ECCouncil 212-89 (EC-Council Certified Incident Handler) Practice Test 109

Question 1080

The team needs temporary protection and must retain evidence. The observed event is: A warehouse IoT gateway is repeatedly rebooting after malformed management traffic from an unknown segment. What narrowly scoped action would best control the immediate risk?

  1. Correlate gateway crash logs, source flows and management parser errors
  2. Restrict the gateway's outbound paths without interrupting essential building control
  3. Update supported firmware and validate stable gateway communication
  4. Filter unauthorized management traffic at the segment boundary

Explanation

Correct Answer

D:

Containment avoids repeatedly rebooting the gateway as the only response; the immediate response addresses whether malicious management requests cause availability loss while the team preserves relevant case records.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Timing and input patterns can link traffic to service instability; investigation alone does not control current conditions in the decision about whether malicious management requests cause availability loss.

B:

Network containment protects safety and availability; the activity targets whether firmware integrity or destination was altered; initial containment or preservation here concerns whether malicious management requests cause availability loss.

C:

Recovery should remove the exposed fault condition; when judging whether malicious management requests cause availability loss, corrective follow-through follows initial protection; this is instead trusted restoration.

Question 1081

An evidence-led review starts with the following report: A response team has no tested way to isolate Macs because its EDR isolation instructions cover only Windows. What investigation should establish the disputed activity and its timeline?

  1. Compare fleet OS inventory with available isolation tooling and privileges
  2. Apply an approved network-level quarantine for uncovered endpoints
  3. Maintain OS-specific responder guides and version compatibility checks
  4. Confirm vendor support, process dependencies and authorized maintenance procedures

Explanation

Correct Answer

A:

Unsupported instructions can fail on a material part of the device estate; this permits a traceable finding about whether endpoint playbooks cover deployed operating systems before the team makes a disruptive change.

Incorrect Answers

B:

Alternative containment should not depend on a nonexistent host action; for whether endpoint playbooks cover deployed operating systems, immediate protection does not substantiate findings; evidence validation remains necessary.

C:

Cross-platform readiness reduces operational delay; the requirement concerns whether endpoint playbooks cover deployed operating systems, so prevention is not incident verification.

D:

Unvalidated software can disrupt controllers and physical operations; the other incident centers on whether the equipment vendor approves the proposed scanner for this controller, not this evidence validation question about whether endpoint playbooks cover deployed operating systems.

Question 1082

The team has retained the initial evidence and is assessing recovery from: A mobile device enrolled for company access has developer debugging enabled and is connected to an untrusted kiosk. After initial protection, which investigation or follow-through best establishes the remaining scope?

  1. Disable debugging and sever trust with the unapproved host
  2. Rotate relevant credentials and re-enroll a replacement under policy
  3. Enforce managed developer-setting restrictions on high-risk devices
  4. Assess data access and re-enroll or rebuild the device if integrity is uncertain

Explanation

Correct Answer

D:

Recovery verifies that an external host did not alter the mobile environment; the investigation of whether debugging exposes the managed device must precede any claim that the affected state has been fully restored.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Containment closes a physical access channel; the goal is post-containment assessment for whether debugging exposes the managed device. Temporary protection does not complete correction.

B:

Restoring safe mobility requires verified device identity; the other incident centers on whether a lost mobile device can access enterprise mail, not this post-containment assessment question about whether debugging exposes the managed device.

C:

Policy limits unauthorized debugging connections; the case needs post-containment assessment addressing whether debugging exposes the managed device; future hardening is not current-state recovery.

Question 1083

To prevent the next similar event, analysts review this case: A field workstation is disconnected from the corporate network for weeks, so its EDR agent receives no policies or updates. Which preventive change targets the exact pathway that failed?

  1. Update security policy, replay local telemetry and validate endpoint health
  2. Limit access to high-value services until the device synchronizes and is assessed
  3. Inspect last agent heartbeat, definition updates and local event buffer
  4. Use offline-capable controls and reconnect compliance checks
  5. Include managed mobile clients in detection and response coverage

Explanation

Correct Answer

D:

Remote endpoints need protection between central connections; the assurance measure is designed around whether intermittent devices retain protective coverage, rather than hiding the reported activity.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Recovery confirms the returning device has a trusted security state; the case needs recurrence prevention addressing whether intermittent devices retain protective coverage; case recovery is not future-risk control.

B:

A trust gate prevents stale endpoints from rejoining blindly; when judging whether intermittent devices retain protective coverage, one-time protection is not durable prevention; this is instead initial containment or preservation.

