ECCouncil 212-89 (EC-Council Certified Incident Handler) Practice Test 98

Question 970

Before granting routine access again, the team reviews this case: A developer disables audit logging on a production repository shortly before copying protected branches. Which THREE case-specific measures form the verification, initial safeguard and corrective recovery stages, in that order of purpose? (Choose THREE.)

  1. Compare audit-setting changes, branch downloads and privileged session records
  2. Use immutable version control and alert on bulk destructive operations
  3. Restore protected audit collection and restrict the responsible privileged session
  4. Alert on audit disablement and require independent approval of logging changes
  5. Use two-person approval and immutable configuration history for critical settings
  6. Validate repository history and revoke any covert automation tokens

Explanation

Correct Answers

A:

The sequence can reveal deliberate evasion followed by export; within the combined response for whether monitoring suppression preceded data movement, this supplies evidence validation: this permits a traceable finding about whether monitoring suppression preceded data movement before the team makes a disruptive change.

C:

Containment stops further blind copying; within the combined response for whether monitoring suppression preceded data movement, this supplies initial containment or preservation: it protects the affected workflow while investigators continue resolving whether monitoring suppression preceded data movement.

F:

Repair includes visibility and access channels; within the combined response for whether monitoring suppression preceded data movement, this supplies trusted restoration: technical closure should demonstrate that the control gap behind whether monitoring suppression preceded data movement is actually corrected.

Incorrect Answers

B:

Protected history limits the impact of insider deletion; the relevant condition for that step is whether destructive insider activity occurred, which is not shown for whether monitoring suppression preceded data movement.

D:

Administrative separation makes concealment harder; the requirement concerns whether monitoring suppression preceded data movement, so future hardening is not current-state recovery.

E:

Change controls reduce single-person sabotage capacity; the other incident centers on whether a trusted configuration change caused availability impact, not this trusted restoration question about whether monitoring suppression preceded data movement.

Question 971

The team has retained the initial evidence and is assessing recovery from: A multinational company has no secure mechanism for employees to report suspicious actions by senior managers. What restoration task closes the identified integrity or control gap?

  1. Inspect whistleblowing escalation and confidential incident intake procedures
  2. Maintain independent confidential reporting and nonretaliation policies
  3. Route the concern to an authorized independent ethics/security channel
  4. Tune classification-aware rules with business-owner input and test them
  5. Set restricted case access and documented investigation oversight

Explanation

Correct Answer

E:

Appropriate governance supports fair fact-finding; the owner can validate the correction against the evidence bearing on whether reporting channels bypass a conflict of interest.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Reports against executives require independent handling to prevent suppression; when judging whether reporting channels bypass a conflict of interest, verification is not the corrective step; this is instead evidence validation.

B:

Trusted channels encourage early warnings; for whether reporting channels bypass a conflict of interest, future hardening is not current-state recovery; trusted restoration remains necessary.

C:

A protected path preserves evidence and reporter confidentiality; the requirement concerns whether reporting channels bypass a conflict of interest, so temporary protection does not complete correction.

D:

Recovery improves protection without obstructing legitimate needs; the relevant condition for that step is whether preventive controls created unsafe workarounds, which is not shown for whether reporting channels bypass a conflict of interest.

Question 972

A case is escalated for independent verification after this finding: A contractor uses a shared service credential to query private customer information after their contract expired. What collection or comparison would validate the reported condition?

  1. Correlate database audit, service credential use and contract termination date
  2. Rotate the exposed service secret and restrict unapproved data access
  3. Inventory nonhuman credentials associated with contractor lifecycle
  4. Review token issue logs, scope and subsequent API calls

Explanation

Correct Answer

A:

Machine credentials can remain active independently of a terminated personal account; it makes the determination of whether a service identity provides residual insider access defensible and reviewable by the incident owner.

Incorrect Answers

B:

Containment closes the bypass of HR-driven identity revocation; the requirement concerns whether a service identity provides residual insider access, so immediate protection does not substantiate findings.

C:

Offboarding must include delegated and shared access; the goal is evidence validation for whether a service identity provides residual insider access. Prevention is not incident verification.

D:

Long-lived tokens may bypass expected access changes after the role shift; the activity targets whether credential staging creates persistent access; evidence validation here concerns whether a service identity provides residual insider access.

Question 973

The team needs temporary protection and must retain evidence. The observed event is: A support analyst queries records of celebrities without a business case and exports hundreds of profiles. Investigators need both a defensible factual finding and a limited immediate safeguard. Which TWO actions jointly satisfy those requirements? (Choose TWO.)

  1. Suspend unusual bulk export privileges and preserve audit trails
  2. Restore verified files and review all affected projects for hidden modifications
  3. Assess transferred data and adjust entitlements if misuse is confirmed
  4. Correlate sensitive record reads with assigned cases and export logs
  5. Determine affected records and apply HR/legal-directed remediation
  6. Detect access to sensitive profiles without matching business transactions

Explanation

Correct Answers

A:

Targeted containment limits further disclosure while findings are reviewed; within the combined response for whether database access patterns show insider snooping, this supplies initial containment or preservation: this is a first-response safeguard for whether database access patterns show insider snooping, not a substitute for full root-cause analysis.

