SSCP Incident Response and Recovery Practice Question
A security analyst receives an alert from the EDR system indicating that a workstation has been communicating with a known malicious IP address. The analyst confirms the alert and notes that the user is still logged in. Which immediate containment action should the analyst take FIRST?
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
✓
Isolate the workstation using the EDR agent's network isolation capability
The first priority is to contain the incident by isolating the endpoint to prevent further communication. EDR agents often have a feature to isolate the host from the network immediately.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Isolate the workstation using the EDR agent's network isolation capability
Why this is correct
Isolating the endpoint stops all network traffic, preventing data exfiltration or lateral movement.
- ✗
Create a full forensic image of the hard drive
Why it's wrong here
Forensic imaging is part of evidence collection, not immediate containment.
- ✗
Disable the user's Active Directory account
Why it's wrong here
Disabling the account is a step but network isolation should come first to block malware communication.
- ✗
Block the malicious IP address at the firewall
Why it's wrong here
While useful, blocking at the firewall does not stop the malware if it uses other IPs; endpoint isolation is more immediate.
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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.