Splunk SPLK-5002 Splunk Certified Cybersecurity Defense Engineer Exam Practice Test

Answer : A, C, D

Validating Integrations in Splunk SOAR

Splunk SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response) integrates with various security tools to automate security workflows. Proper validation of integrations ensures that playbooks, threat intelligence feeds, and incident response actions function as expected.

Key Features for Validating Integrations

1 Testing API Connectivity (A)

Ensures Splunk SOAR can communicate with external security tools (firewalls, EDR, SIEM, etc.).

Uses API testing tools like Postman or Splunk SOAR's built-in Test Connectivity feature.

2 Verifying Authentication Methods (C)

Confirms that integrations use the correct authentication type (OAuth, API Key, Username/Password, etc.).

Prevents failed automations due to expired or incorrect credentials.

3 Evaluating Automated Action Performance (D)

Monitors how well automated security actions (e.g., blocking IPs, isolating endpoints) perform.

Helps optimize playbook execution time and response accuracy.

Incorrect Answers & Explanations

B . Monitoring data ingestion rates Data ingestion is crucial for Splunk Enterprise, but not a core integration validation step for SOAR.

E . Increasing indexer capacity This is related to Splunk Enterprise data indexing, not Splunk SOAR integration validation.

Additional Resources:

Splunk SOAR Administration Guide

Splunk SOAR Playbook Validation

Splunk SOAR API Integrations

Answer : B

Splunk SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response) playbooks help SOC teams automate, orchestrate, and respond to threats faster.

Key Benefits of SOAR Playbooks

Automates Repetitive Tasks

Reduces manual workload for SOC analysts.

Automates tasks like enriching alerts, blocking IPs, and generating reports.

Orchestrates Multiple Security Tools

Integrates with firewalls, EDR, SIEMs, threat intelligence feeds.

Example: A playbook can automatically enrich an IP address by querying VirusTotal, Splunk, and SIEM logs.

Accelerates Incident Response

Reduces Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) and Mean Time to Respond (MTTR).

Example: A playbook can automatically quarantine compromised endpoints in CrowdStrike after an alert.

Incorrect Answers:

A . Manually running searches across multiple indexes SOAR playbooks are about automation, not manual searches.

C . Improving dashboard visualization capabilities Dashboards are part of SIEM (Splunk ES), not SOAR playbooks.

D . Enhancing data retention policies Retention is a Splunk Indexing feature, not SOAR-related.

Additional Resources:

Splunk SOAR Playbook Guide

Automating Threat Response with SOAR

Answer : B

When a Security Engineer is building a new security process, their top priority should be ensuring that the process aligns with compliance requirements. This is crucial because compliance dictates the legal, regulatory, and industry standards that organizations must follow to protect sensitive data and maintain trust.

Why Compliance is the Top Priority?

Legal and Regulatory Obligations -- Many industries are required to follow compliance standards such as GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, NIST, ISO 27001, and SOX. Non-compliance can lead to heavy fines and legal actions.

Data Protection & Privacy -- Compliance ensures that sensitive information is handled securely, preventing data breaches and unauthorized access.

Risk Reduction -- Following compliance standards helps mitigate cybersecurity risks by implementing security best practices such as encryption, access controls, and logging.

Business Reputation & Trust -- Organizations that comply with standards build customer confidence and industry credibility.

Audit Readiness -- Security teams must ensure that logs, incidents, and processes align with compliance frameworks to pass internal/external audits easily.

How Does Splunk Enterprise Security (ES) Help with Compliance?

Splunk ES is a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tool that helps organizations meet compliance requirements by:

Log Management & Retention -- Stores and correlates security logs for auditability and forensic investigation. Real-time Monitoring & Alerts -- Detects suspicious activity and alerts SOC teams. Prebuilt Compliance Dashboards -- Comes with out-of-the-box dashboards for PCI-DSS, GDPR, HIPAA, NIST 800-53, and other frameworks. Automated Reporting -- Generates reports that can be used for compliance audits.

Example in Splunk ES: A security engineer can create correlation searches and risk-based alerting (RBA) to monitor and enforce compliance policies.

How Does Splunk SOAR Help Automate Compliance-Driven Security Processes?

Splunk SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response) enhances compliance processes by:

Automating Incident Response -- Ensures that responses to security threats follow predefined compliance guidelines. Automated Evidence Collection -- Helps in audit documentation by automatically collecting logs, alerts, and incident data. Playbooks for Compliance Violations -- Can automatically detect and remediate non-compliant actions (e.g., blocking unauthorized access).

Example in Splunk SOAR: A playbook can be configured to automatically respond to an unencrypted database storing customer data by triggering a compliance violation alert and notifying the compliance team.

Why Not the Other Options?

