SSCP Risk Identification, Monitoring, and Analysis Practice Question
A security analyst is configuring a SIEM to detect data exfiltration. Which of the following correlation rules would best identify potential data exfiltration via DNS tunneling?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse general anomaly detection (like failed logins or after-hours access) with the specific network-layer indicators of DNS tunneling, failing to recognize that DNS tunneling is characterized by unusual DNS query patterns to suspicious domains, not by authentication or file access events.
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
✓
Correlate high outbound DNS query volume with requests to newly registered or suspicious domains
DNS tunneling encodes data in DNS queries and responses, often generating a high volume of outbound queries to domains that are newly registered or otherwise suspicious. Correlating these two indicators—unusual query volume and suspicious domain characteristics—directly targets the behavior of DNS tunneling, making it the most effective rule for detecting this exfiltration technique.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Correlate high outbound DNS query volume with requests to newly registered or suspicious domains
Why this is correct
DNS tunnelling encodes stolen data within query names, producing abnormally high outbound query volumes directed at attacker-controlled domains. Correlating volume spikes with newly registered or suspicious domains satisfies the stem's detection goal by combining two weak indicators into a stronger signal, catching exfiltration that single-event rules would miss.
- ✗
Correlate multiple failed logins from a single IP
Why it's wrong here
Correlating failed logins from one IP detects password-guessing or brute-force campaigns, not DNS tunnelling, which leaves authentication logs untouched and appears in resolver query records. It is tempting because threshold correlation across repeated failures is a standard SIEM pattern, and it would be the correct rule for identifying distributed credential attacks against exposed services.
- ✗
Alert on any single failed login attempt
Why it's wrong here
A single failed login is routine noise and carries no DNS query metadata, so it cannot surface tunnelling, which requires correlating query volume, length or entropy per domain. It is tempting because failed logins are trivial to alert on and do indicate brute-force or credential-stuffing attempts, making it the right rule for authentication attack detection.
- ✗
Alert when a user accesses a file share after hours
Why it's wrong here
After-hours file-share access flags anomalous timing, not DNS tunnelling, which manifests as high-volume or oversized TXT queries to a single external resolver. It is tempting because off-hours access often precedes insider theft, so it would be the right rule for detecting suspicious bulk copying from internal repositories rather than covert DNS channels.
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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.