200-201 Security Monitoring Practice Question
An analyst finds a YARA rule that matches a file containing the string 'MZ' at offset 0 and includes 'CreateRemoteThread'. This rule likely identifies:
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
✓
A malicious executable
'MZ' indicates a PE (Portable Executable) file, and 'CreateRemoteThread' is a common API used for process injection, suggesting malware.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
A benign PDF
Why it's wrong here
PDFs start with '%PDF'.
- ✗
A network packet capture
Why it's wrong here
PCAP files have different magic bytes.
- ✓
A malicious executable
Why this is correct
PE header and injection API are typical of malware.
- ✗
A Linux ELF binary
Why it's wrong here
ELF starts with '\x7fELF'.
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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.