ISC2 CC Business Continuity, DR & Incident Response Practice Question
This CC practice question tests your understanding of business continuity, dr & incident response. 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.
A security analyst receives an alert of unusual network traffic from an internal host to an external IP known for command-and-control. After isolating the host, what should be the next step?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Preserve forensic evidence and analyze
Preserving forensic evidence and analyzing the host is the correct next step because incident response methodology (e.g., NIST SP 800-61) requires containment followed by evidence collection and analysis to determine the scope of compromise, identify indicators of compromise (IOCs), and understand the attack vector. Wiping or reimaging destroys volatile data (e.g., memory, running processes, network connections) and artifacts (e.g., registry keys, prefetch files, event logs) that are critical for attribution and remediation. Analysis may involve memory forensics (using tools like Volatility) and disk forensics to extract malware samples, C2 communication logs, and lateral movement traces.
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.
✗
Wipe the host and reinstall OS
Why it's wrong here
Premature; may destroy evidence needed for investigation.
✓
Preserve forensic evidence and analyze
Why this is correct
Preserving and analyzing evidence is critical to understand the compromise and prevent future incidents.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Reimage the host from backup
Why it's wrong here
Reimaging may be done after analysis; doing it immediately could destroy evidence.
✗
Notify law enforcement
Why it's wrong here
Internal investigation should occur first; law enforcement may be notified later if necessary.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
ISC2 often tests the misconception that immediate containment (like wiping or reimaging) is the priority, but the trap here is that the CC exam emphasizes the incident response process order: isolate, then preserve evidence, then analyze, then remediate — skipping evidence preservation violates standard forensic procedures.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In incident response, the 'preserve and analyze' step often involves creating a forensic image of the disk (using dd or FTK Imager) and capturing a memory dump (using tools like WinPmem or LiME) before any system changes. This ensures that volatile data (e.g., active network connections, encryption keys in memory) and non-volatile data (e.g., file system metadata, MFT records) are preserved for timeline analysis. A real-world scenario where this matters is a ransomware attack: without memory analysis, the encryption key may be lost, and without disk forensics, the initial access vector (e.g., phishing link or RDP brute force) may remain unknown.
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 developer is choosing between AES-256 (symmetric) and RSA-2048 (asymmetric) for encrypting a large file that will be sent to a partner. Symmetric encryption is fast but requires key exchange; asymmetric is slower but solves the key distribution problem. A hybrid approach — encrypt the file with AES, encrypt the AES key with RSA — is standard. Questions like this test whether you understand when each approach applies.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this CC question in full detail.
Business Continuity, DR & Incident Response — This question tests Business Continuity, DR & Incident Response — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Preserve forensic evidence and analyze — Preserving forensic evidence and analyzing the host is the correct next step because incident response methodology (e.g., NIST SP 800-61) requires containment followed by evidence collection and analysis to determine the scope of compromise, identify indicators of compromise (IOCs), and understand the attack vector. Wiping or reimaging destroys volatile data (e.g., memory, running processes, network connections) and artifacts (e.g., registry keys, prefetch files, event logs) that are critical for attribution and remediation. Analysis may involve memory forensics (using tools like Volatility) and disk forensics to extract malware samples, C2 communication logs, and lateral movement traces.
What should I do if I get this CC 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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
This CC practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 CC exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.