What type of control is designed specifically to prevent an event from occurring?

The choice of preventive control is appropriate because this type of control is explicitly designed to stop undesirable events from happening before they occur. Preventive controls implement measures that reduce the risk of vulnerabilities being exploited or mitigate the likelihood of an event that could result in a potential loss or harm. These controls can include policies, procedures, and physical safeguards, such as access controls, employee training, and effective security measures.

In contrast, monitoring controls focus on overseeing processes to ensure they are operating as intended but do not inherently prevent issues from arising. Detective controls are meant to identify and detect unauthorized activities or errors after they have occurred, allowing for responses to events that have already taken place. Corrective controls come into play after a problem has been detected, aiming to rectify issues and restore operations to an expected level. Thus, while all types of controls play crucial roles in overall risk management, preventive controls specifically target the avoidance of events before they can impact the organization.