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A SIEM alert shows a workstation connecting to the same unknown internet address every 15 minutes, even after business hours. The device belongs to an employee who is on vacation. What is the best next step for the analyst?

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A SIEM alert shows a workstation connecting to the same unknown internet address every 15 minutes, even after business hours. The device belongs to an employee who is on vacation. What is the best next step for the analyst?

Answer choices

Why each option matters

Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.

A

Distractor review

Dismiss the alert because periodic connections are always normal for workstations.

Regular timing can be normal, but unknown destinations still need verification.

B

Best answer

Treat the alert as potentially malicious and check endpoint and proxy logs for more context.

Unknown periodic outbound traffic can indicate beaconing, so additional log review is the right next step.

C

Distractor review

Immediately delete the workstation account from the directory service.

Deleting accounts is destructive and not an appropriate first response.

D

Distractor review

Shut down the entire office network until the analyst can review the alert.

This would be highly disruptive and is not justified by a single alert.

Common exam trap

Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic

NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.

Technical deep dive

How to think about this question

NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.

KKey Concepts to Remember

  • Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
  • PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
  • Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
  • NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.

TExam Day Tips

  • Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
  • Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
  • Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.

Related practice questions

Related SY0-701 practice-question pages

Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.

More questions from this exam

Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.

FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this SY0-701 question test?

Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Treat the alert as potentially malicious and check endpoint and proxy logs for more context. — The best next step is to treat the alert as potentially malicious and gather more evidence from endpoint and proxy logs. Repeated outbound connections to an unknown address at a fixed interval can be consistent with beaconing, but the analyst should confirm whether the traffic is expected software, a legitimate agent, or something suspicious. Additional context helps determine whether the alert is a true positive or a benign scheduled connection. Why others are wrong: Option A ignores the unknown destination and would miss a possible threat. Option C is a destructive action that should not be taken based on one alert. Option D is far too disruptive for initial triage and is not a proportionate response before confirming the incident.

What should I do if I get this SY0-701 question wrong?

Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.

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