A spear phishing attack is a targeted email attack aimed at a specific individual, organization, or business. Unlike general phishing, which casts a wide net, spear phishing is highly personalized and designed to deceive the recipient into providing sensitive information.

Personalization – The email references a golf membership renewal, making it relevant and believable to the recipient.

Social Engineering – The attacker exploits the victim’s trust by pretending to be a legitimate entity.

Malicious Link – The victim clicks a fraudulent hyperlink and enters sensitive credit card details.

Financial Fraud – The goal is to steal payment information, leading to unauthorized transactions.

A. Numerous and consistent attacks on the company’s website caused the server to crash.

This describes a Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack, not spear phishing.

B. A person posing as an IT help desk representative called employees and played a generic message requesting passwords.

This describes vishing (voice phishing) rather than spear phishing.

D. Many users of a social network service received fake notifications about a new investment opportunity.

This is general phishing, as it targets multiple users instead of one individual.

IIA’s GTAG (Global Technology Audit Guide) on Cybersecurity – Emphasizes the risk of spear phishing in cyber fraud.

NIST SP 800-61 (Computer Security Incident Handling Guide) – Defines spear phishing as a highly targeted attack method.

COBIT 2019 (Governance and Management of IT) – Highlights social engineering risks in IT security.

Why Option C is Correct?Why Not the Other Options?IIA References:? Final Answer: C. A person received a personalized email regarding a golf membership renewal, and he clicked a hyperlink to enter his credit card data into a fake website.

When calculating available audit hours, the CAE must exclude non-engagement activities such as administration, meetings, professional development, and staff coaching. These are essential but not directly part of engagement execution.

Preliminary risk assessment (Option B), documentation (Option C), and reporting (Option D) are all integral steps of an engagement and should be included in engagement hours. Thus, only coaching time (Option A) should be deducted.

Manufacturing costs are classified into three main categories: direct materials, direct labor, and manufacturing overhead. These categories help organizations determine product costs, pricing strategies, and financial reporting.

Why Option B (Overhead costs, direct labor, direct materials) is Correct:

Direct materials: Raw materials used directly in production (e.g., wood for furniture).

Direct labor: Labor costs directly tied to production (e.g., factory workers assembling a product).

Manufacturing overhead: Indirect costs related to production (e.g., depreciation, factory utilities, maintenance).

These categories align with GAAP, IFRS, and cost accounting standards.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect:

Option A (Direct materials, indirect materials, raw materials):

"Indirect materials" and "raw materials" are part of manufacturing overhead and direct materials, respectively, but do not form a primary cost classification.

Option C (Direct materials, direct labor, depreciation on factory buildings):

Depreciation on factory buildings is an overhead cost, not a separate category.

Option D (Raw materials, factory employees' wages, production selling expenses):

Selling expenses are not part of manufacturing costs; they are part of operating expenses.

IIA Practice Guide – Auditing Cost Management: Defines manufacturing cost classifications.

IFRS & GAAP Cost Accounting Standards: Outline manufacturing cost components.

COSO Framework – Cost Control Guidelines: Emphasizes accurate cost allocation in financial reporting.

IIA References: