SY0-701 Security Operations Practice Test 19 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Match each detection pattern to the most likely security issue. Each item has one best match.

Question 2

An EDR alert shows a user workstation launching an unfamiliar executable from the Downloads folder and then making repeated outbound connections to an IP address in another country. What is the best first response by the security team?

Accepted Answer

Isolate the workstation from the network and begin incident triage. Option B is correct because isolating the workstation from the network immediately stops the potential command-and-control (C2) communication and prevents lateral movement, which is the priority first response in incident triage. The EDR alert indicates a suspicious executable from the Downloads folder making repeated outbound connections to a foreign IP, which strongly suggests malware or a trojan. Isolating the host preserves volatile evidence (e.g., memory, network connections) for forensic analysis while containing the threat.

Answer

Wait for more alerts before taking any action to avoid disrupting the user

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Immediately reinstall the operating system without collecting evidence

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Disable the user's account in the directory service and close the ticket

Question 3

An EDR console alerts that powershell.exe launched with an encoded command on a finance workstation, and a minute later the host begins making repeated outbound connections to an unfamiliar IP address. What is the best initial response?

Accepted Answer

Isolate the workstation through the EDR platform and preserve logs and volatile evidence for investigation.. Option B is correct because isolating the workstation via the EDR platform stops the immediate threat (the malicious outbound connections) while preserving volatile evidence (e.g., running processes, network connections, memory contents) and logs for forensic analysis. This aligns with the incident response principle of containment before eradication, and EDR isolation typically uses a host-based firewall rule to block all traffic except to the EDR management server, ensuring the host remains accessible for investigation.

Answer

Run a full antivirus scan first and leave the workstation online so the user can keep working.

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Power off the workstation immediately to ensure the malicious process stops.

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Create a permanent firewall rule that allows the unfamiliar IP address so you can observe more traffic.

Question 4

A hardening script is pushed to a production web server and, within minutes, the application stops accepting secure connections. The team discovers the script disabled a required TLS setting that the legacy application still needs. What should have been in place to reduce the impact of this change?

Accepted Answer

A documented change window with testing in a staging environment and a rollback plan.. Option A is correct because a documented change window with testing in a staging environment and a rollback plan ensures that changes are validated before production deployment. In this scenario, the hardening script disabled a required TLS setting (e.g., TLS 1.0 or a specific cipher suite) that the legacy application depended on. Testing in staging would have caught the incompatibility, and a rollback plan would allow reverting the change quickly, minimizing downtime.

Answer

A longer password policy for administrators so they can log in after the outage.

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Disabling all logging during the change so the application can restart faster.

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Replacing the web server hardware to ensure the TLS settings are applied correctly.

Question 5

An NDR tool shows a production web server sending small, periodic DNS queries to random-looking subdomains under a domain the company does not use. The pattern repeats every 60 seconds, even when normal web traffic is idle. What is the best interpretation and next step?

Accepted Answer

Suspect DNS-based command-and-control, then isolate the server and collect logs and packet data for analysis.. The small, periodic DNS queries to random-looking subdomains under an unused domain are a classic indicator of DNS-based command-and-control (C2) communication. Attackers often use DNS tunneling to exfiltrate data or send commands, as DNS traffic is typically allowed through firewalls. The fact that the pattern persists even during idle web traffic confirms it is not related to normal server operations, making isolation and forensic collection the appropriate next step.

Answer

This is normal DNS behavior, so no action is needed unless users report an outage.

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Rotate the DNS server’s administrator password and leave the web server online.

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Assume the web server is performing routine certificate renewal checks and ignore the alert.

Question 6

A file server begins encrypting documents, and the SOC confirms the activity is malicious. Which incident response step should happen first to limit further damage?

Accepted Answer

Containment. Containment is the correct first step because it isolates the compromised file server from the network, preventing the ransomware from encrypting additional shares or spreading laterally. The SMB protocol (port 445) used for file sharing would be blocked at the switch or firewall, halting further encryption of documents. This aligns with the NIST SP 800-61 incident response lifecycle, where containment precedes eradication and recovery.

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Lessons learned

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Recovery

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Post-incident reporting

Question 7

A SOC analyst receives an alert from the VPN appliance and identity platform. In the last 10 minutes, a user account had 14 failed VPN logons from one country, then one successful login from a different country. The user calls the help desk and says they have not used their account today. What should the analyst do first?

Accepted Answer

Disable the user account and revoke active sessions or tokens while escalating the event as a suspected account compromise.. Option B is correct because the combination of multiple failed logins from one country followed by a successful login from a different country, combined with the user's denial of activity, is a classic indicator of account compromise (e.g., credential stuffing or token theft). Disabling the account and revoking active sessions/tokens immediately stops the attacker's access, preventing further lateral movement or data exfiltration, while escalation ensures proper incident response. This aligns with the CompTIA incident response process: identification, containment, eradication, and recovery.

Answer

Block the foreign IP address at the firewall and wait for more alerts before acting.

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Reset the user password and close the alert because the new password will stop the attack.

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Reimage the user’s laptop immediately to remove any possible malware before taking other steps.

Question 8

After a workstation hardening baseline is updated, the security team wants to confirm that finance laptops actually match the new settings. Which control is the best way to verify this?

Accepted Answer

Run a configuration compliance scan against the updated baseline. A configuration compliance scan compares the current settings of the finance laptops against the updated hardening baseline. This automated process checks specific registry keys, file permissions, service states, and security policy settings (e.g., via SCAP or CIS benchmarks) to verify alignment. It provides objective, measurable evidence of compliance, unlike subjective user feedback or assumptions.

