CAS-004 Security Operations Practice Question
A security analyst is triaging a suspicious file. The analyst wants to perform static analysis to gather initial information. Which TWO of the following are static analysis techniques?
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
✓
Checking the file hash against known malware databases
Static analysis examines the file without executing it. Checking file hashes against known malware databases and extracting strings from the binary are static techniques. Running in a sandbox is dynamic, and disassembly is more advanced reverse engineering.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Running the file in a sandbox
Why it's wrong here
This is dynamic analysis.
- ✗
Disassembling the binary to examine assembly code
Why it's wrong here
Disassembly is reverse engineering, a deeper form of static but often considered separate.
- ✓
Checking the file hash against known malware databases
Why this is correct
Hash lookup is a static technique.
- ✗
Observing network traffic generated by the file
Why it's wrong here
This is dynamic analysis.
- ✓
Extracting human-readable strings from the binary
Why this is correct
String extraction is a static technique.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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