Pass the Splunk Splunk SOAR Certified Automation Developer SPLK-2003 Questions and answers with CertsForce

The admin and automation users are included by default. Comprehensive Explanation and References of Correct Answer: According to the Splunk SOAR (On-premises) default credentials, script options, and sample configuration files documentation1, the default credentials on a new installation of Splunk SOAR (On-premises) are:

Web Interface Username: soar_local_admin password: password

On Splunk SOAR (On-premises) deployments which have been upgraded from earlier releases the user account admin becomes a normal user account with the Administrator role.

The automation user is a special user account that is used by Splunk SOAR (On-premises) to run actions and playbooks. It has the Automation role, which grants it full access to all objects and data in Splunk SOAR (On-premises).

The other options are incorrect because they either omit the automation user or include users that are not created by default. For example, option B includes the power and user users, which are not part of the default installation. Option C only includes the admin user, which ignores the automation user. Option D claims that no users are included by default, which is false.

In a new installation of Splunk SOAR, two default user accounts are typically created: admin and automation. The admin account is intended for system administration tasks, providing full access to all features and settings within the SOAR platform. The automation user is a special account used for automated processes and scripts that interact with the SOAR platform, often without requiring direct human intervention. This user has specific permissions that can be tailored for automated tasks. Options B, C, and D do not accurately represent the default user accounts included in a new SOAR installation, making option A the correct answer.

 An individual asset action can be manually started with the > action button in the Investigation page. This allows the user to select an asset and an action to perform on it. The other options are not valid ways to start an asset action manually. See Performing asset actions for more information. Individual asset actions in Splunk SOAR can be manually initiated from the Investigation page of a container. The "> action" button on this page allows users to execute specific actions associated with assets directly, enabling on-the-fly operations on artifacts or indicators within a container. This feature is particularly useful for ad-hoc analysis and actions, allowing analysts to respond to or investigate specific aspects of an incident without the need for a full playbook.

In Splunk SOAR (formerly known as Phantom), enabling the Logging option for a playbook's settings primarily affects how logging information is displayed on the Investigation page. When this option is enabled, more detailed logging information is made available on the Investigation page, which can be crucial for troubleshooting and understanding the execution flow of the playbook. This detailed information can include execution steps, actions taken, and conditional logic paths followed during the playbook run.

It's important to note that enabling logging does not affect the audit logs or the debug window directly, nor does it write execution details to the spawn.log. Instead, it enhances the visibility and granularity of logs displayed on the specific Investigation page related to the playbook's execution.

References:

Splunk Documentation and SOAR User Guides typically outline the impacts of enabling various settings within the playbook configurations, explaining how these settings affect the operation and logging within the system. For specific references, consulting the latest Splunk SOAR documentation would provide the most accurate and detailed guidance.

Enabling the Logging option for a playbook’s settings in Splunk SOAR indeed affects the level of detail provided on the Investigation page. Here’s a comprehensive explanation of its impact:

Investigation Page Logging:

The Investigation page serves as a centralized location for reviewing all activities related to an incident or event within Splunk SOAR.

When the Logging option is enabled, it enhances the level of detail available on this page, providing a granular view of the playbook’s execution.

This includes detailed information about each action’s execution, such as parameters used, results obtained, and any conditional logic that was evaluated.

Benefits of Detailed Logging:

Troubleshooting: It becomes easier to diagnose issues within a playbook when you can see a detailed log of its execution.

Incident Analysis: Analysts can better understand the sequence of events and the decisions made by the playbook during an incident.

Playbook Optimization: Developers can use the detailed logs to refine and improve the playbook’s logic and performance.

Non-Impacted Areas:

The audit log, which tracks changes to the playbook itself, is not affected by the Logging option.

The debug window, used for real-time debugging during playbook development, also remains unaffected.

The spawn.log file, which contains internal operational logs for the Splunk SOAR platform, does not receive detailed execution information from playbooks.

Best Practices:

Enable detailed logging during the development and testing phases of a playbook to ensure thorough analysis and debugging.

Consider the potential impact on storage and performance when enabling detailed logging in a production environment.

References:

For the most accurate and up-to-date guidance on playbook settings and their effects, I recommend consulting the latest Splunk SOAR documentation and user guides. These resources provide in-depth information on configuring playbooks and understanding the implications of various settings within the Splunk SOAR platform.

In summary, the Logging option is a powerful feature that enhances the visibility of playbook operations on the Investigation page, aiding in incident analysis and ensuring that playbooks are functioning correctly. It is an essential tool for security teams to effectively manage and respond to incidents within their environment. ????

