The best thing to include in a business case when the return on investment (ROI) for an information security initiative is difficult to calculate is an estimated reduction in risk. Risk reduction is the expected benefit of implementing an information security initiative, as it reduces the likelihood and impact of threats and vulnerabilities that may affect the organization's information assets and systems. By estimating the reduction in risk, the information security manager can demonstrate the value and benefits of the information security initiative to the organization's performance, reputation, and competitiveness. The information security manager can also compare the estimated reduction in risk with the estimated cost of the information security initiative to determine its cost-effectiveness and feasibility. The other options are not the best thing to include in a business case, although they may be some inputs or outputs of the risk assessment process. A projected increase in maturity level is a potential outcome of implementing an information security initiative, as it improves the organization's capabilities and processes for managing information security risks. However, it does not necessarily reflect the actual reduction in risk or the ROI of the information security initiative. A projected cost over time is a component of calculating the ROI of an information security initiative, as it reflects the total cost of ownership and maintenance of the initiative. However, it does not indicate the expected benefit or value of the initiative. An estimated increase in efficiency is a possible benefit of implementing an information security initiative, as it may enhance the organization's productivity and performance. However, it may not be directly related to the reduction in risk or the ROI of the information security initiative.

Information security governance is MOST important to have in place to help ensure an organization's cybersecurity program meets the needs of the business. This is because information security governance provides the strategic direction, oversight and accountability for the cybersecurity program. It also ensures that the program aligns with the business objectives, risk appetite and compliance requirements of the organization. Information security governance involves defining roles and responsibilities, establishing policies and standards, setting goals and metrics, allocating resources and monitoring performance of the cybersecurity program.

The primary objective of performing a vulnerability assessment following a business system update is to review the effectiveness of controls. A vulnerability assessment is a systematic review of security weaknesses in an information system. It evaluates if the system is susceptible to any known vulnerabilities, assigns severity levels to those vulnerabilities, and recommends remediation or mitigation, if and whenever needed1. A business system update is a process of modifying or enhancing an information system to improve its functionality, performance, security, or compatibility. A business system update may introduce new features, fix bugs, patch vulnerabilities, or comply with new standards or regulations2. Performing a vulnerability assessment following a business system update is important because it helps to:
* Review the effectiveness of controls that are implemented to protect the information sys-tem from threats and risks
* Identify any new or residual vulnerabilities that may have been introduced or exposed by the update
* Evaluate the impact and likelihood of potential incidents that may exploit the vulnerabili-ties
* Prioritize and implement appropriate actions to address the vulnerabilities
* Verify and validate the security posture and compliance of the updated information sys-tem Therefore, the primary objective of performing a vulnerability assessment following a business system update is to review the effectiveness of controls that are designed to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the information system and its dat a. The other options are not the primary objectives of performing a vulnerability as-sessment following a business system update. Determining operational losses is not an objective, but rather a possible consequence of not performing a vulnerability as-sessment or not addressing the identified vulnerabilities. Improving the change control process is not an objective, but rather a possible outcome of performing a vulnerability assessment and incorporating its results and recommendations into the change man-agement cycle. Updating the threat landscape is not an objective, but rather a prereq-uisite for performing a vulnerability assessment that requires using up-to-date sources of threat intelligence and vulnerability information. Reference: 1: Vulnerability As-sessment - NIST 2: System Update - Techopedia : Vulnerability Assessment vs Penetra-tion Testing - Imperva : Change Control Process - NIST : Threat Landscape - NIST

Unexpected outcomes may arise in production when using only sanitized data for the testing of applications. Sanitized data is data that has been purposely and permanently deleted or modified to prevent unauthorized access or misuse. Sanitized data may not reflect the real characteristics, patterns, or behaviors of the original data, and thus may not be suitable for testing applications that rely on data quality and accuracy. According to NIST, data sanitization methods can affect the usability of data for testing purposes1. The other options are not risks introduced by using sanitized data for testing applications, but rather risks that can be mitigated by using sanitized data. Data loss, data disclosure, and breaches of compliance obligations are possible consequences of using unsanitized data that contains sensitive or confidential information. Reference: 2: What is Data Sanitization? | Data Erasure Methods | Imperva 3: Data sanitization techniques: Standards, practices, legislation 1: Data sanitization - Wikipedia

An organization's information security strategy should be aligned with its risk tolerance, which is the level of risk that an organization is willing to accept in pursuit of its objectives. The strategy should aim to balance the cost of security controls with the potential impact of security incidents on the organization's objectives. Therefore, an organization's risk tolerance has the greatest influence on its information security strategy.
The organization's risk tolerance has the greatest influence on its information security strategy because it determines how much risk the organization is willing to accept and how much resources it will allocate to mitigate or transfer risk. The organizational structure, industry security standards, and information security awareness are important factors that affect the implementation and effectiveness of an information security strategy but not as much as the organization's risk tolerance.
An information security strategy is a high-level plan that defines how an organization will achieve its information security objectives and address its information security risks. An information security strategy should align with the organization's business strategy and reflect its mission, vision, values, and culture. An information security strategy should also consider the external and internal factors that influence the organization's information security environment such as laws, regulations, competitors, customers, suppliers, partners, stakeholders, employees etc.