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Security Operations

Practise ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity CC Security Operations practice questions — original exam-style scenarios with answer choices, explanations, and analysis of common mistakes.

45 questions11 easy22 medium12 hard

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What this domain covers

What to know about Security Operations

Security Operations questions test whether you can apply the concept in context, not just recognise a definition.

How the topic appears in realistic exam-style scenarios.

Which detail in the question changes the correct answer.

How to eliminate plausible but wrong options.

How to connect the question back to the wider exam objective.

Watch out for

Common Security Operations exam traps

  • Answering from memory before reading the full scenario.
  • Missing a constraint such as cost, availability, security, scope or command context.
  • Choosing a broad answer when the question asks for the most specific fix.
  • Ignoring why the wrong options are tempting.

Question index

All Security Operations questions (45)

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1

An organization has a legacy system that cannot be patched due to vendor end-of-life. The system is critical for operations. Which compensating control is most appropriate to reduce the risk of exploitation?

Hard
2

A configuration management tool detects that a critical server's security settings have changed from the approved baseline. What is the first action the security team should take?

Hard
3

A SOC analyst reviews a SIEM alert indicating a high volume of outbound traffic from a server to an external IP address known for command-and-control activity. The analyst has confirmed the alert is not a false positive. What is the most appropriate next step?

Hard
4

An employee receives an email from the CEO asking for an urgent wire transfer to a new vendor. The email address is slightly misspelled. What type of attack is this?

Medium
5

A security analyst at a Security Operations Centre (SOC) receives an alert from the SIEM indicating multiple failed login attempts for a user account followed by a successful login from an unusual geographic location. According to SOC tier responsibilities, which tier should perform the initial triage of this alert?

Easy
6

An organization must retain authentication logs for compliance with PCI DSS. What is the minimum retention period and the requirement for immediate availability?

Medium
7

To protect the integrity of log files, which of the following is a best practice?

Easy
8

Which of the following is an indicator of a phishing email?

Easy
9

An employee receives an email that appears to be from the CEO requesting an urgent wire transfer to a new vendor. The email contains several grammatical errors and the sender's address is slightly misspelled. What type of security incident is this?

Medium
10

An organization is implementing a patch management policy. Which THREE steps are part of the standard patch lifecycle?

Medium
11

An organization wants to ensure that all workstations are configured according to a hardened baseline. Which process detects when a workstation deviates from this baseline?

Medium
12

An organization needs to retain authentication logs for compliance with PCI DSS. What is the minimum retention period required, and how long must the logs be immediately available?

Medium
13

An organization is planning to implement a security awareness program. Which TWO topics should be included to address common social engineering attacks?

Medium
14

An organization must comply with PCI DSS log retention requirements. What is the minimum retention period for logs, and how long must they be immediately available for analysis?

Medium
15

A legacy system cannot be patched due to vendor unavailability. Which compensating control would be most effective in reducing the risk of exploitation?

Hard
16

A company discovers a critical vulnerability in a widely used software application. The vendor has released a patch, but the company's patch management policy requires testing before deployment. What is the best course of action?

Medium
17

An organization is implementing a security baseline for new servers. Which THREE components are typically included in a hardened baseline configuration? (Choose three.)

Hard
18

A SOC analyst detects a pattern of outbound traffic from an internal server to a known malicious IP address. Which SOC tier should this alert be escalated to for a deeper investigation?

Medium
19

What is the primary purpose of a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system?

Easy
20

A critical vulnerability is discovered in a widely used VPN appliance that is actively being exploited in the wild. The vendor has released an emergency patch. However, the organization's patch management policy requires testing in a staging environment before production deployment. What should the security team do?

Hard
21

A SOC analyst is investigating a potential data exfiltration incident. Which TWO log sources would be most useful for identifying outbound data transfers? (Select TWO)

Medium
22

A Security Operations Center (SOC) Tier 1 analyst notices an alert for a failed login attempt from an unusual geographic location. What is the primary responsibility of a Tier 1 analyst in this scenario?

