Root Cause Analysis (RCA) employs structured techniques like the Five Whys, fishbone diagrams, or fault tree analysis to trace problems beyond immediate symptoms to their foundational causes. Effective RCA distinguishes between proximate causes (immediate triggers) and root causes (systemic factors enabling the problem), focusing remediation on sustainable fixes rather than superficial corrections. After a data breach, RCA might reveal that while an employee clicked a phishing link (proximate cause), inadequate security awareness training, missing email filtering, and lack of multi-factor authentication were root causes. RCA findings inform control enhancements, process redesign, and lessons-learned programs.