- A
Post-Incident Activity
Why wrong: Post-incident activities happen after the incident is resolved.
- B
Preparation
Why wrong: Preparation is about getting ready before an incident occurs.
- C
Containment, Eradication, and Recovery
Why wrong: These actions occur after detection and analysis.
- D
Detection and Analysis
This is the phase where incidents are identified and analyzed.
Question 885 of 1,000
SSCP Incident Response and Recovery Practice Question
This SSCP practice question tests your understanding of incident response and recovery. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
An analyst detects suspicious outbound traffic from a server to a known command-and-control IP address. According to NIST SP 800-61, which phase of the incident response lifecycle does this activity fall under?
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
✓
Detection and Analysis
The detection of suspicious outbound traffic to a known command-and-control IP address is a clear indicator of a potential security incident. According to NIST SP 800-61, this activity falls under the 'Detection and Analysis' phase, which involves identifying and validating that an incident has occurred through monitoring, alerting, and analysis of security events.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Post-Incident Activity
Why it's wrong here
Post-incident activities happen after the incident is resolved.
- ✗
Preparation
Why it's wrong here
Preparation is about getting ready before an incident occurs.
- ✗
Containment, Eradication, and Recovery
Why it's wrong here
These actions occur after detection and analysis.
- ✓
Detection and Analysis
Why this is correct
This is the phase where incidents are identified and analyzed.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the distinction between 'Detection and Analysis' and 'Containment, Eradication, and Recovery' by presenting a detection event and expecting candidates to recognize that containment actions are separate and occur later in the lifecycle.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In practice, detection of outbound traffic to a C2 IP often relies on network-based indicators such as DNS queries to known malicious domains or TLS handshakes with suspicious certificates. Tools like Zeek or Suricata can generate alerts based on threat intelligence feeds (e.g., AlienVault OTX or MISP), and the analyst must correlate this with other logs (e.g., Windows Event ID 4688 for process creation) to confirm the incident before moving to containment.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A SOC analyst notices unusual lateral movement in the network at 2 AM. The IR playbook dictates: identify and contain (isolate the affected machine), then eradicate (remove the malware), then recover (restore from backup), then document. Skipping containment before eradication risks the attacker regaining access. Questions like this test the sequence and rationale of incident response phases.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SSCP question test?
Incident Response and Recovery — This question tests Incident Response and Recovery — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Detection and Analysis — The detection of suspicious outbound traffic to a known command-and-control IP address is a clear indicator of a potential security incident. According to NIST SP 800-61, this activity falls under the 'Detection and Analysis' phase, which involves identifying and validating that an incident has occurred through monitoring, alerting, and analysis of security events.
What should I do if I get this SSCP question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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.
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