A technician needs to replace a PCI card on a desktop safely. Which of the following would be required prior to touching any of the computer parts within the desktop?

Grounding wires refer to electrical grounding of equipment or building infrastructure, not personal body grounding for a technician.

A waterproof mat provides no ESD protection and is not relevant to static electricity hazards during hardware installation.

An ESD strap attaches to the technician's wrist and connects via a grounding cord to a metal chassis or ground point, continuously dissipating static charge buildup. This prevents electrostatic discharge from transferring to sensitive components like PCI cards, which can be permanently damaged by even small static voltages. It is the standard personal protective measure specified in CompTIA A+ best practices for hardware handling.

Cable management straps organize cables inside the chassis and have no role in preventing electrostatic discharge.