D:

Legitimate role membership does not explain accesses outside assigned duties; within the combined response for whether database access patterns show insider snooping, this supplies evidence validation: it makes the determination of whether database access patterns show insider snooping defensible and reviewable by the incident owner.

Incorrect Answers

B:

Recovery should cover both removal and possible tampering; the other incident centers on whether destructive insider activity occurred, not this initial containment or preservation question about whether database access patterns show insider snooping.

C:

Proportionate response follows verified purpose and impact; the relevant condition for that step is whether unusual legitimate tooling masks insider exfiltration, which is not shown for whether database access patterns show insider snooping.

E:

Scope and authorization determine follow-up actions; when judging whether database access patterns show insider snooping, corrective follow-through follows initial protection; this is instead trusted restoration.

F:

Behavioral baselines reveal suspicious but authenticated activity; for whether database access patterns show insider snooping, prevention cannot replace immediate action; initial containment or preservation remains necessary.

Question 974

The incident owner requests a defensible factual determination after hearing: A company allows departing administrators to retain remote tokens until the end of a monthly access review. What fact-checking activity tests the observed failure most directly?

  1. Compare termination timestamps with active remote sessions and token expiration
  2. Revoke the departing user's active tokens and privileged entitlements immediately
  3. Automate identity revocation from verified HR lifecycle events
  4. Compare shared-login use with individual session and bastion audit records

Explanation

Correct Answer

A:

A delayed review leaves usable credentials after authorization ends; this evidence is scoped to whether offboarding revokes privileges promptly, not a generic system-health reading.

Incorrect Answers

B:

Timely containment closes the access gap; the requirement concerns whether offboarding revokes privileges promptly, so immediate protection does not substantiate findings.

C:

Event-driven offboarding reduces exposure windows; the goal is evidence validation for whether offboarding revokes privileges promptly. Prevention is not incident verification.

D:

An unshared account identity is needed for reliable person-level attribution; this serves whether insider action attribution is possible, whereas the requested result is evidence validation involving whether offboarding revokes privileges promptly.

Question 975

Following initial stabilization, the team must prove recovery for this case: A staff member sends the customer database to a competitor using a company email account after being denied promotion. Which correction must be verified before the affected service or process is restored?

  1. Use sensitivity labels and controlled external sharing approvals
  2. Work with legal to scope exposed customers and revoke associated access
  3. Preserve the message and suspend unauthorized bulk outbound transfers
  4. Determine affected records and apply HR/legal-directed remediation

Explanation

Correct Answer

B:

Response must respect due process while addressing data loss; the owner can validate the correction against the evidence bearing on whether a trusted mailbox was used for intentional disclosure.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Policies can restrict high-risk transfers without blanket mail blocking; the requirement concerns whether a trusted mailbox was used for intentional disclosure, so future hardening is not current-state recovery.

C:

Evidence retention and access control prevent further dissemination; temporary protection does not complete correction in the decision about whether a trusted mailbox was used for intentional disclosure.

D:

Scope and authorization determine follow-up actions; it is meant to address whether database access patterns show insider snooping, not trusted restoration for whether a trusted mailbox was used for intentional disclosure.

Question 976

To avoid broad unnecessary disruption, responders consider this finding: The security program flags every employee who works at night as a possible insider without considering job schedules. The current decision requires two different outcomes: evidence-based verification AND initial protection, without treating cleanup as complete. Which TWO measures provide those outcomes? (Choose TWO.)

  1. Tune alerts to sensitive actions and peer-role deviations
  2. Rotate exposed passwords and implement documented delegated access
  3. Require contextual triage before intrusive investigation or sanctions
  4. Review analytics for bias, relevance and false-positive rates
  5. Compare alerts with shift rosters, job duties and normal activity distributions

Explanation

Correct Answers

C:

Fair analysis prevents unsupported escalation; within the combined response for whether behavior analytics has an appropriate baseline, this supplies initial containment or preservation: this reduces current exposure associated with whether behavior analytics has an appropriate baseline and permits later corrective work.

E:

Atypical time alone does not establish malicious intent; within the combined response for whether behavior analytics has an appropriate baseline, this supplies evidence validation: for this investigation, the relevant uncertainty is whether behavior analytics has an appropriate baseline, so independent confirmation matters.

Incorrect Answers

A:

A targeted model improves precision while preserving privacy; for whether behavior analytics has an appropriate baseline, corrective follow-through follows initial protection; initial containment or preservation remains necessary.

B:

Recovery preserves coverage without ambiguous logins; the other incident centers on whether account sharing undermines attribution, not this initial containment or preservation question about whether behavior analytics has an appropriate baseline.

D:

Responsible detection limits harm and operator fatigue; prevention cannot replace immediate action in the decision about whether behavior analytics has an appropriate baseline.

Question 977

To distinguish suspicion from confirmed impact, the SOC examines this case: A former employee's shared links still grant external collaborators access after the employee's account was removed. Which review would give the incident owner the strongest case-specific evidence?