C:

Offline operation can create long monitoring and protection gaps; for whether intermittent devices retain protective coverage, an investigation is not recurrence prevention; recurrence prevention remains necessary.

E:

Protection must follow enterprise data to endpoints; this serves whether endpoints can bypass server-centric protection, whereas the requested result is recurrence prevention involving whether intermittent devices retain protective coverage.

Question 1084

The recovery owner is reviewing the underlying failure in this report: A retail branch uses unmanaged point-of-sale terminals with no inventory or device-level response contacts. What action most directly repairs the affected access, evidence or system state?

  1. Revalidate device trust and account sessions before restoring application access
  2. Maintain endpoint inventory and risk-based monitoring for business appliances
  3. Build approved reimage and transaction-reconciliation procedures with the vendor
  4. Establish a named terminal owner and restrict suspect transaction paths
  5. Update security policy, replay local telemetry and validate endpoint health
  6. Reconcile branch asset lists, software support and management ownership

Explanation

Correct Answer

C:

Recovery must preserve financial accuracy and supported configurations; the owner can validate the correction against the evidence bearing on whether endpoint scope includes specialized business devices.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Recovery must include client integrity and identity state; the other incident centers on whether endpoints can bypass server-centric protection, not this trusted restoration question about whether endpoint scope includes specialized business devices.

B:

Visibility makes incident preparation possible; when judging whether endpoint scope includes specialized business devices, future hardening is not current-state recovery; this is instead recurrence prevention.

D:

Controlled response limits possible fraud without improvising against payment infrastructure; the requirement concerns whether endpoint scope includes specialized business devices, so temporary protection does not complete correction.

E:

Recovery confirms the returning device has a trusted security state; it is meant to address whether intermittent devices retain protective coverage, not trusted restoration for whether endpoint scope includes specialized business devices.

F:

Untracked terminals hinder coordinated detection and vendor-assisted restoration; verification is not the corrective step in the decision about whether endpoint scope includes specialized business devices.

Question 1085

Cleanup is not considered complete. The case record describes: An employee laptop reports hundreds of file-renaming operations and rapid changes to document entropy. Which remediation task is necessary rather than merely suppressing the visible symptom?

  1. Investigate the responsible process and clean or rebuild as findings require
  2. Use controlled-folder protections and immutable backup copies
  3. Suspend the responsible process and isolate the laptop from file shares
  4. Rebuild the endpoint and restore affected files from validated backups

Explanation

Correct Answer

D:

Reliable recovery avoids trusting altered local content; the affected workflow should not be considered trusted until the issue of whether ransomware encryption has begun is resolved.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Response follows the observed execution mechanism; the other incident centers on whether a negative signature alert rules out compromise, not this trusted restoration question about whether ransomware encryption has begun.

B:

Write restrictions and protected recovery points reduce impact; the goal is trusted restoration for whether ransomware encryption has begun. Future hardening is not current-state recovery.

C:

Stopping writes limits immediate file damage and propagation; temporary protection does not complete correction in the decision about whether ransomware encryption has begun.

Question 1086

The responder must establish the timeline from this observation: A user's laptop is sending rare-domain DNS queries but endpoint security shows no malware detection. Which analysis step best addresses the missing confirmation?

  1. Apply controlled outbound isolation and capture volatile endpoint state
  2. Join DNS events with process command line and installed extension activity
  3. Enable DNS and endpoint behavioral correlation
  4. Correlate file-modification bursts with originating process and user account

Explanation

Correct Answer

B:

Behavioral evidence can reveal threats that static signatures miss; the review should retain source and timing information relevant to whether a negative signature alert rules out compromise.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Caution is warranted when an active channel may exist; the case needs evidence validation addressing whether a negative signature alert rules out compromise; immediate protection does not substantiate findings.

C:

Layered telemetry covers gaps in signature detections; for whether a negative signature alert rules out compromise, prevention is not incident verification; evidence validation remains necessary.

D:

Bulk rewrites and entropy shifts are consistent with encryption activity; the relevant condition for that step is whether ransomware encryption has begun, which is not shown for whether a negative signature alert rules out compromise.

Question 1087

The team requires traceable proof for an event described as follows: A managed phone is reported stolen while corporate email remains synchronized and device state is uncertain. What should be correlated to determine whether the case finding is justified?

  1. Enforce screen lock, encryption and rapid lost-device reporting
  2. Review device integrity attestation, MDM compliance and enrollment state
  3. Issue an authorized remote lock or wipe as policy permits and revoke sessions
  4. Check MDM check-in status, disk encryption and recent mail sessions

Explanation

Correct Answer

D:

Remote management and account logs reveal remaining access risk; the objective is to establish whether a lost mobile device can access enterprise mail; the result can then guide the later protective decision.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Baseline controls reduce physical-loss exposure; when judging whether a lost mobile device can access enterprise mail, prevention is not incident verification; this is instead recurrence prevention.

