What is the primary purpose of developing security metrics in a Splunk environment?
Correct Answer: B
Security metrics help organizations assess their security posture and make data-driven decisions. Primary Purpose of Security Metrics in Splunk: Measure Security Effectiveness (B) Tracks incident response times, threat detection rates, and alert accuracy. Helps SOC teams and leadership evaluate security program performance. Improve Threat Detection & Incident Response Identifies gaps in detection logic and false positives. Helps fine-tune correlation searches and notable events.
Question 2
What are critical elements of an effective incident report?(Choosethree)
Correct Answer: A,C,E
Critical Elements of an Effective Incident Report An incident reportdocuments security breaches, outlines response actions, and provides prevention strategies. #1. Timeline of Events (A) Provides achronological sequenceof the incident. Helps analystsreconstruct attacksand understand attack vectors. Example: 08:30 AM- Suspicious login detected. 08:45 AM- SOC investigation begins. 09:10 AM- Endpoint isolated. #2. Steps Taken to Resolve the Issue (C) Documentscontainment, eradication, and recovery efforts. Ensures teamsfollow response procedures correctly. Example: Blocked malicious IPs, revoked compromised credentials, and restored affected systems. #3. Recommendations for Future Prevention (E) Suggestssecurity improvementsto prevent future attacks. Example: Enhance SIEM correlation rules, enforce multi-factor authentication, or update firewall rules. #Incorrect Answers: B: Financial implications of the incident# Important for executives,not crucial for an incident report. D: Names of all employees involved# Avoidsexposing individualsand focuses on security processes. #Additional Resources: Splunk Incident Response Documentation NIST Computer Security Incident Handling Guide
Question 3
What does Splunk's term "bucket" refer to in data indexing?
Correct Answer: D
Question 4
A compliance audit reveals gaps in the tracking of privileged account activities. Howcan the team address this issue?
Correct Answer: A
Privileged accounts pose ahigh security risk, and tracking their activity iscritical for compliance(e.g.,PCI DSS, NIST, ISO 27001, SOC 2). #1. Automate Report Generation for Privileged Accounts (A) Ensurescontinuous monitoringofadmin/root accounts. Helpsdetect misuse or unauthorized access. Example: Splunk Enterprise Security (ES)can generate scheduled reports on: Failed login attempts by privileged users. Actions performed using admin credentials. #Incorrect Answers: B: Use summary indexes to delete old data# Summary indexes improve performance butdo not help track privileged accounts. C: Focus only on low-priority account activity# Privileged accountsshould always be high-priority. D: Exclude privileged accounts from reporting# This wouldviolate compliance requirements. #Additional Resources: Splunk Security Monitoring for Privileged Accounts NIST Access Control Guide
Question 5
Which Splunk configuration ensures events are parsed and indexed only once for optimal storage?
Correct Answer: C
Why Use Index-Time Transformations for One-Time Parsing & Indexing? Splunk parses and indexes data once during ingestion to ensure efficient storage and search performance. Index-time transformations ensure that logs are: #Parsed, transformed, and stored efficiently before indexing.#Normalized before indexing, so the SOC team doesn't need to clean up fields later.#Processed once, ensuring optimal storage utilization. #Example of Index-Time Transformation in Splunk:#Scenario: The SOC team needs to mask sensitive data in security logs before storing them in Splunk.#Solution: Use anINDEXED_EXTRACTIONSrule to: Redact confidential fields (e.g., obfuscate Social Security Numbers in logs). Rename fields for consistency before indexing.
