312-39 Proactive Threat Detection Practice Question
During a threat hunting exercise, an analyst discovers a suspicious PowerShell execution pattern using encoded commands. Which technique should the analyst employ next to determine if the activity is malicious or legitimate system administration?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Perform frequency analysis (stack counting) on the command-line arguments across the environment
Stack counting (frequency analysis) is a standard hunting method to isolate outliers in command-line execution patterns.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable verbose logging on all domain controllers
Why it's wrong here
While useful, it does not help identify the specific intent of the current anomaly.
- ✗
Run a full antivirus scan on the affected workstation
Why it's wrong here
AV detection is reactive and unlikely to catch custom, living-off-the-land techniques.
- ✗
Reimage the host immediately to prevent lateral movement
Why it's wrong here
Reimaging destroys evidence needed for the threat hunting investigation.
- ✓
Perform frequency analysis (stack counting) on the command-line arguments across the environment
Why this is correct
Stacking allows analysts to identify rare commands that are statistically unlikely in normal baselines.
About these practice questions
One of 201 original 312-39 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed August 2026 · checked against the official EC-Council exam blueprint
This 312-39 practice question is part of Courseiva's free EC-Council 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 312-39 exam.