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.
Match each incident response action to its primary purpose during a suspected endpoint compromise.
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "primary"
Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
Drag a concept onto its matching description — or click a concept then click the description.
Contain the incident and limit spread to other systems
Preserve evidence that could disappear after power-off
Eradicate persistence and return the system to a trusted state
Recover business operations and return service to normal
Complete lessons learned and improve future response
Correct answer & explanation
Incident response actions are sequenced to contain, preserve, analyze, remove, and learn from the incident. Isolating prevents spread; volatile data capture is time-sensitive; imaging preserves evidence; log analysis reveals details; eradication cleans the system; lessons learned improve processes.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Common exam traps
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
Identify which SY0-701 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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FAQ
Security Operations — This question tests Security Operations — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword: Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Identify which SY0-701 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Yes — watch for: "primary". Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Same concept, more angles
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. Match each incident response activity to the phase of the incident response lifecycle it best represents. Use each option once. 1. A SOC analyst disables a compromised account, isolates the workstation from the network, and preserves volatile evidence. 2. The team images the infected system, removes the malicious persistence mechanism, and patches the exploited vulnerability. 3. After restoring services, the team reviews timeline gaps, detection delays, and control failures with management. 4. Before the attack occurs, the team verifies contact lists, playbooks, escalation paths, and backup credentials. 5. The team confirms suspicious authentication logs, endpoint alerts, and unusual outbound traffic indicate an active compromise.
hardWhy : Activities 1 and 2 both fall under Containment, Eradication, and Recovery as they involve immediate response and remediation. Activity 3 is Post-Incident Activity, focusing on lessons learned. Activity 4 is Preparation, done before an incident. Activity 5 is Detection and Analysis, confirming an incident.
Last reviewed: May 17, 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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