What are the four components of the Risk Management Framework (RMF)?

• A. Frame, Assess, Respond, Monitor
• B. Plan, Execute, Review, Archive
• C. Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond
• D. Implement, Operate, Maintain, Dispose

Answer: (A)

In this RMF view, risk management is built around four core activities: Frame, Assess, Respond, and Monitor. Framing sets up the context by defining the system, its boundaries, stakeholders, risk tolerance, and authorization requirements so everyone understands what protection is needed and what level of risk is acceptable. Assessing involves evaluating the security controls and the overall risk posture—checking how well controls are implemented, whether they work as intended, and what residual risk remains after protections are in place. Responding focuses on deciding and executing the risk treatment: mitigate with improvements, transfer risk through contracts or insurance, accept risk when it’s within tolerance, or avoid actions that introduce unacceptable risk. Monitoring is the ongoing activity that continuously tracks control performance and risk changes, detecting new threats or system changes and feeding this information back so reauthorization or adjustments can occur as needed. This continuous loop keeps risk management current and aligned with evolving conditions, which is why these four components are the best fit for the RMF framework described. Other choices reflect different frameworks or generic lifecycle terms, so they don’t match this RMF framing.