Try 12 free ISACA CDPSE practice questions
Real exam-style questions taken word for word from the ISACA CDPSE study guide. Three are below, with the full answer explanation. Enter your email and the full 12-question PDF is yours.
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Three questions to try right now
Work each one before you open the answer. These are the same style and depth as the Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer (CDPSE) exam expects.
Question 1. During a data discovery initiative, the project team identifies a large volume of personal data stored as unstructured data across the organization. What should be done FIRST to address this risk?
- A. Identify where sensitive unstructured data is created at the point of origin.
- B. Classify the sensitive unstructured data that has been found.
- C. Determine which users and teams currently have access to the unstructured data.
- D. Assign data ownership to each identified unstructured data set.
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Answer: B. Classification is the foundational step because it determines what the data is, how sensitive it is, and what regulatory obligations apply. Without classification, the organization cannot rationally determine which access controls, retention rules, or disposal requirements to apply, nor can it prioritize remediation by risk level. All subsequent actions depend on having a classification framework applied to the discovered data.
- A: Identifying data at the point of creation is a forward-looking preventive control; it does not address the existing unclassified data already discovered across the organization.
- C: Determining access is an important step, but access controls should be calibrated to data sensitivity, which classification must establish first.
- D: Assigning ownership requires knowing what the data is and how sensitive it is; ownership assignment before classification cannot be properly scoped or prioritized.
Question 2. A marketing team wants to use data from the organization's customer database for a new application. What should be done FIRST before the application is permitted to access that data?
- A. Confirm that the data loss prevention tool is actively logging all database activity.
- B. De-identify all personal data stored in the database before granting access.
- C. Determine exactly which data elements the application requires and for what purpose.
- D. Generate a new encryption key that includes the application as an authorized recipient.
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Answer: C. Data minimization requires that only the data actually needed for a specific, defined purpose be collected or accessed. Identifying which fields are necessary before granting access prevents excessive processing, supports purpose limitation, and informs downstream decisions such as de-identification scope or consent obligations. This first step structures all subsequent privacy controls correctly.
- A: Logging activity monitors for misuse after access is granted but does nothing to limit what data is accessed in the first place.
- B: De-identification is a valid control, but its scope cannot be correctly defined until the required data elements and their purposes are known.
- D: Rekeying encryption grants access mechanics but does not address whether the application has a lawful, minimal-scope basis to use the data.
Question 3. What is the BEST way to ensure that third-party providers processing the organization's personal data are properly addressed within the data privacy strategy?
- A. Require third-party providers to supply data dictionaries for all personal data they handle.
- B. Route all personal data processing through a single outsourced provider to simplify oversight.
- C. Require independent audits of each third-party provider's data privacy controls.
- D. Require service level agreements (SLAs) that specify data integrity and confidentiality safeguards.
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Answer: C. Independent audits provide objective, evidence-based verification that third-party providers are actually complying with privacy laws, regulations, and the organization's contractual requirements. They go beyond self-attestation or contractual commitments, identifying real gaps in controls. Data protection regulations such as GDPR Article 28 require controllers to ensure processors provide sufficient guarantees, and independent audit rights are the primary mechanism for fulfilling that duty.
- A: Data dictionaries document what data exists but do not verify whether the provider's privacy controls are implemented, operating effectively, or compliant with obligations.
- B: Concentrating all processing with one provider simplifies vendor management but does not address oversight adequacy; it also introduces single-provider concentration risk and does not reduce third-party privacy risk.
- D: SLAs establish contractual commitments for data integrity and confidentiality, which are necessary, but contractual language does not verify actual compliance; independent audits do.
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