Easy
23

An organization is implementing a security awareness program. Which THREE topics should be included to address common social engineering attacks? (Select THREE)

Medium
24

A company's SIEM solution aggregates logs from various sources and generates an alert when multiple failed logins occur within a short timeframe. Which log source is most likely to provide the data for this alert?

Medium
25

A SOC analyst notices a large spike in outbound traffic from a workstation that is not scheduled for any data transfers. Upon checking the SIEM, the analyst sees that the workstation's antivirus was disabled 30 minutes ago. What type of logs should the analyst examine first to understand the sequence of events?

Medium
26

Which of the following is an indicator of a phishing email?

Easy
27

During a patch management cycle, a new vulnerability is disclosed in a widely used web server software. What is the first step an organization should take in the patch lifecycle?

Easy
28

A critical zero-day vulnerability is actively being exploited in the wild, affecting an organization's internet-facing application. Which patching approach should be taken?

Medium
29

Which of the following is the most effective way to prevent tailgating in a secured facility?

Medium
30

An employee receives an email from an unknown sender claiming to be from the IT department, asking for their password to perform an urgent system update. What type of social engineering attack is this?

Easy
31

What is the primary purpose of using security baselines derived from CIS Benchmarks?

Medium
32

An organization implements a security baseline using CIS Benchmarks for all new servers. After a routine scan, a server is found to have a configuration that deviates from the baseline. The deviation was introduced by a system administrator to resolve a performance issue. What is the best course of action?

Hard
33

Which tier in a Security Operations Center (SOC) is primarily responsible for triaging alerts and determining whether to escalate?

Easy
34

A SOC team is reviewing security controls for a new critical application. Which THREE of the following are essential components of a security operations capability?

Medium
35

Which of the following is a key function of a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system?

Easy
36

An organization has a legacy system that cannot be patched due to vendor end-of-life. Which compensating control is most effective at reducing the risk of exploitation via network-based attacks?

Hard
37

A security awareness trainer is developing material on USB drop attacks. Which TWO messages should be included in the training? (Choose two.)

Medium
38

A security engineer is designing a patch management process. Which TWO steps are part of the standard patch lifecycle? (Select TWO)

Hard
39

Which TWO of the following are common indicators of a phishing email?

Easy
40

A security analyst notices repeated failed login attempts from an internal IP address to a domain controller, followed by a successful login. Which log type is most likely to provide detailed evidence of this activity?

Medium
41

A security analyst is reviewing firewall logs and notices an unusually high number of blocked outbound connections to a single external IP address. Which TWO actions should the analyst take to investigate this potential security incident? (Choose two.)

Medium
42

A security administrator is implementing measures to protect log integrity. Which of the following is the most effective method to prevent tampering with logs after they are generated?

Hard
43

A security analyst needs to ensure that log data cannot be altered after it is written. Which of the following is the most effective method to protect log integrity?

Hard
44

Which type of log should be monitored to detect a user account that has been granted administrative privileges unexpectedly?

Medium
45

After a security incident, an investigator needs to analyze logs to determine the timeline of events. Which TWO types of logs are most likely to provide evidence of lateral movement within the network?

Hard

Frequently asked questions

What does the Security Operations domain cover on the CC exam?
Security Operations questions test whether you can apply the concept in context, not just recognise a definition.
How many questions are in this domain?
This page lists all 45 Security Operations questions in the CC question bank. The actual exam draws from this domain proportionally to its weighting in the official exam blueprint.
What is the best way to practise this domain?
Start with a short focused session (10 questions) to identify gaps, then work through explanations. Repeat with a longer session once the weak areas feel solid.
Can I practise only Security Operations questions?
Yes — the session launcher on this page filters questions to this domain only. Choose any session length for inline explanations and scoring.