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SPLK-5001 · domain

Threat And Attack Types

This domain covers how Splunk ES detects and classifies threats: ransomware behavior, malware outbreaks, command-and-control, lateral movement, and data exfiltration. Questions are scenario-based, asking you to pick valid indicators, name the malware type, or select the correct Splunk ES data model, correlation search, or analytic story for the described activity.

63 questions17 easy27 medium19 hard

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What this domain covers

What to know about Threat And Attack Types

Map observed activity to the correct threat type and Splunk ES data model. The key skill is matching indicators like encryption, ransom notes, or malicious IP contact to the right analytic story, correlation search, or data model.

Selecting ransomware indicators such as file encryption and ransom notes in Splunk ES

Identifying malware types from symptoms like encrypted files and ransom notes

Using the Network_Traffic data model to find hosts contacting malicious IPs

Recognizing lateral movement techniques like SMB, PsExec, and RDP in Splunk ES

Watch out for

Common Threat And Attack Types exam traps

  • ▸Confusing exfiltration or C2 indicators with ransomware indicators, which center on file encryption and ransom notes
  • ▸Choosing Endpoint data model when the question asks about internal hosts communicating with a malicious IP, which is Network_Traffic
  • ▸Treating all malware as ransomware; only encrypting malware that demands payment fits the ransom-note scenario

Question index

All Threat And Attack Types questions (63)

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1

An attacker is using a technique that involves 'living off the land' by utilizing legitimate system tools. Which data model is most effective to monitor these tools?

Hard
2

An analyst in Splunk Enterprise Security is investigating a suspected Kerberoasting attack. They notice multiple Event Code 4769 events where the ticket encryption type is 0x17 and the service name is not a known service account. Which Splunk search would best identify the affected user accounts and the targeted service principal names (SPNs)?

Medium
3

An analyst in Splunk Enterprise Security is investigating a potential DNS tunneling attack. They need to identify hosts that are sending an unusually high number of DNS queries to a single external domain within a short time window. Which search provides the most direct evidence of this behavior?

Medium
4

A Splunk ES analyst receives a notable event indicating that a user account has been locked out due to multiple failed login attempts. The analyst wants to determine if this is a brute force attack or a user error. Which data model should the analyst examine to review the authentication activity for that user?

Easy
5

An analyst wants to investigate a suspicious email attachment. Which Splunk ES notable event field is most effective for pivoting to the 'File' domain investigation dashboard?

Easy
6

A Splunk ES analyst notices a spike in `Endpoint` data model events where `process_name` is `powershell.exe` with a command line containing `-EncodedCommand` and `DownloadString`, spawning from `winword.exe` on several finance workstations. Which MITRE ATT&CK technique does this activity most directly map to?

Medium
7

An analyst is investigating a suspected DNS tunneling attack. They need to identify hosts that are generating an unusually high number of DNS queries with long, random-looking subdomains. Which Splunk search is most effective for this detection?

Hard
8

You are investigating a user who has triggered multiple high-risk alerts. Where in Splunk ES can you view the historical risk score progression for this specific user?

Hard
9

Which THREE of the following data sources are most valuable for detecting an insider threat?

Medium
10

An attacker uses a weaponized document that exploits a vulnerability to execute code without writing a file to disk. Which detection approach in Splunk ES is best suited to identify this fileless attack?

Medium
11

A user account is exhibiting signs of being compromised. Where can you find the user's recent login history in Splunk ES?

Easy
12

A SOC analyst receives an alert that a user's credentials were used from two geographically distant locations within five minutes. Which Splunk ES capability is designed to surface this type of anomaly by comparing current activity to a learned baseline?

Easy
13

You need to verify if an external IP address is a known malicious TOR exit node. Which Splunk ES feature should you use?

Medium
14

What is the primary function of the 'Incident Review' dashboard in Splunk ES?

Easy
15

An analyst is investigating a suspected DNS tunneling attack. Which Splunk ES data model and field should be used to identify hosts making an unusually high number of unique DNS queries with long subdomain strings?

Medium
16

You notice a system process attempting to connect to a suspicious external domain. Which CIM data model would contain this network connection information?

Easy
17

Which Splunk ES component would you use to define a new correlation rule based on a custom blacklist of domains?

Easy
18

An attacker is using a technique to hide in plain sight by renaming a common system process. Which data model is most suitable for comparing process names against known good paths?

