Pass the ECCouncil CSA 312-39 Questions and answers with ExamsMirror

 When an incident is escalated to the Incident Response Team (IRT), the first step they undertake is Incident Analysis and Validation. This step is crucial to ensure that the incident is genuine and to understand its nature and scope. The IRT will analyze the information provided by the SOC analyst, validate the incident against known patterns or indicators of compromise, and gather additional information if necessary. This initial analysis helps in determining the severity of the incident and guides the subsequent steps in the incident response process.

References:

The Key Role of Incident Response Teams (IRTs) - Zenduty1

A Practical Approach to Incident Management Escalation - Exigence2

ITIL Incident Management: Best Practices for Escalation and Resolution - LinkedIn3

Operational Threat Intelligence is focused on the specifics of imminent or ongoing attacks. It provides insights into the nature of the threat, the identity of the attackers (if known), their motivation, capabilities, and objectives, as well as the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) they are likely to use. This type of intelligence is crucial for security operations managers, network operations center personnel, and incident responders because it allows them to understand and anticipate the attackers’ moves, prepare specific defenses, and respond effectively to incidents.

References: The EC-Council’s Certified Threat Intelligence Analyst (C|TIA) program covers the use of Operational Threat Intelligence within a SOC environment. The program emphasizes the importance of understanding and utilizing threat intelligence to predict and mitigate cyber threats. The Certified SOC Analyst (C|SA) training also discusses the role of threat intelligence in SOC operations, including Operational Threat Intelligence12.

In the scenario described, Robin's organization is capable of handling several critical SIEM functions internally, such as Correlation, Analytics, Reporting, Retention, Alerting, and Visualization. However, they need to outsource the collection and aggregation services to a Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP). This setup indicates a Hybrid Model of SIEM implementation, where both the organization and the MSSP share responsibilities for managing different aspects of the SIEM. The term "Jointly Managed" further clarifies that both parties - the organization and the MSSP - will have active roles in the SIEM's operation, albeit in different capacities. This approach combines the advantages of in-house management with the expertise and resources of an MSSP, offering a balanced solution tailored to the organization's specific capabilities and needs.

References:

"Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Implementation," by David R. Miller, Shon Harris, Allen Harper, Stephen VanDyke, and Chris Blask.

"Managed SIEM Services: What's Right for Your Organization?" by SANS Institute.

In the context of a Security Operations Center (SOC), EPS typically refers to “Events Per Second,” which is a measure of the number of security events processed in one second. The correct formula for calculating EPS in a SOC environment is the number of correlated events divided by the time in seconds. Correlated events are those that have been analyzed and aggregated by the SOC’s security information and event management (SIEM) system, indicating a potential security incident. This metric helps in understanding the operational load and performance of the SOC.

References: The information is aligned with the EC-Council’s Certified SOC Analyst (CSA) course material and best practices, which emphasize the importance of understanding and managing SOC operational metrics such as EPS for effective security monitoring and incident response12.

A false negative incident in the context of a Security Operations Center (SOC) is when an actual attack or intrusion occurs, but the SOC analyst fails to detect any suspicious events or indicators of compromise. This means that the security measures in place did not work as intended, and the attack went unnoticed.

In David’s case, since an attack was initiated and he was not able to find any suspicious events, it is categorized as a false negative incident. This is a critical type of incident because it indicates a failure in the detection capabilities of the SOC, potentially allowing the intruder to cause harm without being detected.

References: The categorization of incidents is a fundamental part of the SOC Analyst’s role, as outlined in the EC-Council’s Certified SOC Analyst (CSA) training and certification program. The program covers the different types of incidents that can be encountered in a SOC, including true positives, false positives, true negatives, and false negatives, and how to identify and respond to each12345.

 In a push-based log collection mechanism, the system or application actively sends (or “pushes”) log records to a designated storage location, which can be either on the local disk or over a network to a remote server. This is in contrast to a pull-based mechanism, where the log records are retrieved (or “pulled”) by the management server from the devices.

The push-based mechanism is often used for real-time monitoring and alerting because it allows for immediate transfer of log data as events occur. This method ensures that log records are consistently and reliably sent to a central repository without the need for a third-party service to request or retrieve them.

References: The EC-Council’s Certified SOC Analyst (CSA) program includes the study of various log collection mechanisms as part of its curriculum. The CSA study materials provide detailed explanations of push-based and other log collection mechanisms, emphasizing their role in effective security operations center (SOC) monitoring and incident response. For further information, please refer to the official EC-Council CSA study guides and related course materials.

In a Risk Matrix, risk levels are determined by the intersection of the likelihood of an event occurring and the impact that event would have if it did occur. When the probability of an attack is very low, it means that the event is unlikely to happen. However, if the impact of that attack is major, it suggests that the event would have significant consequences if it did occur.

The combination of a very low probability with a major impact typically results in a low risk level. This is because the overall risk is mitigated by the low chance of the event happening, despite the potential for a significant impact. Therefore, even though the impact is major, the risk level is kept low due to the very low likelihood of occurrence.

References: The EC-Council’s Certified SOC Analyst (CSA) program covers the concepts of risk assessment and the use of Risk Matrices. The CSA study materials and courses provide detailed explanations on how to evaluate and categorize risks based on their probability and impact, aligning with industry-standard practices123.

 TTPs in the context of cybersecurity and SOC (Security Operations Center) refer to the patterns of activities or methods associated with a specific threat actor or group of threat actors. Understanding TTPs is crucial for the SOC team as it allows them to identify, prepare, and respond to potential threats more effectively. Here’s a breakdown of the term:

Tactics: The adversary’s overall strategy or the ‘what’ they are trying to accomplish.

Techniques: The general methods the adversary uses to achieve their tactical goals.

Procedures: The specific, detailed methods the adversary employs, which can include tools, scripts, commands, and sequences of actions.

By analyzing TTPs, SOC teams can develop a more proactive defense posture, anticipate likely attack methods, and implement appropriate countermeasures.

References: The EC-Council’s Certified SOC Analyst (CSA) program covers the fundamentals of SOC operations, including the identification and validation of intrusion attempts, which would involve understanding TTPs12. This program is designed for current and aspiring Tier I and Tier II SOC analysts to achieve proficiency in performing entry-level and intermediate-level operations, where the knowledge of TTPs is essential12.

In the context of Cisco ASA Firewall logs, messages are categorized into different severity levels ranging from 0 (emergencies) to 7 (debugging messages). The log entry mentioned specifies a severity level of 5, denoted by "-5-" in the log entry. According to Cisco's documentation, a severity level of 5 corresponds to a "Notification" level, which indicates a warning condition message. These messages are significant and highlight conditions that could potentially lead to more severe problems if not addressed. The execution of the 'configure term' command by 'enable_15' user, as noted in the log, is an example of a notable event that warrants attention, hence categorized under this severity level.

References:

"Cisco ASA Series Syslog Messages", Cisco Systems, Inc.

"Understanding Logging Levels in Cisco ASA Security Appliances", Cisco Community.