An organization stores full payment card numbers, analysts need the last four digits for investigation, and the backup team is worried about ransomware and stolen backup media. Which three controls best address these requirements? Select three.
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.
Best answer
Tokenize primary account numbers before they reach analytics, reporting, or test systems.
Tokenization replaces sensitive values with nonusable substitutes while preserving business usefulness for many workflows. Analysts can still correlate records, but exposed reports and test data no longer reveal the true card number. This is especially valuable for payment data because it reduces the number of environments that ever handle the actual secret value.
Distractor review
Store backups on the same production storage array to simplify restore operations.
Keeping backups on the same array creates a shared failure domain and weakens ransomware resilience.
Best answer
Encrypt backup sets with keys managed outside the backup repository itself.
If backup media is stolen, strong encryption prevents the attacker from reading the contents. Separating key management from the repository reduces the chance that access to the backup system automatically exposes the encryption keys. This is a standard safeguard for backups that may be transported, replicated, or otherwise removed from the primary data center.
Distractor review
Use simple masking only in spreadsheets while leaving the source database unchanged.
Spreadsheet masking helps only a narrow view and does not protect the underlying source data.
Best answer
Keep one immutable or air-gapped backup copy to resist ransomware and theft.
An immutable or air-gapped backup copy protects recovery data from tampering, deletion, and encryption by ransomware. It also limits the impact of a stolen online backup system because the recovery copy is separated from active write access. This is a core resilience control when backup compromise is part of the threat model.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: usable hosts are not the same as total addresses
Subnetting questions often tempt you into counting all addresses. In normal IPv4 subnets, the network and broadcast addresses are not usable host addresses.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
Subnetting questions test whether you can identify the network, broadcast address, usable range, mask and correct subnet. Slow down enough to calculate the block size correctly.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- CIDR notation defines the prefix length.
- Block size helps identify subnet boundaries.
- Network and broadcast addresses are not usable hosts in normal IPv4 subnets.
- The required host count determines the smallest suitable subnet.
TExam Day Tips
- Write the block size before choosing the subnet.
- Check whether the question asks for hosts, subnets or a specific address range.
- Do not confuse /24, /25, /26 and /27 host counts.
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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.
Question 1
A laptop is suspected of being used in a malware incident. It is still powered on and connected to Wi-Fi. What should the responder do before shutting it down?
Question 2
An employee reports a ransomware note on a file server. The server is still powered on, shares are still being accessed, and management wants service restored as quickly as possible. What should the incident response team do first?
Question 3
An employee reports a ransomware note on a finance laptop. The laptop is still powered on, connected to Wi-Fi, and the user says they were just working in a spreadsheet. Management wants the fastest safe response that also preserves evidence. What should the responder do first?
Question 4
You are handed a company laptop suspected in an insider theft case. Legal says the evidence may be needed in court. Which action best preserves admissibility?
Question 5
A developer wants to reduce the risk of SQL injection in a new customer search form. Which two changes are the best mitigations? Select two.
Question 6
A branch office uses a flat LAN, and a compromise on one user workstation could spread quickly to finance systems. Management wants finance workstations isolated from general users, but finance staff still need access to a central finance application and network printer. What is the best design change?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SY0-701 question test?
CIDR notation defines the prefix length.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Tokenize primary account numbers before they reach analytics, reporting, or test systems. — Tokenization, separate backup encryption, and an immutable or air-gapped copy work together to protect the data at different layers. Tokenization reduces how often the real card number appears in reports and test systems. Encrypting backups protects the contents if media is stolen. An immutable or offline backup copy ensures recovery is still possible even after ransomware or backup tampering. Why others are wrong: Keeping backups on production storage increases the chance that one incident affects both data and recovery. Spreadsheet masking is too limited because it does not protect the original data source or backup copies. The correct controls must protect live data, backup confidentiality, and recovery availability at the same time.
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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