Question 670
The coordinator needs corrective action rather than another alert. The event was: A user operates an unapproved remote desktop relay over HTTPS, bypassing the organization's remote access gateway. Which follow-through step verifies the weakness was removed?
- Revoke the relay's access and restrict unauthorized remote-control clients
- Remove the tunnel client and review affected access and policy violations
- Inspect proxy destinations, executable signatures and active remote sessions
- Use application-aware proxy policies and allowlisted remote support tools
- Remove rogue client persistence and review accessed resources and credentials
Explanation
Correct Answer
E:Cleanup must account for what remote operators may have done; the affected workflow should not be considered trusted until the issue of whether tunneled remote administration violates access policy is resolved.
Incorrect Answers
A:Containment restores the sanctioned management boundary; when judging whether tunneled remote administration violates access policy, temporary protection does not complete correction; this is instead initial containment or preservation.
B:Response should determine whether sensitive data crossed the alternate channel; the relevant condition for that step is whether unsanctioned tunneling bypasses inspection, which is not shown for whether tunneled remote administration violates access policy.
C:Ordinary TLS does not imply the session followed approved remote management controls; the requirement concerns whether tunneled remote administration violates access policy, so verification is not the corrective step.
D:Approved remote paths provide audit and access controls; the goal is trusted restoration for whether tunneled remote administration violates access policy. Future hardening is not current-state recovery.
Question 671
Post-containment analysis identified this issue for correction: A volumetric UDP flood saturates the organization's upstream internet link before traffic reaches local firewalls. Which remediation is supported by the observed root-cause conditions?
- Engage the ISP or scrubbing provider for upstream diversion and filtering
- Contract upstream DDoS response and exercise traffic diversion
- Restore routing and investigate exposed reflection services in the environment
- Validate legitimate traffic paths and withdraw emergency routing changes safely
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Post-attack checks should confirm service and route stability; the change should be tested before unrestricted operations resume for the event involving where traffic must be filtered to restore availability.
Incorrect Answers
A:Mitigation before the bottleneck restores usable bandwidth; for where traffic must be filtered to restore availability, temporary protection does not complete correction; trusted restoration remains necessary.
B:Preparation matters when local controls cannot see all attack packets; the requirement concerns where traffic must be filtered to restore availability, so future hardening is not current-state recovery.
C:Reducing local amplifiers helps prevent participation in future attacks; it is meant to address whether amplification rather than direct requests caused the flood, not trusted restoration for where traffic must be filtered to restore availability.
Question 672
During lessons learned, the security owner reviews this completed incident: An attacker uses a compromised switch management account to add a port mirror toward an unauthorized collector. Which repeatable safeguard best prevents this failure mode in the future?
- Use unique local admin credentials and restrict RDP to managed jump hosts
- Use reviewed network-device configuration management and admin MFA
- Restore trusted switch configuration and rotate administration credentials
- Inspect switch configuration diff, command audit and physical port inventory
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Change control exposes covert monitoring configuration; this turns the weakness behind whether configuration change enabled traffic interception into a measurable prevention requirement.
Incorrect Answers
A:Tiered remote management reduces lateral exposure; the activity targets whether local credential reuse enabled RDP spread; recurrence prevention here concerns whether configuration change enabled traffic interception.
C:Remediation must address both setup and access method; for whether configuration change enabled traffic interception, case recovery is not future-risk control; recurrence prevention remains necessary.
D:A mirror configuration can reveal confidential traffic without changing production routes; the requirement concerns whether configuration change enabled traffic interception, so an investigation is not recurrence prevention.
Question 673
The recurrence-prevention decision is based on this report: The SIEM alerts on an inbound SMB exploit but packet capture shows only packets blocked at the perimeter. What measure strengthens readiness against the observed event?
- Cross-check firewall disposition with internal server connection and process logs
- Prioritize correlated exploit and post-exploitation detections
- Document unsuccessful attempt status and verify server patch posture
- Set baselines for connection rates and service health indicators
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Multi-source validation reduces false incident escalation; its effectiveness can be exercised against the warning conditions associated with whether exploit attempts reached a vulnerable host.
Incorrect Answers
A:An IDS signature in dropped traffic does not prove successful execution; the requirement concerns whether exploit attempts reached a vulnerable host, so an investigation is not recurrence prevention.
