Pass the Splunk Cybersecurity Defense Analyst SPLK-5001 Questions and answers with CertsForce

In Splunk, to filter users with over a thousand occurrences, the pipeline| stats count by user | where count > 1000 | sort - countis most effective. Thestats count by usercommand generates a count of occurrences for each user. Thewhereclause then filters out only those users who have more than 1000 occurrences. Finally,sort - countsorts the results in descending order by count. This approach is efficient for identifying outliers, such as users with a high number of events.

In Splunk, when an analyst is building a search and finds that extracted fields are not appearing, it often relates to the search mode being used.Smart ModeorVerbose Modeare better suited for field extraction as they allow Splunk to automatically extract and display fields based on the data being searched.

Search Modes in Splunk:

Fast Mode:Optimizes search performance by limiting field extractions to only those required by the search. If the analyst is in Fast Mode, non-required fields may not be extracted or displayed.

Smart Mode:Balances performance and field extraction, allowing fields to be automatically extracted and made available for analysis.

Verbose Mode:Extracts all fields and provides the most complete view of the data, though it may be slower.

Incorrect Options:

A. The analyst does not have the proper role to search this data:If this were the case, the analyst might not be able to search at all, rather than just missing extracted fields.

B. The analyst is searching newly indexed data that was improperly parsed:This would likely lead to no data being returned, rather than just missing fields.

C. The analyst did not add the extract command to their search pipeline:Field extraction in Splunk is usually automatic unless specific commands are used; the issue here is more likely related to search mode.

Themakeresultscommand in Splunk is used to generate a single-row result that can be used to create test data within a search pipeline. This command is particularly useful for testing and experimenting with SPL commands on a small set of synthetic data without relying on existing logs or events in the Splunk index. It is commonly used by analysts who want to test commands or SPL syntax before applying them to real data.

The key requirement is to calculate arunning total of distinct IP addressesover time, which involves both aggregation (stats dc(clientip) by _time) and cumulative calculation (streamstats dc(ipa) as "Cumulative total").

Option Acorrectly bins events by day (bin _time span=1d), calculates distinct counts (dc(clientip)) per day, and then applies streamstats to compute the running (cumulative) count across the timeline.

Option Bcalculates daily distinct counts but does not provide a running total.

Option Csimply formats a table without aggregation.

Option Daggregates by user, not by day, and misses cumulative counts.

TheSplunk Search Manualrecommends using streamstats with distinct count fields to obtain running totals for time series data.

In Splunk,default metadatarefers to automatically assigned attributes associated with each event at indexing time that help identify and organize data. These include:

Source: The origin of the data (file, network port, etc.)

Timestamps: The time the event occurred, extracted from the event or assigned at ingestion

Host name: The name of the host generating the event

Event descriptionis not a default metadata field in Splunk. It is typically user-defined or derived from the event content and is not assigned automatically by Splunk.

TheSplunk documentationon event metadata clarifies these standard fields, which are crucial for search filtering and data organization.

The Splunk Security Content library, which includes apps like ESCU (Enterprise Security Content Update) and SSE (Splunk Security Essentials), primarily consists of Dashboards, Reports, and Correlation Searches.Validated architecturesare not a component of these content libraries. Instead, validated architectures refer to predefined, best-practice designs for deploying and configuring Splunk in a way that ensures optimal performance and scalability, which is separate from the content libraries focused on delivering security detections and visualizations.

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Adaptive Response is a feature in Splunk's Enterprise Security (ES) framework that allows security teams to automate actions and responses based on alerts or notable events. This feature is pivotal for orchestrating automated incident response processes, reducing the time between detection and response, and integrating Splunk with external systems to trigger appropriate actions.

Purpose:Adaptive Response enables the automation of specific tasks or workflows based on security events detected by Splunk ES. For instance, it can trigger actions such as isolating a compromised host, blocking IP addresses, or enriching data by querying additional sources when a notable event occurs.

Mechanism:When a notable event is identified within the Splunk platform, Adaptive Response can execute a series of predefined actions. These actions can be configured within the Splunk interface, allowing them to run automatically or with manual approval depending on the organization's needs. This capability is essential for streamlining security operations, especially in environments where quick response is critical.

Integration with External Applications:One of the key features of Adaptive Response is its ability to integrate with third-party security tools and solutions. This integration extends the capabilities of Splunk by allowing it to interact with other systems likefirewalls, intrusion prevention systems (IPS), endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools, and ticketing systems. This ensures a coordinated and comprehensive defense mechanism.

Usage in Security Operations:Security analysts often rely on Adaptive Response for managing and automating common security tasks, such as:

Quarantine or isolate a hostin response to malware detection.

Trigger a full disk scanwhen suspicious activity is detected.

Notify relevant stakeholdersthrough ticketing systems or direct communication tools.

Update firewall rulesto block traffic from a suspicious IP address.

TheIdentity Centerdashboard in Splunk Enterprise Security is the primary interface for managing and reporting on user identities, including users currently on watchlists. This dashboard allows analysts to track user behavior, alerts, and notable events related to specific user identities, with the ability to view and manage watchlist membership.

Identity Centerprovides focused visibility into user-centric data and investigations.

Access Trackeris more general for access logs and authentication events but does not provide watchlist management.

Access CenterandIdentity Trackerare not standard dashboard names in Splunk ES.

TheSplunk Enterprise Security User Guiderecommends the Identity Center for watchlist monitoring and user-focused investigations.

In Splunk,lookup tablesare the preferred method for enriching raw event data with additional contextual information such as ASN (Autonomous System Number) and IP ownership. By importing a lookup table that maps IP addresses to ASNs and owners, analysts can perform lookups during searches to append this valuable metadata.

Therexcommand is used for extracting patterns from raw text but does not provide enrichment.

oval commandsandmakersanitaare not valid Splunk commands related to ASN enrichment.

Splunk documentation and theCybersecurity Defense Analyst Study Guiderecommend configuring IP-to-ASN lookups to augment network security data for better attribution and threat hunting.

Adaptive Response Actions (ARAs)in Splunk Enterprise Security enable analysts to initiate automated or semi-automated remediation workflows directly from ES dashboards or investigations without leaving the interface. When integrated with Splunk SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response), ARAs can trigger playbooks designed to execute containment actions on compromised devices and simultaneously update the original investigation or notable event.

Anadaptive response actionis tightly integrated with ES findings and provides immediate feedback into the investigation workflow.

Event-level and field-level workflow actions may support initiating external processes but are less integrated or standardized than ARAs.

Alert actions typically trigger notifications, not complex remediation playbooks.

TheSplunk Enterprise Security documentationhighlights ARAs as a key component for orchestrated response enabling analysts to act decisively within the ES context, ensuring containment activities are both tracked and correlated with initial findings.