SY0-701 Exam Dumps - CompTIA Security+ Questions and Answers

Preparation is the phase in the incident response process when a security analyst reviews roles and responsibilities, as well as the policies and procedures for handling incidents. Preparation also involves gathering and maintaining the necessary tools, resources, and contacts for responding to incidents. Preparation can help a security analyst to be ready and proactive when an incident occurs, as well as to reduce the impact and duration of the incident.

Some of the activities that a security analyst performs during the preparation phase are:

Defining the roles and responsibilities of the incident response team members, such as the incident manager, the incident coordinator, the technical lead, the communications lead, and the legal advisor.

Establishing the incident response plan, which outlines the objectives, scope, authority, and procedures for responding to incidents, as well as the escalation and reporting mechanisms.

Developing the incident response policy, which defines the types and categories of incidents, the severity levels, the notification and reporting requirements, and the roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders.

Creating the incident response playbook, which provides the step-by-step guidance and checklists for handling specific types of incidents, such as denial-of-service, ransomware, phishing, or data breach.

Acquiring and testing the incident response tools, such as network and host-based scanners, malware analysis tools, forensic tools, backup and recovery tools, and communication and collaboration tools.

Identifying and securing the incident response resources, such as the incident response team, the incident response location, the evidence storage, and the external support.

Building and maintaining the incident response contacts, such as the internal and external stakeholders, the law enforcement agencies, the regulatory bodies, and the media.

The best answer is A. Implementing an update after a board grants approval.

Change management is the formal process used to request, review, approve, test, document, and implement changes to systems and environments in a controlled manner. A common example is submitting a proposed change to a change advisory board (CAB) or other approval authority, receiving approval, and then implementing the update according to procedure.

This answer reflects the structured governance process that Security+ associates with proper change management.

Why the other options are incorrect:

B. Setting a new password for a userThis is a routine administrative or support task, not a formal example of change management.

C. Performing a penetration test before deploying a patchPenetration testing is a security assessment activity. It may support decision-making, but it is not itself the best example of the change management process.

D. Auditing all system equipment before sending the list to the Chief Executive OfficerThis is closer to inventory or audit work, not change management.

From a SY0-701 perspective, change management is about controlled, approved, and documented changes to the environment. Therefore, A is the correct answer.

The best answer is C. EDR logs.

EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) tools are designed to monitor endpoint activity in detail, including process execution, command-line usage, script activity, file changes, persistence attempts, and suspicious behavior. Since the incident involves a PowerShell script, EDR logs are the most useful source for identifying whether the script attempted to compromise the system.

PowerShell is commonly abused by attackers for fileless malware, persistence, lateral movement, downloading payloads, and privilege escalation. EDR can capture this kind of endpoint-level behavior much more effectively than general network logs.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A. SNMP logsSNMP is mainly used for network device monitoring and management, not detailed endpoint script execution analysis.

B. Firewall logsFirewall logs can show allowed or blocked traffic, but they usually do not provide deep visibility into local PowerShell execution or endpoint compromise attempts.

D. IPS logsAn IPS may detect known malicious traffic patterns, but it is focused on network-based activity. It is not the best source for detailed analysis of a PowerShell script running on a host.

From a Security+ standpoint, when analyzing suspicious scripts or endpoint behavior, EDR provides the strongest visibility into actual compromise attempts.

ATabletop exercise (D)is adiscussion-based simulationof an incident scenario. It allows security teams towalk through procedures, responsibilities, and communicationsin alow-pressure environment, improving readiness without impacting operations.

It is specifically designed toprepare teams for real-world incident handling.

Full disk encryption (A)ensures that data stored on the device is protected even if the device is physically stolen. This is a fundamental security control for end-user devices, especially laptops and mobile devices, to prevent data breaches.

Endpoint protection (D)refers to anti-malware, antivirus, and host-based firewall solutions that safeguard end-user devices from malware, ransomware, and unauthorized access.

These measures are explicitly referenced in theCompTIA Security+ SY0-701exam objective2.2: Given a scenario, apply security concepts in support of organizational risk mitigationunderDevice hardening.

The log entries clearly show an attacker attempting to access sensitive system files by manipulating the filename parameter. The use of ../../../ is a classic indicator of a directory traversal attack, also called path traversal. This technique is used to move outside the intended web directory and access restricted locations on the server’s filesystem.

In this case, the attacker is attempting to read:

/etc/passwd — contains user account information

/etc/shadow — contains hashed password entries and is even more sensitive

The CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 exam describes directory traversal as an attack where unvalidated user input allows navigation to system directories, often using sequences like ../ to bypass file path restrictions. This is exactly what is shown in the logs.

File injection (A) would involve inserting malicious files or code, not reading system files.

Privilege escalation (B) requires exploiting a system to gain higher privileges, not just reading files.

Cookie forgery (D) involves manipulating session cookies and does not match the observed behavior.