Answer

Ask users whether they think their laptops are secure

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Assume the baseline was applied because the change ticket was approved

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Delete the old baseline so there is only one policy to reference

Question 9

A nightly backup job shows "Completed successfully" in the backup console, but a test restore fails with an authentication error after the backup service account password was rotated last week. What is the best next step?

Accepted Answer

Update the backup application with the current service account credentials and rerun a restore validation test.. The backup job succeeded because the service account had cached credentials or the backup process itself didn't require re-authentication at that point. However, the restore operation failed because the backup application's stored credentials for accessing the backup repository are now stale after the password rotation. Updating the backup application with the current service account credentials (Option B) directly resolves the authentication error and allows a proper restore validation test.

Answer

Increase the retention period so the backup console will keep more copies.

Answer

Disable the backup software firewall rule and try the restore again later.

Answer

Delete and recreate all protected files because the backup repository is probably corrupt.

Question 10

A manager asks the security team to let Human Resources inspect the files on a laptop suspected of containing stolen customer data before IT touches it. What is the best response?

Accepted Answer

Create a forensic image of the device, document the handoff, and maintain chain of custody before any analysis.. Option B is correct because the first priority in any investigation involving potential evidence is to preserve the data in its original state. Creating a forensic image (bit-for-bit copy) ensures that the original media is not altered, and documenting the handoff with a chain of custody form provides a verifiable audit trail. This process adheres to forensic best practices and legal requirements, preventing spoliation of evidence before any analysis begins.

Answer

Let HR browse the files first so they can confirm whether the data is sensitive.

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Copy the files to a shared drive so multiple departments can review them quickly.

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Factory reset the laptop immediately to prevent further leakage of customer data.

Question 11

An organization is retiring a batch of laptops with SSDs. All of the systems used full-disk encryption and stored sensitive internal documents. What is the best action before the devices leave the company?

Accepted Answer

Perform a cryptographic erase by destroying the encryption keys and document the sanitization process.. Option B is correct because a cryptographic erase (also known as a crypto-scrub) renders the encrypted data permanently inaccessible by securely destroying the encryption keys. Since the SSDs used full-disk encryption (FDE), the data is already encrypted at rest, and without the keys, the ciphertext is effectively unrecoverable. This method is fast, reliable, and compliant with sanitization standards like NIST SP 800-88, making it the best action before the devices leave the organization.

Answer

Run a quick format and remove the asset tags after the files are deleted.

Answer

Degauss the SSDs and then store them in the disposal room until pickup.

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Overwrite the drives once with random data and consider the devices ready for resale.

Question 12

A vulnerability scan finds that an old print server still has SMBv1 enabled. The business says the vendor will not support a patch for at least two months, but the server must stay online. What is the best temporary mitigation?

Accepted Answer

Move the server to a restricted network segment and allow SMB access only from required hosts.. Option A is correct because network segmentation is the most effective temporary mitigation when a patch is unavailable. By moving the print server to a restricted VLAN or firewall zone and applying an access control list (ACL) that permits SMB traffic only from known, required hosts, you reduce the attack surface and prevent widespread exploitation of SMBv1 vulnerabilities (e.g., EternalBlue). This approach follows the principle of least privilege and containment, buying time until the vendor releases a patch.

Answer

Turn off endpoint logging to reduce performance impact until the vendor releases a patch.

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Increase the password length requirement for all users and keep the server on the same network.

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Schedule a weekly reboot to clear any malicious sessions and reduce the chance of exploitation.

Question 13

A security scan finds a critical patch missing on a public-facing web server. The patch has already been tested in the lab and approved for deployment. What should the operations team do next?

Accepted Answer

Deploy the patch through the normal change process as soon as possible. Option B is correct because the patch has already been tested and approved, meaning it is ready for deployment. The operations team should follow the normal change management process to deploy the patch as soon as possible, ensuring the public-facing web server is secured against the critical vulnerability without bypassing organizational controls.

Answer

Ignore the finding because the server is already protected by a firewall

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Mark the vulnerability as accepted risk without notifying the business

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Remove the web server from the asset inventory to prevent the scanner from finding it

Question 14

A security analyst is reviewing incident response procedures. Which three of the following activities are typically performed during the 'Containment, Eradication, and Recovery' phase of the incident response process? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Rebuilding compromised servers from a secure baseline image. The 'Containment, Eradication, and Recovery' phase focuses on stopping the spread of an incident, removing the root cause, and restoring normal operations. Isolating affected systems (containment), removing malicious files and restoring from backups (eradication/recovery), and rebuilding from a secure baseline (recovery) are all core activities in this phase, as defined by NIST SP 800-61 Rev. 2 and CompTIA's incident response framework.

Answer

Performing forensic imaging of all systems before any action is taken

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Escalating the incident to law enforcement agencies

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Conducting a lessons-learned meeting with the incident response team

Question 15

An organization is implementing a new Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system. Which three of the following are primary capabilities that a SIEM provides to support security operations? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Correlation of log data from multiple sources to identify patterns of suspicious activity. A SIEM system's primary capabilities include aggregating and correlating log data from diverse sources (servers, firewalls, endpoints) to detect patterns indicative of security incidents. It provides real-time alerting by applying predefined correlation rules and anomaly detection algorithms to streaming log events. Additionally, SIEM solutions offer long-term log storage and retention, which is essential for compliance audits (e.g., PCI DSS, HIPAA) and post-incident forensic analysis.

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Automated patching of operating system vulnerabilities across the enterprise

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Blocking malicious network traffic at the perimeter firewall

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Performing vulnerability scans on internal hosts and applications