CAS-004 Security Operations Practice Question
During an incident response, the team identifies that an attacker gained initial access via a phishing email containing a malicious macro. The macro downloaded a payload from a remote server. Which phase of the incident response lifecycle is currently being executed when the team identifies the phishing email as the attack vector?
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
✓
Detection and analysis
Detection and analysis involves identifying the attack and determining its nature. The team has identified the vector, so they are in this phase.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Containment, eradication, and recovery
Why it's wrong here
These phases occur after detection.
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Preparation
Why it's wrong here
Preparation occurs before an incident.
- ✗
Lessons learned
Why it's wrong here
Lessons learned occurs post-incident.
- ✓
Detection and analysis
Why this is correct
The team is analyzing the attack vector, which is part of detection and analysis.
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JA
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.