SC-200 Respond to security incidents Practice Question
Which TWO are valid methods to collect forensic evidence from a compromised Windows endpoint during an incident? (Choose TWO.)
⚠ Common exam trap
The SC-200 exam often tests the distinction between live forensic collection tools (like KAPE and DumpIt) and traditional forensic imaging tools (like FTK Imager) that require a dead-box approach, leading candidates to incorrectly select FTK Imager for live collection.
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
✓
Run KAPE (Kroll Artifact Parser and Extractor) to collect artifacts.
KAPE (Kroll Artifact Parser and Extractor) is a purpose-built tool for collecting and parsing forensic artifacts from live Windows endpoints during incident response. It efficiently gathers critical evidence such as prefetch files, registry hives, event logs, and browser history without altering the system state, making it a valid method for forensic collection.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Run Windows Update to fix vulnerabilities.
Why it's wrong here
Running Windows Update is a remediation action, not an evidence-preservation technique. It downloads and installs patches, replacing executables and DLLs, writing new registry keys, and updating file timestamps across the system, all of which destroy or contaminate forensic artifacts. It also generates network traffic and Event Log entries that obscure the very indicators an investigator needs to identify root cause. A forensic examiner should never modify the suspect system's software state during collection.
- ✗
Reboot the system and boot from a forensic USB drive.
Why it's wrong here
Rebooting the target system and booting from a forensic USB violates the order of volatility and eliminates RAM-resident evidence such as running processes, active network connections, open sockets, and cached credentials. The shutdown process also flushes cached filesystem data to disk, updates last-accessed timestamps, and may trigger full-disk encryption key loss, making the disk inaccessible. This method is appropriate only after a controlled memory image has been taken, not as the first collection step in a live incident.
- ✗
Use FTK Imager to create a forensically sound image of the hard drive.
Why it's wrong here
Creating a forensically sound hard-drive image with FTK Imager is a valid post-mortem acquisition technique, but it is performed on a shutdown system, not during live incident response. If executed on a running machine, FTK Imager's disk read can update volume metadata, and the snapshot will not include volatile data from memory or the live OS. On encrypted volumes, imaging without first capturing memory may leave you with an unusable ciphertext image because the decryption keys exist only in RAM. Therefore it is not a suitable method for live forensic evidence collection.
- ✓
Run KAPE (Kroll Artifact Parser and Extractor) to collect artifacts.
Why this is correct
KAPE is specifically designed for live incident response: it collects targeted artifacts such as browser history, prefetch files, registry hives, and recently accessed documents directly from the running system while preserving their timestamps and metadata. Its output is organized and can be processed with timelines, and its operation avoids installing persistent software or altering core system files, so the evidence collection is faster and less intrusive than full disk imaging. By running KAPE during the incident, you capture volatile and semi-volatile evidence that would be lost after a reboot or shutdown, which is why it is a valid live collection method.
- ✓
Take a memory dump using DumpIt or similar tool.
Why this is correct
Taking a memory dump with DumpIt or a similar tool captures the physical RAM contents, including the list of running processes, active TCP/UDP connections, loaded drivers, injected code, and plaintext credentials or encryption keys that reside only in volatile memory. Because memory is lost instantly when power is interrupted, this must be done first in live response to comply with the order of volatility. DumpIt also uses a small, portable footprint that minimizes changes to the running system, making it a standard technique for preserving the most ephemeral evidence.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This SC-200 question is part of Courseiva's 1,303-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SC-200 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft 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 SC-200 exam.