SPLK-1002 Macros, Saved Searches and CIM Practice Question
A security analyst needs to monitor failed login attempts across multiple Windows domain controllers. The environment has a custom sourcetype 'WinEventLog:Security' and the data is indexed under 'windows_security'. The analyst wants to create a saved search that runs every 10 minutes, searches for EventCode 4625 (failed logon), and triggers an alert if more than 10 failures occur from the same source IP within the last 10 minutes. The saved search should use the Common Information Model (CIM) to ensure compatibility with other security apps. Which of the following saved search definitions best meets these requirements?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often pick Option C because 'Failed_Authentication' sounds correct, but they miss that it may not expose the raw EventCode field and lacks a time-bounded aggregation, while Option A correctly uses the parent dataset `All_Authentication` with explicit filtering and `timechart` for the sliding window.
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
✓
`| from datamodel:Authentication.All_Authentication where Authentication.EventCode=4625 | search Authentication.app=windows | timechart span=10m count by Authentication.src | where count > 10`
It uses the `from datamodel` command to query the CIM Authentication data model, specifically the `All_Authentication` dataset filtered for EventCode 4625 and Windows (`Authentication.app=windows`). The `timechart span=10m count by Authentication.src` then counts failures per source IP in 10-minute buckets, and the `where count > 10` triggers the alert only when the threshold is exceeded. This approach ensures CIM compatibility, uses the correct data model object, and respects the 10-minute sliding window required by the use case.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
`| from datamodel:Authentication.All_Authentication where Authentication.EventCode=4625 | search Authentication.app=windows | timechart span=10m count by Authentication.src | where count > 10`
Why this is correct
Uses CIM data model, correct field, and timechart for aggregation.
- ✗
`index=windows_security sourcetype=WinEventLog:Security EventCode=4625 | stats count by src_ip | where count > 10`
Why it's wrong here
This uses raw field names, not CIM fields; it may not work with CIM apps.
- ✗
`| from datamodel:Authentication.Failed_Authentication | where EventCode=4625 | stats count by src_ip | where count > 10`
Why it's wrong here
Wrong field 'src_ip' not in CIM; should use 'Authentication.src'.
- ✗
`index=windows_security EventCode=4625 | transaction src_ip maxspan=10m | where eventcount > 10`
Why it's wrong here
Transaction may not scale and is not CIM compliant.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This SPLK-1002 question is part of Courseiva's 475-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 SPLK-1002 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Splunk 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 SPLK-1002 exam.