  1. Inventory public and guest links created by the departed account
  2. Audit service accounts, scheduler jobs and login timestamps tied to the administrator
  3. Include sharing-link inventory in offboarding checklists
  4. Review access history and regrant legitimate partners through accountable identities
  5. Revoke unapproved links and restrict external sharing on affected repositories

Explanation

Correct Answer

A:

Object permissions may outlive the originating identity; the review should retain source and timing information relevant to whether resource-level sharing survives identity disablement.

Incorrect Answers

B:

Hidden access can survive ordinary employee account termination; it is meant to address whether non-person identity persistence remains, not evidence validation for whether resource-level sharing survives identity disablement.

C:

Account deletion alone may not remove delegated exposure; when judging whether resource-level sharing survives identity disablement, prevention is not incident verification; this is instead recurrence prevention.

D:

Recovery preserves business collaboration without orphaned links; for whether resource-level sharing survives identity disablement, recovery is not factual verification; evidence validation remains necessary.

E:

Containment closes persistent data access paths; the requirement concerns whether resource-level sharing survives identity disablement, so immediate protection does not substantiate findings.

Question 978

The initial scene or threat protection decision concerns the following: A highly privileged administrator accidentally exposes a confidential storage share while following an outdated runbook. The first response plan must document the reported condition AND limit near-term harm. Select TWO case-specific steps. (Choose TWO.)

  1. Enforce peer review and policy guardrails for high-impact permission changes
  2. Review accessed objects and update the erroneous runbook before reuse
  3. Revert the unintended public access and preserve change audit records
  4. Secure or delete unauthorized copies through approved procedures and educate the employee
  5. Compare change history, share permissions and the approved procedure version

Explanation

Correct Answers

C:

Immediate correction stops further unauthorized reads; within the combined response for whether a negligent administrative change caused exposure, this supplies initial containment or preservation: the scope of this restriction follows whether a negligent administrative change caused exposure rather than indiscriminately changing unrelated assets.

E:

The configuration difference can explain disclosure without intent to harm; within the combined response for whether a negligent administrative change caused exposure, this supplies evidence validation: it connects the question of whether a negligent administrative change caused exposure to an observable record and a reproducible check.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Defense in depth reduces errors by trusted staff; the case needs initial containment or preservation addressing whether a negligent administrative change caused exposure; prevention cannot replace immediate action.

B:

Recovery fixes the specific configuration and documentation failure; when judging whether a negligent administrative change caused exposure, corrective follow-through follows initial protection; this is instead trusted restoration.

D:

Proportionate recovery distinguishes negligence from deliberate theft; the relevant condition for that step is whether careless behavior created an insider data incident, which is not shown for whether a negligent administrative change caused exposure.

Question 979

Forensic review begins with this reported event: A contractor is blackmailed into sharing a badge and VPN token with an external actor. Which evidence-based task answers the primary uncertainty?

  1. Correlate repository downloads, device transfers and departing employee identity
  2. Maintain confidential coercion reporting and strong token/device controls
  3. Revoke affected tokens and badge access while arranging a safe reporting channel
  4. Correlate badge entry, VPN sessions and the contractor's verified report
  5. Replace credentials and investigate actions taken by the external actor

Explanation

Correct Answer

D:

Coercion changes intent but does not remove technical access risk; that evidence directly tests the concern about whether a coerced insider enabled unauthorized access, rather than relying on a single unverified indicator.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Multiple independent records can establish the movement of protected data and timing; the other incident centers on whether an intentional insider exfiltration occurred, not this evidence validation question about whether a coerced insider enabled unauthorized access.

B:

Supportive escalation encourages early reporting of threats; the case needs evidence validation addressing whether a coerced insider enabled unauthorized access; prevention is not incident verification.

C:

Containment should protect both systems and the threatened person; when judging whether a coerced insider enabled unauthorized access, immediate protection does not substantiate findings; this is instead initial containment or preservation.

E:

Recovery focuses on the unauthorized access path and resulting impact; the requirement concerns whether a coerced insider enabled unauthorized access, so recovery is not factual verification.

Question 980

A post-incident audit examines the following failure mode: A departing database administrator left a hidden scheduled account that can still connect after all personal accounts were disabled. What recurring check or restriction would best address the weakness?

  1. Rebuild approved automation identities and rotate any shared secrets
  2. Include service identities and task owners in privileged offboarding
  3. Use baseline ACL monitoring and approval gates for bulk changes
  4. Audit service accounts, scheduler jobs and login timestamps tied to the administrator

Explanation

Correct Answer

B:

Lifecycle coverage prevents retained backdoors; it closes a repeatable gap revealed by whether non-person identity persistence remains without removing useful monitoring.

Incorrect Answers

A:

Recovery restores legitimate operation without hidden privileges; case recovery is not future-risk control in the decision about whether non-person identity persistence remains.

C:

Configuration drift detection exposes stealthy permission modification; the activity targets whether permission integrity can be restored from a baseline; recurrence prevention here concerns whether non-person identity persistence remains.

D:

Hidden access can survive ordinary employee account termination; for whether non-person identity persistence remains, an investigation is not recurrence prevention; recurrence prevention remains necessary.

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