Cybersecurity-Practitioner SOC Operations Practice Question
During a threat hunting exercise on a Palo Alto Networks firewall, an analyst identifies an adversary scanning internal subnets to map out open ports and active hosts prior to launching an exploit. According to MITRE ATT&CK, which Tactic describes this phase?
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
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Discovery
Discovery (TA0007) consists of techniques an adversary may use to gain knowledge about the internal network, system settings, and connected infrastructure.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Discovery
Why this is correct
Scanning internal networks and probing for open ports falls directly under the Discovery tactic.
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Lateral Movement
Why it's wrong here
Lateral movement is used to move through the environment, which typically follows discovery.
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Defense Evasion
Why it's wrong here
Defense evasion focuses on avoiding detection, not actively scanning for hosts.
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Initial Access
Why it's wrong here
Initial access is how the attacker first gains entry to the network.
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About these practice questions
This Cybersecurity-Practitioner question is part of Courseiva's 206-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 and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed August 2026 · checked against the official Palo Alto Networks exam blueprint
This Cybersecurity-Practitioner practice question is part of Courseiva's free Palo Alto Networks 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 Cybersecurity-Practitioner exam.