SCS-C02 Threat Detection and Incident Response Practice Question
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of threat detection and incident response. Examine the command output carefully: the correct answer depends on what the output actually shows, not on general recall alone. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Exhibit
2023-01-15T10:30:00Z 123456789012 ENI eni-0a1b2c3d4e5f67890 192.0.2.10 203.0.113.50 443 80 6 10 1000 1500 ACCEPT OK
Refer to the exhibit. A security engineer is analyzing a VPC Flow Logs entry for an EC2 instance with private IP 192.0.2.10. The log shows an accepted outbound connection from the instance to 203.0.113.50 on port 443. The instance is not expected to initiate outbound HTTPS connections. What should the engineer do next to investigate?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Log into the instance and check for unauthorized processes or malware.
Option A is correct because the VPC Flow Logs show an accepted outbound connection from the EC2 instance to an external IP on port 443, which is unexpected behavior. The immediate next step is to log into the instance and investigate for unauthorized processes, malware, or compromised credentials that could be initiating this outbound HTTPS traffic. This aligns with incident response best practices: verify the host before making network-level changes.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Log into the instance and check for unauthorized processes or malware.
Why this is correct
The instance may be compromised; investigate the OS.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Block the IP 203.0.113.50 in the security group immediately.
Why it's wrong here
Blocking may alert the attacker and destroy evidence.
✗
Check the security group rules to see if outbound HTTPS is allowed.
Why it's wrong here
Security groups are stateful; but the connection is already allowed. The focus should be on the instance.
✗
Check Amazon Route 53 DNS logs to see what domain was resolved.
Why it's wrong here
DNS logs can help but are not the immediate next step; process investigation is more direct.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume the first step is to modify network controls (security groups or DNS logs) rather than performing host-level investigation, which is the correct incident response priority when the instance itself is the source of unexpected traffic.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
VPC Flow Logs capture metadata about network traffic but do not reveal process-level details or the content of the connection. The engineer should use tools like `ss -tunap` or `netstat` to identify the PID and associated process, then inspect the binary or script responsible. In real-world scenarios, compromised instances often beacon to command-and-control servers over HTTPS to blend in with normal traffic, making host-level forensics critical.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Threat Detection and Incident Response — This question tests Threat Detection and Incident Response — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Log into the instance and check for unauthorized processes or malware. — Option A is correct because the VPC Flow Logs show an accepted outbound connection from the EC2 instance to an external IP on port 443, which is unexpected behavior. The immediate next step is to log into the instance and investigate for unauthorized processes, malware, or compromised credentials that could be initiating this outbound HTTPS traffic. This aligns with incident response best practices: verify the host before making network-level changes.
What should I do if I get this SCS-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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