- A
Ignore the alert because service accounts often authenticate outside normal business hours.
Why wrong: Service accounts can run outside business hours, but that does not make every off-hours logon safe or expected.
- B
Correlate the activity with the change calendar, scheduled-task logs, and ticketing records before escalating.
The best first step in triage is to determine whether the activity is authorized or anomalous. Because service-account use can be legitimate, the analyst should correlate the logon with maintenance windows, scheduled-task history, and approved change records. That quickly separates normal administrative activity from suspicious lateral movement without prematurely disrupting operations.
- C
Immediately disable the service account to stop any potential attacker activity.
Why wrong: Disabling the account may be appropriate later, but it is too disruptive before validation and can break scheduled jobs or services.
- D
Reimage the file server to remove any possible compromise.
Why wrong: Reimaging is a drastic recovery action, not an initial triage step, and would destroy valuable evidence if the alert is legitimate.
Quick Answer
The correct first step is to correlate the activity with the change calendar, scheduled-task logs, and ticketing records before escalating. This is because a service account interactive logon investigation must prioritize context over reaction; the alert shows an interactive logon at 01:12—outside the stated maintenance window of Sunday 02:00—and a subsequent server access, which could be a scheduled task misconfiguration or a genuine threat. On the Security+ SY0-701 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the incident response process, specifically the “identify” phase where you gather evidence to validate an alert before containment. A common trap is jumping to escalation or isolation without verifying authorization, which can disrupt legitimate operations. Remember the mnemonic “CCT” for Correlate, Check logs, then Ticketing—always confirm the “why” before the “who” in service account investigations.
SY0-701 Security Operations Practice Question
This SY0-701 practice question tests your understanding of security operations. 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 SIEM alert flags an interactive logon to a Windows file server from a service account that normally only runs scheduled tasks. The alert occurred at 01:12, but the maintenance window for that server is every Sunday at 02:00. The account also accessed a different server five minutes later. What should the analyst do first?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"first"Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
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
Correlate the activity with the change calendar, scheduled-task logs, and ticketing records before escalating.
Option B is correct because the analyst must first gather context to determine if the alert is a false positive or a genuine security incident. The interactive logon at 01:12 is outside the scheduled maintenance window (Sunday 02:00), and the account’s subsequent access to another server warrants correlation with change calendars, scheduled-task logs, and ticketing records to verify if the activity was authorized. This step prevents unnecessary disruption while ensuring that any anomalous behavior is properly investigated before escalation.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Ignore the alert because service accounts often authenticate outside normal business hours.
Why it's wrong here
Service accounts can run outside business hours, but that does not make every off-hours logon safe or expected.
- ✓
Correlate the activity with the change calendar, scheduled-task logs, and ticketing records before escalating.
Why this is correct
The best first step in triage is to determine whether the activity is authorized or anomalous. Because service-account use can be legitimate, the analyst should correlate the logon with maintenance windows, scheduled-task history, and approved change records. That quickly separates normal administrative activity from suspicious lateral movement without prematurely disrupting operations.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Immediately disable the service account to stop any potential attacker activity.
Why it's wrong here
Disabling the account may be appropriate later, but it is too disruptive before validation and can break scheduled jobs or services.
- ✗
Reimage the file server to remove any possible compromise.
Why it's wrong here
Reimaging is a drastic recovery action, not an initial triage step, and would destroy valuable evidence if the alert is legitimate.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may assume any activity outside business hours is automatically malicious or, conversely, that service accounts always authenticate at odd hours, leading them to ignore the alert—when the key is to recognize that the interactive logon type and the deviation from the maintenance window are the specific anomalies requiring correlation.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Windows security logs distinguish logon types: type 5 (service) for scheduled tasks, type 2 (interactive) for console or RDP sessions, and type 10 (remote interactive) for Remote Desktop. A service account performing an interactive logon is a classic indicator of lateral movement or credential abuse, as service accounts often have elevated privileges but are not intended for direct user logon. In real-world attacks like Pass-the-Hash or Kerberoasting, adversaries use service accounts to move laterally, so correlating with scheduled-task logs (Event ID 4698) and change management records helps distinguish malicious activity from authorized maintenance.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A SOC analyst notices unusual lateral movement in the network at 2 AM. The IR playbook dictates: identify and contain (isolate the affected machine), then eradicate (remove the malware), then recover (restore from backup), then document. Skipping containment before eradication risks the attacker regaining access. Questions like this test the sequence and rationale of incident response phases.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SY0-701 question test?
Security Operations — This question tests Security Operations — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Correlate the activity with the change calendar, scheduled-task logs, and ticketing records before escalating. — Option B is correct because the analyst must first gather context to determine if the alert is a false positive or a genuine security incident. The interactive logon at 01:12 is outside the scheduled maintenance window (Sunday 02:00), and the account’s subsequent access to another server warrants correlation with change calendars, scheduled-task logs, and ticketing records to verify if the activity was authorized. This step prevents unnecessary disruption while ensuring that any anomalous behavior is properly investigated before escalation.
What should I do if I get this SY0-701 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This SY0-701 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 SY0-701 exam.
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