CAS-004 Security Operations Practice Question
A SOC team is implementing a SOAR platform to automate responses to phishing emails. The team wants to create a playbook that, upon detection of a phishing email, automatically quarantines the email from all mailboxes and blocks the sender's domain. Which type of playbook action is being described?
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
✓
Automated action
Automated response actions are executed by the SOAR platform without human intervention, such as quarantining and blocking.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Advisory action
Why it's wrong here
Advisory actions only surface information or recommendations to an analyst, so they cannot quarantine mail or block domains without human execution. They suit enrichment steps, such as displaying sender reputation, where the playbook informs a decision rather than enforcing it.
- ✗
Manual action
Why it's wrong here
Manual actions require an analyst to trigger the containment steps themselves, contradicting the requirement that quarantine and domain blocking happen automatically upon detection. They fit scenarios where high-impact changes need human judgement before execution, such as disabling a privileged account.
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Semi-automated action
Why it's wrong here
Semi-automated actions pause for analyst approval before executing containment, so quarantine and blocking would not occur automatically on detection. They suit destructive or irreversible responses, such as wiping an endpoint, where a human must confirm before the playbook proceeds.
- ✓
Automated action
Why this is correct
Automated actions execute without analyst intervention, which satisfies the stem's requirement that quarantine and domain blocking occur automatically upon detection. Unlike manual or semi-automated playbooks, this removes human approval from the response path, enabling immediate containment. Microsoft Entra ID and email security controls are invoked programmatically by the SOAR platform.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CAS-005 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA 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 CAS-005 exam.