Quick Answer
The answer is the Incident Manager and the Forensic Analyst. These two roles are typically part of an incident response team because they address the dual necessities of coordination and evidence integrity during a security breach. The Incident Manager acts as the central hub, directing communication, prioritizing actions, and making strategic decisions to contain the incident efficiently, while the Forensic Analyst ensures that all digital evidence is collected, preserved, and analyzed in a forensically sound manner, maintaining a strict chain of custody with tools like FTK Imager or EnCase. On the Systems Security Certified Practitioner SSCP exam, this question tests your understanding of the Incident Response domain, specifically the distinct responsibilities that separate management from technical investigation. A common trap is confusing the Forensic Analyst with a general responder or overlooking the Incident Manager in favor of a technical lead; remember that the manager handles process, not tools. For a quick memory tip, think "Manager for the mission, Analyst for the evidence."
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.
Which TWO roles are typically part of an incident response team?
Chief Financial Officer
Why wrong: CFO is not involved in technical response.
Network Administrator
Why wrong: Network Admin may assist but is not a standard role on the IR team.
Incident Manager
The Incident Manager coordinates the response effort.
Forensic Analyst
Forensic Analysts collect and analyze evidence.
Legal Counsel
Why wrong: Legal Counsel provides advice but is not a core IR role.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Incident Manager
The Incident Manager (C) is the central coordinator who manages the incident response process, ensures communication among stakeholders, and makes strategic decisions during an incident. The Forensic Analyst (D) is responsible for collecting, preserving, and analyzing digital evidence in a forensically sound manner, often using tools like FTK Imager or EnCase to maintain chain of custody. Both roles are essential for a structured and legally defensible incident response.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Chief Financial Officer
Why it's wrong here
CFO is not involved in technical response.
Network Administrator
Why it's wrong here
Network Admin may assist but is not a standard role on the IR team.
Incident Manager
Why this is correct
The Incident Manager coordinates the response effort.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Forensic Analyst
Why this is correct
Forensic Analysts collect and analyze evidence.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Legal Counsel
Why it's wrong here
Legal Counsel provides advice but is not a core IR role.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse operational support roles (like Network Administrator) with core incident response team roles, or mistakenly include executive/legal positions as permanent team members rather than as external stakeholders consulted on an as-needed basis.
Detailed technical explanation
The Incident Manager role aligns with the NIST SP 800-61 incident response framework, which designates a single point of contact to coordinate actions across technical, legal, and PR teams. The Forensic Analyst must follow strict procedures like creating a forensic image using dd or FTK Imager with write-blockers to avoid altering evidence, and document every step for potential legal proceedings. In a real-world scenario, the Incident Manager might decide to isolate a compromised host while the Forensic Analyst captures volatile data (e.g., memory dump via LiME or WinPmem) before shutdown.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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Incident Response and Recovery — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Incident Response and Recovery — This question tests Incident Response and Recovery — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Incident Manager — The Incident Manager (C) is the central coordinator who manages the incident response process, ensures communication among stakeholders, and makes strategic decisions during an incident. The Forensic Analyst (D) is responsible for collecting, preserving, and analyzing digital evidence in a forensically sound manner, often using tools like FTK Imager or EnCase to maintain chain of custody. Both roles are essential for a structured and legally defensible incident response.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 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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