mediumMultiple SelectObjective-mapped
ISC2 CC Practice Question: According to the NIST incident response…
According to the NIST incident response lifecycle, which three phases are considered the core phases?
⚠ Common exam trap
ISC2 often tests the distinction between the core phases and sub-activities within them, so candidates mistakenly select root cause analysis or incident declaration as separate phases instead of recognizing they are tasks within the Post-Incident Activity or Detection and Analysis phases.
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
✓
Containment, Eradication, and Recovery
The NIST incident response lifecycle (SP 800-61) defines four phases: Preparation, Detection and Analysis, Containment Eradication and Recovery, and Post-Incident Activity. The core phases that form the active response cycle are Preparation (option E), Detection and Analysis (option D), and Containment Eradication and Recovery (option B). These three are the essential operational phases, while Post-Incident Activity is a follow-up phase. Options A and C are not separate phases but activities within other phases.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Root cause analysis
Why it's wrong here
Root cause analysis is typically part of Post-Incident Activity, not a separate phase.
- ✓
Containment, Eradication, and Recovery
Why this is correct
This phase focuses on stopping the incident and restoring operations.
- ✗
Incident declaration
Why it's wrong here
Incident declaration is a step within Detection and Analysis.
- ✓
Detection and Analysis
Why this is correct
This phase involves identifying and analyzing incidents.
- ✓
Preparation
Why this is correct
Preparation is the first phase involving planning, training, and resources.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Incident Response and Management
Key term
Preparation
Preparation is the first phase of incident response where organizations proactively establish policies, tools, training, and procedures to handle security incidents effectively.
Key term
Recovery
Recovery is the process of restoring systems, data, and operations after a security incident, failure, or disaster to return to normal functioning.
About these practice questions
This CC question is part of Courseiva's 976-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.