Because the attacker is using path traversal patterns to access protected files, the correct answer is C. Directory traversal.

The correct answer is immutability, which is a critical concept in backup security and ransomware resilience as covered in the CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 study guide. Immutability ensures that backup data, once written, cannot be altered, modified, or deleted for a defined period of time. This protection is essential in ransomware recovery scenarios because modern ransomware often attempts to encrypt or delete backups to prevent recovery.

Immutable backups are typically implemented using write-once-read-many (WORM) storage or immutable cloud storage configurations. When immutability is enforced, even administrators or attackers with elevated privileges cannot modify the backup contents during the retention window. As a result, organizations can be confident that their backups remain in a known-good, unaltered state, free from ransomware infection or tampering.

The other options do not provide the same guarantee. Destruction refers to permanently deleting data, which would eliminate backups rather than protect them. Sanitization is the process of securely erasing data from storage media and is unrelated to preserving clean backups. Retention defines how long backups are kept but does not protect them from being modified or encrypted during that period.

From a Security+ SY0-701 perspective, immutability is closely tied to resilience, recovery, and data protection strategies. It supports business continuity by ensuring that organizations can reliably restore systems after an attack. Immutable backups are a cornerstone of modern ransomware defense strategies because they prevent attackers from corrupting recovery data. Therefore, immutability is the best and most effective control to guarantee that backups used for recovery are not infected.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Endpoint protection systems rely on policy rules, signatures, behavioral analytics, and heuristics. When the analyst identifies the event as a false positive, this indicates the file itself was not malicious, but the endpoint protection solution incorrectly identified it as a threat. According to CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 concepts, false positives commonly occur due to overly aggressive configuration settings, outdated rules, unrefined behavioral baselines, or incorrect threat signatures.

Zero-day vulnerabilities (B) would cause a true positive because the file contains unknown malware, not a false alert. A supply chain attack (C) would impact the vendor or update delivery, not a user download event. Incorrect file permissions (D) prevent access but do not trigger malware alerts.

Misconfigurations are identified in SY0-701 under Security Operations → Monitoring, alerting, tuning, and false positives, which emphasizes the need for refining security controls to reduce erroneous blocks. Therefore, the most likely cause of a blocked benign download is a misconfigured endpoint protection policy.

A warm site is the best option for a business that does not require immediate failover but wants to reduce the workload required for recovery. A warm site has some pre-installed equipment and data, allowing for quicker recovery than a cold site, but it still requires some setup before becoming fully operational.

Hot sites provide immediate failover but are more expensive and require constant maintenance.

Cold sites require significant time and effort to get up and running after an outage.

Geographically dispersed sites refer to a specific location strategy rather than the readiness of the recovery site​​.

A directive managerial control provides guidance and expectations for behavior through policy and governance. An Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) is a classic example, as it defines how users may and may not use organizational systems and data. Security+ SY0-701 categorizes policies as managerial (administrative) controls that direct user behavior and establish accountability.

A login warning banner (B) is typically a deterrent/administrative control but is not managerial in nature. A master service agreement (C) is a contractual/legal document, not a managerial directive for internal users. A “No trespassing” sign (D) is a physical deterrent control.

Because an AUP formally directs behavior and is enforced through management processes, A: Acceptable use policy is correct.

Zero-day vulnerabilities are unknown flaws in software, making them harder to patch, especially when using open-source libraries without dedicated support teams.

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Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Tokenization is the most effective method for protecting sensitive data at rest within a database. Tokenization replaces sensitive information—such as credit card numbers, SSNs, or personal identifiers—with meaningless surrogate values (tokens). The actual data is stored securely in a separate token vault, reducing exposure if the primary database is compromised.

Hashing (A) is one-way and protects integrity, not usability, making it inappropriate for data that must later be retrieved. Masking (B) hides data from users but does not secure stored data in the database. Obfuscation (D) makes data harder to understand but is reversible and not intended for strong security.

Security+ SY0-701 identifies tokenization as a key control for data-at-rest protection, especially in regulated industries like finance and healthcare. It prevents attackers from accessing real data even if the database is breached, significantly reducing risk and compliance impact. This aligns with the exam’s emphasis on confidentiality and data protection strategies in stored environments.

An Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) is the most effective addition when an organization already has a firewall but continues to face repeated external attacks. Security+ SY0-701 states that an IPS operates inline and automatically blocks malicious traffic in real time based on signatures, anomaly behavior, or heuristics. Whereas a firewall filters traffic by rules, an IPS detects and prevents deeper-level threats such as exploits, malware, and command-and-control attempts.

A UTM (C) includes IPS features, but it is typically used to replace a firewall with an all-in-one appliance. The question states the organization already has a firewall, so the most efficient addition is a standalone IPS. A SIEM (A) aggregates and analyzes logs but does not block attacks. A load balancer (B) distributes traffic for performance—not security.

Thus, the best item to stop active inbound attacks is D: IPS.