C:Closure should address exposure even without confirmed compromise; case recovery is not future-risk control in the decision about whether exploit attempts reached a vulnerable host.
D:Context improves network anomaly classification; this serves whether resets reflect malicious flooding or normal session behavior, whereas the requested result is recurrence prevention involving whether exploit attempts reached a vulnerable host.
Question 674
The owner must verify the return to a trusted state for the following: A warehouse barcode scanner connects to an open guest SSID rather than its protected operational WLAN. What corrective work is needed before routine operations resume?
- Disable the unsafe network profile and isolate exposed scanner sessions
- Re-enroll legitimate clients onto a controlled WLAN configuration
- Reprovision the scanner onto the approved secured SSID and rotate affected credentials
- Deploy locked-down device WLAN profiles and certificate-based authentication
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Restoring intended association must address secrets possibly exposed; the affected workflow should not be considered trusted until the issue of whether client misassociation caused insecure traffic is resolved.
Incorrect Answers
A:Configuration containment stops continued transmission over the wrong path; the requirement concerns whether client misassociation caused insecure traffic, so temporary protection does not complete correction.
B:A safe migration restores secure connectivity; the other incident centers on whether PSK exposure allows unauthorized association, not this trusted restoration question about whether client misassociation caused insecure traffic.
D:Managed association policies prevent accidental insecure roaming; the case needs trusted restoration addressing whether client misassociation caused insecure traffic; future hardening is not current-state recovery.
Question 675
A security analyst is asked to validate the following reported behavior: An employee uses a corporate proxy to upload classified engineering files to an unauthorized personal cloud account. Which check can confirm the relevant facts before a disruptive action?
- Enforce data loss prevention policies based on classification and destination
- Inspect proxy destinations, executable signatures and active remote sessions
- Join proxy upload metadata with data classification and employee identity
- Block the unapproved upload channel and preserve evidence for HR and security review
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Approved browser access does not authorize transfers of restricted information; the review should retain source and timing information relevant to whether network policy misuse caused data leakage.
Incorrect Answers
A:Content-aware controls limit improper transfers; the goal is evidence validation for whether network policy misuse caused data leakage. Prevention is not incident verification.
B:Ordinary TLS does not imply the session followed approved remote management controls; it is meant to address whether tunneled remote administration violates access policy, not evidence validation for whether network policy misuse caused data leakage.
D:Response should stop further disclosure while respecting due process; when judging whether network policy misuse caused data leakage, immediate protection does not substantiate findings; this is instead initial containment or preservation.
Question 676
During lessons learned, the security owner reviews this completed incident: A shared conference-room machine generates high volumes of unsolicited email using the corporate address space. Which repeatable safeguard best prevents this failure mode in the future?
- Investigate sending code and remove any unwanted scheduled tasks
- Restrict direct SMTP egress and monitor abnormal sending rates
- Enforce data loss prevention policies based on classification and destination
- Review SMTP connection logs, user sessions and process activity
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Central mail relays enable better abuse controls; the assurance measure is designed around whether host misuse is causing outbound abuse, rather than hiding the reported activity.
Incorrect Answers
A:Restoration requires eliminating the email source; the case needs recurrence prevention addressing whether host misuse is causing outbound abuse; case recovery is not future-risk control.
C:Content-aware controls limit improper transfers; the relevant condition for that step is whether network policy misuse caused data leakage, which is not shown for whether host misuse is causing outbound abuse.
D:A mail burst may be caused by malware or unauthorized bulk-mail software; the requirement concerns whether host misuse is causing outbound abuse, so an investigation is not recurrence prevention.
Question 677
Following initial stabilization, the team must prove recovery for this case: A host sends large outbound bursts to a new autonomous system after midnight, but normal backup jobs also run then. After initial protection, which investigation or follow-through best establishes the remaining scope?
- Correlate process identity, destination ownership and backup schedule with network flow
- Document observed causes and tune anomaly detection to actual service degradation
- Baseline approved destinations and alert on unexplained bulk transfers
- Temporarily restrict the unapproved destination after validating business ownership
- Investigate transferred data and remediate the access route if unauthorized
Explanation
Correct Answer
E:Scope assessment is necessary even after the flow stops; this post-containment check determines the remaining scope relevant to whether unusual egress is approved backup or exfiltration before the case is closed.
Incorrect Answers
A:Volume and timing alone cannot distinguish backup from theft; the case needs post-containment assessment addressing whether unusual egress is approved backup or exfiltration; verification is not the corrective step.
