CS0-003 Incident Response and Management Practice Question
A security analyst is conducting static analysis of a suspicious executable. Which of the following tools or techniques is BEST suited for extracting strings and viewing the import table?
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
✓
PEview or CFF Explorer
Static analysis often involves examining the PE header, imports, and strings. Tools like PEview, CFF Explorer, or simply using 'strings' command can extract readable strings. The import table shows DLLs and functions the executable uses.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
LiME
Why it's wrong here
LiME (Linux Memory Extractor) is a kernel-level tool designed specifically for volatile memory acquisition on Linux systems. It does not provide static analysis capabilities for executable files, such as parsing Portable Executable (PE) headers or extracting embedded strings. Instead, it is used during the live response phase to capture RAM for subsequent forensic analysis.
- ✗
FTK Imager
Why it's wrong here
FTK Imager is a data preview and imaging tool used to acquire forensic copies of physical drives, logical partitions, or specific folders. While it can calculate file hashes and mount images, it lacks the specialized disassembling, decompiling, or header-parsing features required to perform static analysis on suspicious binaries.
- ✗
Cuckoo Sandbox
Why it's wrong here
Cuckoo Sandbox is an automated malware analysis system designed for dynamic analysis, which involves executing suspicious files within a secure, isolated environment to monitor their runtime behavior. Because static analysis focuses on examining a file's code, structure, and metadata without actually running it, an active sandbox is the incorrect tool for this specific phase of the investigation.
- ✓
PEview or CFF Explorer
Why this is correct
PEview and CFF Explorer are specialized static analysis utilities designed to inspect the internal structure of Portable Executable (PE) files, such as .exe and .dll files, without executing them. These tools allow analysts to examine PE headers, section headers, import/export address tables, and embedded strings to identify suspicious characteristics or indicators of compromise.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Malware Analysis: Static vs Dynamic
Key term
Analysis
In incident response, analysis is the process of examining data and events to determine what happened, how it happened, and what actions to take.
Key term
Security
Security in IT is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and data from unauthorized access, damage, or theft.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CS0-004 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 CS0-004 exam.