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ISC2 CC Practice Question: During a security incident, the incident response…
During a security incident, the incident response team needs to preserve evidence. Which of the following actions should be performed first?
⚠ Common exam trap
ISC2 often tests the principle of order of volatility, and the trap here is that candidates mistakenly think powering off the system preserves evidence, when in fact it destroys the most volatile and valuable forensic data.
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
✓
Capture a memory dump
Capturing a memory dump (volatile data) is the first priority because it contains critical evidence such as running processes, network connections, and encryption keys that will be lost when the system is powered off. The order of volatility dictates that volatile data must be collected before any non-volatile data, and before any actions that could alter system state.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Notify law enforcement
Why it's wrong here
Law enforcement notification should occur after evidence preservation.
- ✓
Capture a memory dump
Why this is correct
Memory dump captures volatile data crucial for forensic analysis.
- ✗
Power off the system
Why it's wrong here
Powering off destroys volatile data like running processes and memory contents.
- ✗
Run antivirus scan
Why it's wrong here
Running antivirus may alter evidence and is not a preservation step.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to Security Principles
Key term
Encryption
Encryption is the process of converting readable data into a secret code to prevent unauthorized access.
Key term
Incident response
Incident response is the structured approach an organization uses to identify, contain, and recover from cybersecurity incidents like data breaches or ransomware attacks.
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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.