This SY0-701 practice question tests your understanding of security operations. Examine the command output carefully: the correct answer depends on what the output actually shows, not on general recall alone. 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 SOC analyst receives an alert that a domain admin account authenticated to a file server at 02:14 from a jump host that is normally used only by the infrastructure team. The Windows logs also show a scheduled task launching a backup script at the same time, and the backup team says the task was created during yesterday's change window. What is the best next step to determine whether this is a false positive?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Correlate the authentication event with the change ticket and the scheduled task details.
Option B is correct because the alert involves a domain admin authentication from a jump host at an unusual time, but the scheduled task was created during a change window. Correlating the authentication event with the change ticket and the scheduled task details allows the SOC analyst to verify if the activity was authorized, preventing unnecessary incident response. This step aligns with the incident response process of validating alerts before taking action.
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.
✗
Disable the domain admin account immediately and wait for the backup team to respond.
Why it's wrong here
This is disruptive and may interrupt approved maintenance before validating the alert.
✓
Correlate the authentication event with the change ticket and the scheduled task details.
Why this is correct
This directly verifies whether the login and task were expected parts of an approved maintenance activity.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Escalate the alert as confirmed compromise because the login occurred after hours.
Why it's wrong here
After-hours access is suspicious, but it is not proof of malicious activity without additional evidence.
✗
Delete the scheduled task so it cannot be used again.
Why it's wrong here
Removing evidence before validation can destroy useful context and may interrupt legitimate backups.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume any after-hours admin login is malicious, but the scheduled task created during a change window provides a legitimate explanation that must be verified through correlation.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Windows scheduled tasks can be triggered by various conditions, including time-based triggers or event IDs, and they run in the context of a specified user account. The authentication event (Event ID 4624) from the jump host to the file server at 02:14 could be the result of the scheduled task executing a backup script that uses the domain admin credentials. Correlating the task's creation time (from Task Scheduler logs, Event ID 106) with the change ticket ensures the task was authorized, and checking the task's security descriptor and command line confirms its purpose.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this SY0-701 question in full detail.
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 authentication event with the change ticket and the scheduled task details. — Option B is correct because the alert involves a domain admin authentication from a jump host at an unusual time, but the scheduled task was created during a change window. Correlating the authentication event with the change ticket and the scheduled task details allows the SOC analyst to verify if the activity was authorized, preventing unnecessary incident response. This step aligns with the incident response process of validating alerts before taking action.
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: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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