Incident Response Analyst Interview Questions and Answers

Identify, isolate, and remediate affected systems while preserving evidence and minimizing impact on operations.

• Assess the scope: Identify affected endpoints and servers using logs and alerts.

• Contain the threat: Isolate compromised systems from the network to prevent further spread.

• Preserve evidence: Create forensic images of affected systems for analysis.

• Communicate: Inform stakeholders and establish a communication plan for updates.

• Remediate: Remove malware, patch vulnerabi...read more

The process analysis timeline involves tracking incidents, identifying artifacts, and understanding their significance in incident response.

• Identify the timeline of events: Document when the incident occurred, when it was detected, and when it was resolved.

• Collect relevant artifacts: Focus on logs, alerts, and system images that provide insight into the incident.

• Analyze user activity: Review user access logs to determine if unauthorized access occurred.

• Examine network traffic...read more

A DDoS attack overwhelms a target with traffic, disrupting services. Mitigation involves various strategies to manage and reduce impact.

• Traffic Analysis: Monitor incoming traffic patterns to identify unusual spikes that may indicate a DDoS attack.

• Rate Limiting: Implement rate limiting to restrict the number of requests a user can make to a server in a given timeframe.

• Web Application Firewalls (WAF): Use WAFs to filter and monitor HTTP traffic, blocking malicious requests befo...read more

SLA defines the expected response time for incidents, ensuring timely resolution and service reliability.

• Definition of SLA: Service Level Agreement (SLA) outlines the expected response and resolution times for incidents based on their severity.

• Response Time: For critical incidents, the SLA might specify a response time of 15 minutes, while for low-priority issues, it could be 4 hours.

• Impact on Business: Adhering to SLAs helps maintain customer trust and satisfaction, as timel...read more

The flag is typically a hidden piece of information within a file that needs to be found.

• Look for hidden text within the file

• Check for metadata or comments within the file

• Use tools like strings, hex editors, or steganography tools to extract hidden information