This CS0-003 practice question tests your understanding of incident response and management. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A security analyst detects unusual outbound traffic from a workstation. Which immediate action should the analyst take?
Run a full antivirus scan
Why wrong: Antivirus scan is a detection step, not immediate containment.
Create a memory dump
Why wrong: Memory dump is for forensic analysis, not immediate containment.
Disconnect the network cable
Immediate containment prevents further data loss.
Reimage the system
Why wrong: Reimaging is a recovery step, not immediate.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Disconnect the network cable
Option C is correct because disconnecting the network cable immediately isolates the workstation from the network, containing potential data exfiltration or lateral movement. This is the first step in incident response containment, as it stops the suspicious outbound traffic without destroying volatile evidence like running processes or network connections.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Run a full antivirus scan
Why it's wrong here
Antivirus scan is a detection step, not immediate containment.
Create a memory dump
Why it's wrong here
Memory dump is for forensic analysis, not immediate containment.
Disconnect the network cable
Why this is correct
Immediate containment prevents further data loss.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Reimage the system
Why it's wrong here
Reimaging is a recovery step, not immediate.
Common exam traps
CompTIA often tests the distinction between containment, eradication, and recovery phases; the trap here is that candidates confuse immediate containment (disconnect) with forensic collection (memory dump) or remediation (reimage), leading them to choose a later-phase action instead of the first response step.
Detailed technical explanation
Disconnecting the network cable (or disabling the network interface) is a form of network-level containment that preserves the system's volatile state (e.g., running processes, memory, open connections) for later forensic acquisition. In real-world scenarios, this action can prevent ransomware from encrypting network shares or stop a C2 beacon from exfiltrating data, while allowing the analyst to later capture a memory dump or disk image without the risk of further compromise.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A security team runs a vulnerability scan on a web application and discovers an unpatched SQL injection flaw. The team prioritises remediation by CVSS score — critical flaws are patched within 24 hours, high within 7 days. Questions like this test whether you understand vulnerability management processes, scanning tools, and remediation prioritisation.
What to study next
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FAQ
Incident Response and Management — This question tests Incident Response and Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Disconnect the network cable — Option C is correct because disconnecting the network cable immediately isolates the workstation from the network, containing potential data exfiltration or lateral movement. This is the first step in incident response containment, as it stops the suspicious outbound traffic without destroying volatile evidence like running processes or network connections.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
This CS0-003 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 CS0-003 exam.
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