A. Integrating with legacy systems -- While important, compliance is a higher priority. Security engineers should modernize legacy systems if they pose security risks. C. Automating all workflows -- Automation is beneficial, but it should not be prioritized over security and compliance. Some security decisions require human oversight. D. Reducing the number of employees -- Efficiency is important, but security cannot be sacrificed to cut costs. Skilled SOC analysts and engineers are critical to cybersecurity defense.

Reference & Learning Resources

Splunk Docs -- Security Essentials: https://docs.splunk.com/ Splunk ES Compliance Dashboards: https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/3435/ Splunk SOAR Playbooks for Compliance: https://www.splunk.com/en_us/products/soar.html NIST Cybersecurity Framework & Splunk Integration: https://www.nist.gov/cyberframework

Answer : C

Automating case management workflows in Splunk streamlines incident response and reduces manual overhead, allowing analysts to focus on higher-value tasks.

Main Benefits of Automating Case Management:

Reduces Response Times (C)

Automatically assigns cases to analysts based on predefined rules.

Triggers playbooks and workflows in Splunk SOAR to handle common incidents.

Improves Analyst Productivity (C)

Reduces time spent on manual case creation and updates.

Provides integrated case tracking across Splunk and ITSM tools (e.g., ServiceNow, Jira).

Incorrect Answers: A. Eliminating the need for manual alerts -- Alerts still require analyst verification and triage. B. Enabling dynamic storage allocation -- Case management does not impact Splunk storage. D. Minimizing the use of correlation searches -- Correlation searches remain essential for detection, even with automation.

Splunk Case Management Best Practices

Automating Incident Response with Splunk SOAR

Answer : A

Why Configure Asset & Identity Information for Privileged Accounts First?

Risk-based detection focuses on identifying and prioritizing threats based on the severity of their impact. For privileged accounts (admins, domain controllers, finance users), understanding who they are, what they access, and how they behave is critical.

Key Steps for Risk-Based Detection in Splunk ES: 1 Define Privileged Accounts & Groups -- Identify high-risk users (Admin, HR, Finance, CISO). 2 Assign Risk Scores -- Apply higher scores to actions involving privileged users. 3 Enable Identity & Asset Correlation -- Link users to assets for better detection. 4 Monitor for Anomalies -- Detect abnormal login patterns, excessive file access, or unusual privilege escalation.

Example in Splunk ES:

A domain admin logs in from an unusual location Trigger high-risk alert

A finance director downloads sensitive payroll data at midnight Escalate for investigation

Why Not the Other Options?

B. Correlation searches with low thresholds -- May generate excessive false positives, overwhelming the SOC. C. Event sampling for raw data -- Doesn't provide context for risk-based detection. D. Automated dashboards for all accounts -- Useful for visibility, but not the first step for risk-based security.

Reference & Learning Resources

Splunk ES Risk-Based Alerting (RBA): https://www.splunk.com/en_us/blog/security/risk-based-alerting.html Privileged Account Monitoring in Splunk: https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/ES/latest/User/RiskBasedAlerting Implementing Privileged Access Security (PAM) with Splunk: https://splunkbase.splunk.com

Answer : A, B, D

Methods to Improve Dashboard Usability in Security Analytics

A well-designed Splunk security dashboard helps SOC teams quickly identify, analyze, and respond to security threats.

1. Using Drill-Down Options for Detailed Views (A)

Allows analysts to click on high-level metrics and drill down into event details.

Helps teams pivot from summary statistics to specific security logs.

Example:

Clicking on a failed login trend chart reveals specific failed login attempts per user.

2. Standardizing Color Coding for Alerts (B)

Consistent color usage enhances readability and priority identification.

Example:

Red Critical incidents

Yellow Medium-risk alerts

Green Resolved issues

3. Adding Context-Sensitive Filters (D)

Filters allow users to focus on specific security events without running new searches.

Example:

A dropdown filter for 'Event Severity' lets analysts view only high-risk events.

Incorrect Answers:

C . Limiting the number of panels on the dashboard Dashboards should be optimized, not restricted.

E . Avoiding performance optimization Performance tuning is essential for responsive dashboards.

Additional Resources:

Splunk Dashboard Design Best Practices

Optimizing Security Dashboards in Splunk

Answer : B

Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is a process improvement methodology used to enhance operational efficiency by reducing waste, eliminating errors, and improving consistency.

Primary Function of Lean Six Sigma in a Security Program:

Improves security operations efficiency by optimizing alert handling, threat hunting, and incident response workflows.

Reduces unnecessary steps in SOC processes, eliminating redundancies in threat detection and response.

Enhances decision-making by using data-driven analysis to improve security metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Incorrect Answers: A. Automating detection workflows -- Lean Six Sigma focuses on process improvement, not automation. C. Monitoring the performance of detection searches -- While Lean Six Sigma enhances efficiency, it does not specifically monitor search performance. D. Enhancing user activity logs -- This is related to logging and auditing, not Lean Six Sigma.

Lean Six Sigma in Cybersecurity

Using Six Sigma to Improve SOC Processes