B:

Rooting can change the trust assumptions behind managed endpoint protections; that method could help with whether platform integrity meets access policy; the evidence validation decision here involves whether a lost mobile device can access enterprise mail.

C:

Identity and device controls complement each other for offline devices; the requirement concerns whether a lost mobile device can access enterprise mail, so immediate protection does not substantiate findings.

Question 1088

To distinguish suspicion from confirmed impact, the SOC examines this case: A workstation generates an alert for a binary launched from a temporary folder, but the analyst has only its file name. Which review would give the incident owner the strongest case-specific evidence?

  1. Restrict the suspicious process while preserving relevant telemetry
  2. Use behavior-based EDR detections with process ancestry
  3. Join DNS events with process command line and installed extension activity
  4. Analyze the artifact and remove persistence if compromise is confirmed
  5. Inspect file hash, signer, parent process and command-line context

Explanation

Correct Answer

E:

Name or location alone is insufficient to prove malicious execution; that evidence directly tests the concern about what corroborates suspicious endpoint execution, rather than relying on a single unverified indicator.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Targeted action limits risk during validation; for what corroborates suspicious endpoint execution, immediate protection does not substantiate findings; evidence validation remains necessary.

B:

Context improves endpoint triage precision; the requirement concerns what corroborates suspicious endpoint execution, so prevention is not incident verification.

C:

Behavioral evidence can reveal threats that static signatures miss; this serves whether a negative signature alert rules out compromise, whereas the requested result is evidence validation involving what corroborates suspicious endpoint execution.

D:

A defensible outcome follows evidence rather than filename alone; recovery is not factual verification in the decision about what corroborates suspicious endpoint execution.

Question 1089

During lessons learned, the security owner reviews this completed incident: An endpoint reports repeated failed logons followed by one successful privileged login from an unfamiliar process. Which repeatable safeguard best prevents this failure mode in the future?

  1. Correlate logon success, process origin and subsequent privileged actions
  2. Reset compromised credentials and review all privileged changes
  3. Detect failed-to-successful login sequences and enforce MFA
  4. Use protected credential features and detect sensitive process access

Explanation

Correct Answer

C:

Contextual authentication analytics improves detection; it closes a repeatable gap revealed by whether password guessing became successful access without removing useful monitoring.

Incorrect Answers

A:

A successful authentication after failures can signal an active compromise; the case needs recurrence prevention addressing whether password guessing became successful access; an investigation is not recurrence prevention.

B:

Restoration requires checking what happened after login; when judging whether password guessing became successful access, case recovery is not future-risk control; this is instead trusted restoration.

D:

Memory access controls reduce credential-dumping opportunities; it is meant to address whether credential dumping was attempted, not recurrence prevention for whether password guessing became successful access.

Question 1090

Forensic review begins with this reported event: An IoT sensor remains reachable over a legacy Telnet service used only during installation. Which evidence-based task answers the primary uncertainty?

  1. Inspect listening services, authentication records and asset configuration
  2. Require secure-by-default device commissioning checklists
  3. Move maintenance to a supported secure management interface and audit access
  4. Disable or firewall Telnet access through approved device controls
  5. Review camera authentication logs, firmware and management interface exposure
  6. Correlate gateway crash logs, source flows and management parser errors

Explanation

Correct Answer

A:

An unused plaintext management protocol increases attack surface; the review should retain source and timing information relevant to whether an unnecessary remote service exposes device control.

Incorrect Answers

B:

Hardening at install time prevents dormant weaknesses; the requirement concerns whether an unnecessary remote service exposes device control, so prevention is not incident verification.

C:

Recovery removes the unsafe legacy path; the goal is evidence validation for whether an unnecessary remote service exposes device control. Recovery is not factual verification.

D:

Service containment limits remote command entry; immediate protection does not substantiate findings in the decision about whether an unnecessary remote service exposes device control.

E:

Default credentials plus public reachability create a straightforward entry path; the activity targets whether weak device identity enabled unauthorized access; evidence validation here concerns whether an unnecessary remote service exposes device control.

F:

Timing and input patterns can link traffic to service instability; this serves whether malicious management requests cause availability loss, whereas the requested result is evidence validation involving whether an unnecessary remote service exposes device control.

EC-Council Certified Incident Handler (212-89) Practice Tests