200-201 Host-Based Analysis Practice Question
A security analyst is analyzing a suspicious PE file. Using a hex editor, the analyst sees the MZ header (4D 5A). The file's entropy is calculated as 7.8. What does the high entropy most likely indicate?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The file is likely packed or obfuscated
High entropy (close to 8) suggests the file is packed or encrypted, as compressed or encrypted data has high randomness. This is often used by malware to evade signature detection.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The file is a legitimate signed binary
Why it's wrong here
Signed binaries typically have lower entropy.
- ✓
The file is likely packed or obfuscated
Why this is correct
High entropy is indicative of packing/encryption.
- ✗
The file is corrupted
Why it's wrong here
Corruption may not necessarily cause high entropy.
- ✗
The file contains mostly plain text strings
Why it's wrong here
Plain text would have lower entropy.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 200-201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 200-201 exam.