Hard
19

A Splunk ES analyst receives a notable event for 'Excessive Failed Logins' on a Windows server. The analyst wants to determine if this is a brute-force attack or a misconfigured service account. Which field in the notable event would best help differentiate between these two scenarios?

Easy
20

Where do you go in Splunk ES to adjust the sensitivity (risk score) of a specific correlation search?

Easy
21

You are investigating a potential insider threat involving unauthorized data exfiltration. Which Splunk ES feature allows you to correlate multiple events occurring over a long duration to a single entity?

Medium
22

An analyst is investigating a potential ransomware outbreak. They observe a high volume of file encryption activity and want to identify the initial infection vector. Which TWO of the following Splunk ES data models would be most useful to correlate endpoint and network activity to trace the source? (Choose two.)

Medium
23

Which THREE of the following are common indicators that a host has been infected with malware?

Hard
24

A Splunk ES analyst receives a notable event for a possible phishing attack. The email contains a malicious link that, when clicked, downloads a payload. Which Splunk ES data model and field would best help the analyst quickly identify all users who clicked the link and the associated URLs?

Easy
25

You want to visualize the geographic origin of incoming connection attempts to identify potentially malicious traffic. Which dashboard is most appropriate?

Medium
26

An analyst is investigating a potential DLL sideloading attack on a Windows host. Which Splunk ES data model and field can be used to detect the loading of a malicious DLL from an unusual path?

Medium
27

Which TWO of the following are common types of social engineering?

Medium
28

An attacker is using PowerShell to obfuscate their activities. Which data model is most appropriate for searching for encoded PowerShell commands?

Medium
29

An analyst notices that several Windows workstations are repeatedly resolving domain names such as 'update.microsoft.com.security-check.net' and 'login.office365.com.auth-verify.org'. These lookups occur shortly before outbound HTTPS connections to the resolved IPs. Which type of attack technique is most consistent with this observation?

Medium
30

Which TWO of the following are ways to verify if a file hash is truly malicious within Splunk ES?

Hard
31

Which Splunk ES dashboard allows an analyst to see a summary of all active notable events currently requiring investigation?

Easy
32

Which TWO of the following are examples of reconnaissance techniques used by attackers?

Easy
33

Which TWO of the following are valid methods to mitigate an insider threat within Splunk ES?

Medium
34

An analyst notices a Splunk ES notable event indicating a possible DNS exfiltration. In the Network_Traffic data model, which field contains the domain name being queried by an internal host?

Medium
35

You are investigating a potential web-based attack. Which data model contains information regarding HTTP user-agents and request methods?

Medium
36

An analyst is reviewing Splunk Enterprise Security correlation search results and notices a notable event for a host named WEB-01 indicating a possible web shell. The analyst wants to quickly identify the exact command and URI used in the initial exploit. Which Splunk ES data model should the analyst examine to find the HTTP request method and URI associated with this event?

Medium
37

A security analyst receives an alert about a possible DNS tunneling attack. They need to examine DNS query logs to identify unusually long domain names that might indicate data exfiltration. Which Splunk ES data model should they use?

Easy
38

During an investigation, an analyst observes multiple `Endpoint` events where `lsass.exe` is accessed with `PROCESS_VM_READ` by a non-standard binary named `diagtrack.exe` running from `C:\Users\Public\`. Which Splunk ES data model and field combination best supports detecting this credential-dumping behavior?

Hard
39

A SOC analyst observes an unusual spike in failed login attempts followed by a successful login from a new IP address. Which Splunk Enterprise Security dashboard should the analyst check to confirm if this is a potential brute-force attack?

Easy
40

A malware infection is suspected on a host. You notice traffic on port 445. Which Splunk ES correlation search should be prioritized to investigate lateral movement?

Hard
41

An analyst observes a series of events where a process creates a child process with a command line that includes encoded PowerShell commands. The parent process is a Microsoft Office application. Which attack technique is most likely being used?

Hard
42

A Splunk ES analyst is investigating a potential Kerberoasting attack. The analyst wants to identify the key indicators of this activity. Which TWO of the following are primary indicators of a Kerberoasting attack that the analyst should look for in Splunk ES? (Choose two.)

Hard
43

A Splunk ES analyst is investigating a potential ransomware incident. Which TWO of the following are valid indicators of ransomware activity that should be prioritized for detection? (Choose two.)

