easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
SSCP Practice Question: A company's incident response plan includes a…
A company's incident response plan includes a step to preserve evidence. Which action BEST ensures the integrity of forensic evidence?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse 'preserving evidence' with 'preserving system availability' or 'quick data capture,' leading them to choose turning off the system or copying files, which actually destroy or alter forensic integrity.
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
✓
Create a forensic image with write blocker and hash
Creating a forensic image with a write blocker ensures that the original data is not altered during acquisition, and hashing (e.g., SHA-256) provides a cryptographic integrity check that can later verify the image is an exact bit-for-bit copy. This preserves the chain of custody and admissibility of evidence in legal proceedings.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Turn off the system immediately
Why it's wrong here
Shutdown may lose volatile data; preservation requires proper acquisition.
- ✗
Copy files to a network share
Why it's wrong here
Copying files changes metadata and may miss deleted files.
- ✗
Run a checksum on the live system
Why it's wrong here
Running checksum on live system can alter evidence.
- ✓
Create a forensic image with write blocker and hash
Why this is correct
Forensic imaging with hashing ensures original data is unchanged.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SSCP 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 SSCP exam.