QUESTION: 9

What is the primary purpose of correlation searches in Splunk?

To extract and index raw data
To identify patterns and relationships between multiple data sources
To create dashboards for real-time monitoring
To store pre-aggregated search results

Answer(s): B

Explanation:

Correlation searches in Splunk Enterprise Security (ES) are a critical component of Security Operations Center (SOC) workflows, designed to detect threats by analyzing security data from multiple sources.
Primary Purpose of Correlation Searches:
Identify threats and anomalies: They detect patterns and suspicious activity by correlating logs, alerts, and events from different sources.
Automate security monitoring: By continuously running searches on ingested data, correlation searches help reduce manual efforts for SOC analysts.
Generate notable events: When a correlation search identifies a security risk, it creates a notable event in Splunk ES for investigation.
Trigger security automation: In combination with Splunk SOAR, correlation searches can initiate automated response actions, such as isolating endpoints or blocking malicious IPs. Since correlation searches analyze relationships and patterns across multiple data sources to detect security threats, the correct answer is B. To identify patterns and relationships between multiple data sources.

Reference:

Splunk ES Correlation Searches Overview
Best Practices for Correlation Searches
Splunk ES Use Cases and Notable Events

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QUESTION: 10

Which practices strengthen the development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)? (Choose three)

Regular updates based on feedback
Focusing solely on high-risk scenarios
Collaborating with cross-functional teams
Including detailed step-by-step instructions
Excluding historical incident data

Answer(s): A,C,D

Explanation:

Why Are These Practices Essential for SOP Development? Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are crucial for ensuring consistent, repeatable, and effective security operations in a Security Operations Center (SOC). Strengthening SOP development ensures efficiency, clarity, and adaptability in responding to incidents.
1 Regular Updates Based on Feedback (Answer A)
Security threats evolve, and SOPs must be updated based on real-world incidents, analyst feedback, and lessons learned.
Example: A new ransomware variant is detected; the SOP is updated to include a specific containment playbook in Splunk SOAR.
2 Collaborating with Cross-Functional Teams (Answer C) Effective SOPs require input from SOC analysts, threat hunters, IT, compliance teams, and DevSecOps.
Ensures that all relevant security and business perspectives are covered. Example: A SOC team collaborates with DevOps to ensure that a cloud security response SOP aligns with AWS security controls.
3 Including Detailed Step-by-Step Instructions (Answer D) SOPs should provide clear, actionable, and standardized steps for security analysts. Example: A Splunk ES incident response SOP should include:
How to investigate a security alert using correlation searches.
How to escalate incidents based on risk levels.
How to trigger a Splunk SOAR playbook for automated remediation.
Why Not the Other Options?
B . Focusing solely on high-risk scenarios All security events matter, not just high-risk ones. Low- level alerts can be early indicators of larger threats. E. Excluding historical incident data Past incidents provide valuable lessons to improve SOPs and incident response workflows.

Reference & Learning Resources
Best Practices for SOPs in Cybersecurity: https://www.nist.gov/cybersecurity-framework Splunk SOAR Playbook SOP Development: https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/SOAR Incident Response SOPs with Splunk: https://splunkbase.splunk.com

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QUESTION: 11

A Splunk administrator needs to integrate a third-party vulnerability management tool to automate remediation workflows.

What is the most efficient first step?

Set up a manual alerting system for vulnerabilities
Use REST APIs to integrate the third-party tool with Splunk SOAR
Write a correlation search for each vulnerability type
Configure custom dashboards to monitor vulnerabilities

Answer(s): B

Explanation:

Why Use REST APIs for Integration?
When integrating a third-party vulnerability management tool (e.g., Tenable, Qualys, Rapid7) with Splunk SOAR, using REST APIs is the most efficient and scalable approach.
Why REST APIs?
APIs enable direct communication between Splunk SOAR and the third-party tool. Allows automated ingestion of vulnerability data into Splunk. Supports automated remediation workflows (e.g., patch deployment, firewall rule updates). Reduces manual work by allowing Splunk SOAR to pull real-time data from the vulnerability tool. Steps to Integrate a Third-Party Vulnerability Tool with Splunk SOAR Using REST API:
1 Obtain API Credentials Get API keys or authentication tokens from the vulnerability management tool.
2 Configure REST API Integration Use Splunk SOAR's built-in API connectors or create a custom REST API call.
3 Ingest Vulnerability Data into Splunk Map API responses to Splunk ES correlation searches. 4 Automate Remediation Playbooks Build Splunk SOAR playbooks to:
Automatically open tickets for critical vulnerabilities. Trigger patches or firewall rules for high-risk vulnerabilities. Notify SOC analysts when a high-risk vulnerability is detected on a critical asset.
Example Use Case in Splunk SOAR:
Scenario: The company uses Tenable.io for vulnerability management. Splunk SOAR connects to Tenable's API and pulls vulnerability scan results. If a critical vulnerability is found on a production server, Splunk SOAR:
Automatically creates a ServiceNow ticket for remediation.
Triggers a patching script to fix the vulnerability.
Updates Splunk ES dashboards for tracking.
Why Not the Other Options?
A . Set up a manual alerting system for vulnerabilities Manual alerting is inefficient and doesn't scale well.
C . Write a correlation search for each vulnerability type This would create too many rules; API integration allows real-time updates from the vulnerability tool.
D . Configure custom dashboards to monitor vulnerabilities Dashboards provide visibility but don't automate remediation.

Reference & Learning Resources
Splunk SOAR API Integration Guide: https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/SOAR Integrating Tenable, Qualys, Rapid7 with Splunk: https://splunkbase.splunk.com

REST API Automation in Splunk SOAR: https://www.splunk.com/en_us/products/soar.html

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QUESTION: 12

Which sourcetype configurations affect data ingestion? (Choose three)

Event breaking rules
Timestamp extraction
Data retention policies
Line merging rules

Answer(s): A,B,D

Explanation:

The sourcetype in Splunk defines how incoming machine data is interpreted, structured, and stored. Proper sourcetype configurations ensure accurate event parsing, indexing, and searching.
1. Event Breaking Rules (A)
Determines how Splunk splits raw logs into individual events. If misconfigured, a single event may be broken into multiple fragments or multiple log lines may be combined incorrectly.
Controlled using LINE_BREAKER and BREAK_ONLY_BEFORE settings.
2. Timestamp Extraction (B)
Extracts and assigns timestamps to events during ingestion. Incorrect timestamp configuration leads to misplaced events in time-based searches. Uses TIME_PREFIX, MAX_TIMESTAMP_LOOKAHEAD, and TIME_FORMAT settings.
3. Line Merging Rules (D)
Controls whether multiline events should be combined into a single event. Useful for logs like stack traces or multi-line syslog messages.
Uses SHOULD_LINEMERGE and LINE_BREAKER settings.
Incorrect

Answer(s):
C . Data Retention Policies
Affects storage and deletion, not data ingestion itself.
Additional Resources:
Splunk Sourcetype Configuration Guide

Event Breaking and Line Merging

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Free Splunk® SPLK-5002 Exam Questions (page: 9)

QUESTION: 9

Explanation:

Reference:

QUESTION: 10

Explanation:

QUESTION: 11

Explanation:

QUESTION: 12

Explanation:

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