Medium
44

An analyst is investigating a potential ransomware incident. They notice a high volume of file modifications with the .locky extension across multiple shared drives. Which Splunk ES data model is most appropriate to search for these file system changes?

Medium
45

A user reports that their files have been encrypted and a ransom note is displayed on their screen. Which type of malware is most likely responsible?

Easy
46

A Splunk ES analyst is investigating a series of notable events indicating possible pass-the-hash attacks. The events show successful authentications using NTLM from unusual source workstations to multiple servers. Which data model should the analyst query to correlate the authentication events and identify the compromised user accounts?

Hard
47

A Splunk ES analyst is investigating a series of notable events related to a possible DNS tunneling attack. The analyst wants to identify domains that are being queried with unusually high frequency or with long subdomain strings, which are common indicators of DNS tunneling. Which Splunk ES data model should the analyst use to efficiently search for these DNS query patterns?

Hard
48

During an investigation of a suspected malware outbreak, an analyst needs to identify all internal hosts that have communicated with a known malicious IP address. Which Splunk ES data model should be used to search for this network communication?

Medium
49

An attacker has gained access to a workstation and is attempting to move laterally within the network. Which TWO of the following techniques are commonly used for lateral movement that you should monitor in Splunk ES? (Choose two.)

Medium
50

An analyst is investigating a potential pass-the-hash attack in Splunk ES. Which TWO of the following are indicators that should be reviewed in Windows Security event logs? (Choose two.)

Medium
51

An analyst is reviewing a notable event for a potential malware infection on a Windows endpoint. The event includes a file hash. To determine if the file is known malicious, the analyst wants to check its reputation using Splunk ES's threat intelligence framework. Which action should the analyst take?

Medium
52

Which THREE of the following are benefits of using Risk-Based Alerting (RBA) in Splunk ES?

Hard
53

An analyst is investigating a potential pass-the-hash attack. They want to search for successful authentications that used NTLM authentication where the source workstation differs from the destination workstation. Which Splunk ES data model and field combination is most appropriate?

Hard
54

An attacker has cleared the Windows Security Event log to hide their tracks. Which data model can detect this action?

Hard
55

Which dashboard provides a summary of all assets categorized by their criticality within the organization?

Medium
56

An analyst is investigating a potential command-and-control (C2) beaconing incident. They observe periodic outbound connections from an internal host to an external IP address at regular intervals with small data transfers. Which two Splunk ES features or techniques would best help confirm and analyze this beaconing activity? (Choose two.)

Hard
57

An analyst is investigating a suspected credential dumping attack on a Windows host. They want to identify evidence of this activity in Splunk ES. Which TWO of the following are valid indicators of credential dumping that can be found in Splunk ES data? (Choose two.)

Hard
58

Which TWO of the following are key components of the Splunk ES Threat Intelligence framework?

Easy
59

An analyst identifies a command-and-control (C2) beaconing pattern. Which search command would be best used to identify the frequency of connections to a specific domain?

Medium
60

An analyst notices a Windows workstation repeatedly resolving long, random-looking subdomains under a single parent domain, followed by outbound DNS TXT queries. Which Splunk ES detection method is most appropriate to identify this as DNS tunneling?

Medium
61

Which TWO of the following are primary indicators of a phishing attack that you should look for in email logs?

Easy
62

You need to ensure that your Splunk ES environment is properly ingesting threat intelligence data. Where can you confirm that threat sources are active?

Hard
63

You are auditing logs and find that a user has modified an audit policy using 'auditpol.exe'. Which Splunk CIM data model should contain this information?

Hard

Frequently asked questions

What does the Threat And Attack Types domain cover on the SPLK-5001 exam?
Map observed activity to the correct threat type and Splunk ES data model. The key skill is matching indicators like encryption, ransom notes, or malicious IP contact to the right analytic story, correlation search, or data model.
How many questions are in this domain?
This page lists all 63 Threat And Attack Types questions in the SPLK-5001 question bank. The actual exam draws from this domain proportionally to its weighting in the official exam blueprint.
What is the best way to practise this domain?
Start with a short focused session (10 questions) to identify gaps, then work through explanations. Repeat with a longer session once the weak areas feel solid.
Can I practise only Threat And Attack Types questions?
Yes — the session launcher on this page filters questions to this domain only. Choose any session length for inline explanations and scoring.
Splunk Certified Cybersecurity Defense Analyst (SPLK-5001) (SPLK-5001) Threat And Attack Types Practice Questions