Wildcards are used within artifact data paths in Splunk SOAR playbooks to simplify the process of accessing data. They allow playbooks to reference dynamic or variable data structures without needing to specify exact paths, which can vary between artifacts. This flexibility makes it easier to write playbooks that work across different events and scenarios, without hard-coding data paths.

SOAR uses wildcards within artifact data paths to make data access in playbooks easier. A data path is a way of specifying the location of a piece of data within an artifact. For example, artifact.cef.sourceAddress is a data path that refers to the source address field of the artifact. A wildcard is a special character that can match any value or subfield within a data path. For example, artifact.*.cef.sourceAddress is a data path that uses a wildcard to match any field name before the cef subfield. This allows the playbook to access the source address data regardless of the field name, which can vary depending on the app or source that generated the artifact. Therefore, option C is the correct answer, as it explains why SOAR uses wildcards within artifact data paths. Option A is incorrect, because wildcards do not make playbooks more specific, but more flexible and adaptable. Option B is incorrect, because wildcards do not make playbooks filter out nulls, but match any value or subfield. Option D is incorrect, because wildcards do not make decision execution in playbooks run faster, but make data access in playbooks easier.

1: Understanding datapaths in Administer Splunk SOAR (Cloud)

On the Investigation page in Splunk SOAR, users have the ability to edit or delete comments associated with an event or a container. Comments are generally used for collaboration and to provide additional context to an investigation. While action results, approval records, and artifact values are typically not editable or deletable to maintain the integrity of the investigative data, comments are more flexible and can be managed by users to reflect the current state of the investigation.

Investigation page allows you to view and edit various information and data related to an event or a case. One of the things that you can edit or delete in the Investigation page is the comments that you or other users have added to the activity feed. Comments are a way of communicating and collaborating with other users during the investigation process. You can edit or delete your own comments by clicking on the three-dot menu icon next to the comment and selecting the appropriate option. You can also reply to other users’ comments by clicking on the reply icon. Therefore, option B is the correct answer, as it is the only option that can be edited or deleted in the Investigation page. Option A is incorrect, because action results are the outputs of the actions or playbooks that have been run on the event or case, and they cannot be edited or deleted in the Investigation page. Option C is incorrect, because approval records are the logs of the approval requests and responses that have been made for certain actions or playbooks, and they cannot be edited or deleted in the Investigation page. Option D is incorrect, because artifact values are the data that has been collected or generated by the event or case, and they cannot be edited or deleted in the Investigation page.

1: Start with Investigation in Splunk SOAR (Cloud)

A filter block with only one condition configured which states: artifact.*.cef .sourceAddress !- , would permit only non-null IP addresses to pass forward to the next block. The !- operator means “is not null”. The other options are not valid because they either include null values or other fields than sourceAddress. See Filter block for more details. A filter block in Splunk SOAR that is configured with the condition artifact.*.cef.sourceAddress != (assuming the intention was to use "!=" to denote 'not equal to') is designed to allow data that has non-null sourceAddress values to pass through to subsequent blocks. This means that any artifact data within the container that includes a sourceAddress field with a defined value (i.e., an actual IP address) will be permitted to move forward in the playbook. The filter effectively screens out any artifacts that do not have a source address specified, focusing the playbook's actions on those artifacts that contain valid IP address information in the sourceAddress field.

Under Asset Ingestion Settings in Splunk SOAR, when configuring an asset, the number of labels that must be applied can be zero or more. Labels are optional and are used to categorize data and control access. They are not a requirement under Asset Ingestion Settings, but they can be used to enhance organization and filtering if chosen.

 The Phantom REST API, often interacted with through the Phantom REST APP, is a powerful tool for automating and integrating Splunk SOAR with other systems. Common uses of the Phantom REST APP include using Django queries to interact with the SOAR database, using curl commands to programmatically create containers and add artifacts to them, and configuring action blocks within playbooks for automated actions. This flexibility allows for a wide range of automation and integration possibilities, enhancing the SOAR platform's capability to respond to security incidents and manage data.

Within Splunk SOAR, containers (which represent incidents, cases, or events) have a lifecycle that is tracked through their status. The default statuses available without any customization are "New", "In Progress", and "Closed". These statuses help in organizing and managing the incident response process, allowing users to easily track the progress of investigations and responses from initial detection through to resolution.

Splunk Phantom supports incremental backups in addition to full backups. An incremental backup is a type of backup that only copies the data that has changed since the last backup (whether that was a full backup or another incremental backup). This method is more storage-efficient than a full backup because it does not repeatedly back up the same data, reducing the amount of storage required and speeding up the backup process. Differential backups, which record the changes since the last full backup, and partial backups, which allow the selection of specific data to back up, are not standard backup types offered by Splunk Phantom according to its documentation.