easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
SSCP Practice Question: A university's IT department manages a network…
A university's IT department manages a network used by students and faculty. The security team notices an unusual increase in outbound traffic from the student dormitory network during late hours. Upon investigation, they discover that several student laptops are infected with malware that is attempting to connect to external command-and-control (C2) servers. The team needs to contain the incident quickly while minimizing impact on legitimate users. Which of the following is the BEST immediate containment measure?
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
✓
Disconnect the infected laptops from the network and take them offline for remediation
Isolating the infected devices from the network stops the C2 communication and prevents further spread, while allowing other users to continue working. Option A may block all students; C is disruptive to everyone; D does not stop communication.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Shut down the entire dormitory network
Why it's wrong here
Shutting down the entire network is overly drastic and affects many users.
- ✓
Disconnect the infected laptops from the network and take them offline for remediation
Why this is correct
This isolates the threat specifically, preserving network functionality for others.
- ✗
Block all outbound traffic from the dormitory subnet
Why it's wrong here
This would disrupt all legitimate users.
- ✗
Update the antivirus definitions on the infected laptops
Why it's wrong here
Updating antivirus may not immediately stop active C2 communication and does not contain the incident.
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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.