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.
After seizing a suspected insider's laptop, a responder makes a bit-for-bit image of the drive. The legal team asks what step most directly proves the image was not altered after acquisition. What should be done?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Compute and document cryptographic hashes of the source media and the forensic image.
Option B is correct because computing and documenting cryptographic hashes (e.g., SHA-256 or MD5) of both the source media and the forensic image immediately after acquisition creates a verifiable digital fingerprint. If the hash values match, it proves that the image is an exact, unaltered copy of the original drive. This step is foundational to maintaining the chain of custody and ensuring data integrity in forensic investigations.
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.
✗
Record the laptop's hostname and the user who last logged in.
Why it's wrong here
Those details help with context, but they do not prove the image remained unchanged after acquisition.
✓
Compute and document cryptographic hashes of the source media and the forensic image.
Why this is correct
Matching hashes provide strong integrity verification and are a standard way to show the acquired evidence has not changed.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Copy the most recent files to a USB drive for quick review.
Why it's wrong here
That creates an incomplete working copy and may alter metadata or miss important system artifacts entirely.
✗
Return the laptop to the user once the image is saved.
Why it's wrong here
Returning the device too early risks contamination, tampering, and questions about evidence preservation.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse documentation steps (like recording hostnames) with integrity verification, or think that copying files to a USB drive is a valid forensic preservation method, when only cryptographic hashing provides mathematical proof of non-alteration.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cryptographic hashing uses algorithms like SHA-256 to produce a fixed-size hash value from the entire bitstream of a drive; any single bit change in the image results in a completely different hash (avalanche effect). In practice, forensic tools such as FTK Imager or dd with hashing options compute the hash during acquisition and store it in a case report, allowing later verification even years later. A real-world scenario where this matters is when defense attorneys challenge evidence integrity, and the documented hash match is the only proof that the image was not tampered with.
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: Compute and document cryptographic hashes of the source media and the forensic image. — Option B is correct because computing and documenting cryptographic hashes (e.g., SHA-256 or MD5) of both the source media and the forensic image immediately after acquisition creates a verifiable digital fingerprint. If the hash values match, it proves that the image is an exact, unaltered copy of the original drive. This step is foundational to maintaining the chain of custody and ensuring data integrity in forensic investigations.
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.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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