B:Validated outcomes distinguish incident response from noise; this serves whether resets reflect malicious flooding or normal session behavior, whereas the requested result is post-containment assessment involving whether unusual egress is approved backup or exfiltration.
C:Context-aware egress detection reduces false alarms; for whether unusual egress is approved backup or exfiltration, future hardening is not current-state recovery; post-containment assessment remains necessary.
D:Selective containment avoids terminating legitimate protected backup traffic; the requirement concerns whether unusual egress is approved backup or exfiltration, so temporary protection does not complete correction.
Question 678
While full remediation remains pending, the commander receives this incident report: A visitor plugs a consumer access point into a conference-room Ethernet jack, exposing an internal VLAN. Which first protective measure directly limits the situation without assuming cleanup is finished?
- Locate the interference source and follow authorized radio incident procedures
- Use network access control and restrict unused switch ports
- Correlate switch port MAC learning, DHCP leases and wireless beacon inventory
- Disable the affected switch port and secure the rogue hardware under procedure
- Restore approved VLAN configuration and investigate connections made through the AP
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Port-level containment removes the unintended bridge; the protective decision should be recorded and its effect tested against whether a rogue AP bridges a protected wired segment.
Incorrect Answers
A:Physical investigation and client protection are safer than unauthorized jamming; the other incident centers on whether management-frame abuse is causing client disruption, not this initial containment or preservation question about whether a rogue AP bridges a protected wired segment.
B:Port admission policies reduce rogue infrastructure; when judging whether a rogue AP bridges a protected wired segment, prevention cannot replace immediate action; this is instead recurrence prevention.
C:An unauthorized bridge may provide wireless access to internal resources; for whether a rogue AP bridges a protected wired segment, investigation alone does not control current conditions; initial containment or preservation remains necessary.
E:Recovery includes the exposure window, not just unplugging equipment; the goal is initial containment or preservation for whether a rogue AP bridges a protected wired segment. Corrective follow-through follows initial protection.
Question 679
To distinguish suspicion from confirmed impact, the SOC examines this case: A website experiences a flood of SYN packets that fills connection-state tables at the network edge. Which review would give the incident owner the strongest case-specific evidence?
- Inspect SYN versus completed-handshake rates and firewall state utilization
- Confirm normal handshakes and clean policy state after mitigation
- Arrange upstream DDoS capacity and tune SYN flood protection
- Enable appropriate upstream SYN mitigation and rate-limiting capacity
- Measure current session-table usage and compare with live traffic volume
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:SYN imbalance together with exhausted connection state supports this flood type; the review should retain source and timing information relevant to whether state exhaustion is driving the outage.
Incorrect Answers
B:Recovery needs service-health validation, not just lower packet counts; the requirement concerns whether state exhaustion is driving the outage, so recovery is not factual verification.
C:Perimeter resources alone may fail against large distributed attacks; the goal is evidence validation for whether state exhaustion is driving the outage. Prevention is not incident verification.
D:Protection should reduce bogus half-open connections before table exhaustion; immediate protection does not substantiate findings in the decision about whether state exhaustion is driving the outage.
E:Residual device state can sustain an outage after the attack source subsides; the other incident centers on whether stale state prevents recovery, not this evidence validation question about whether state exhaustion is driving the outage.
Question 680
During lessons learned, the security owner reviews this completed incident: A router configuration backup exists only on the router that may have been modified by an intruder. Which repeatable safeguard best prevents this failure mode in the future?
- Maintain immutable off-device network configuration backups
- Compare current running configuration with an independently retained approved backup
- Test network visibility during red-team and incident exercises
- Restore a verified approved configuration and rotate device administration secrets
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Independent baselines support dependable incident recovery; this turns the weakness behind whether trusted baseline configurations are available into a measurable prevention requirement.
Incorrect Answers
B:A local copy could share the compromised state or have been overwritten; when judging whether trusted baseline configurations are available, an investigation is not recurrence prevention; this is instead evidence validation.
C:Coverage validation reveals gaps missed by perimeter-only monitoring; that method could help with whether network monitoring sees suspected east-west movement; the recurrence prevention decision here involves whether trusted baseline configurations are available.
D:A known-good baseline addresses configuration and credential compromise; the requirement concerns whether trusted baseline configurations are available, so case recovery is not future-risk control.