OS License Fees (Incorrect - A)
* License feesmay increase, butdowntime risk is a greater concern.
* Simplified Asset Management (Incorrect - C)
* True, butdoes not outweigh the availability risk.
* Fewer Vulnerability Scans (Incorrect - D)
* Reducing the number of serversdoes not reduce security risks.
References:
* ISACA CISA Review Manual
* NIST 800-160 (System Security Engineering)

The best method to safeguard data on an organization's laptop computers is full disk encryption. Full disk encryption is a technique that encrypts all the data stored on a harddrive, including the operating system, applications, files, and folders. This means that if the laptop is lost, stolen, or accessed by an unauthorized person, they will not be able to read or modify any data without knowing the encryption key or password. Full disk encryption provides a strong level of protection for data at rest, as it prevents data leakage or exposure in case of physical theft or loss of the device.
References:
* How to Protect theData on Your Laptop
* 6 Steps to Practice Strong Laptop Security

The best recommendation for an organization that is unable to add new servers on demand in a cost-efficient manner is to build a virtual environment. A virtual environment is a technology that allows multiple virtual machines to run on a single physical server, sharing its resources and capabilities. A virtual environment can help the organization add new servers on demand in a cost-efficient manner by reducing the need for hardware acquisition, maintenance, and power consumption. The other options are not as effective as building a virtual environment, as they do not address the root cause of the problem or provide the same benefits.
Increasing the capacity of existing systems is a short-term solution that can help improve the performance and availability of the current servers, but it does not enable the organization to add new servers on demand in a cost-efficient manner. Upgrading hardware to newer technology is a costly solution that can help enhance the functionality and reliability of the servers, but it does not enable the organization to add new servers on demand in a cost-efficient manner. Hiring temporary contract workers for the IT function is an irrelevant solution that can help supplement the IT staff's skills and knowledge, but it does not enable the organization to add new servers on demand in a cost-efficient manner. References: CISA Review Manual (Digital Version), Chapter 3, Section 3.3.1