Pass the Splunk Cybersecurity Defense Analyst SPLK-5002 Questions and answers with ValidTests

Notable events in Splunk Enterprise Security (ES) are triggered by correlation searches, which generate alerts when suspicious activity is detected. However, if too many false positives occur, analysts waste time investigating non-issues, reducing SOC efficiency.

How to Improve Notable Events Effectiveness:

Apply suppression rules to filter out known false positives and reduce alert fatigue.

Refine correlation searches by adjusting thresholds and tuning event detection logic.

Leverage risk-based alerting (RBA) to prioritize high-risk events.

Use adaptive response actions to enrich events dynamically.

By suppressing false positives, SOC analysts focus on real threats, making notable events more actionable. Thus, the correct answer is A. Applying suppression rules for false positives.

References:

Managing Notable Events in Splunk ES

Best Practices for Tuning Correlation Searches

Using Suppression in Splunk ES

Effective case management in Splunk Enterprise Security (ES) helps streamline incident tracking, investigation, and resolution.

How to Optimize Case Management:

Standardizing ticket creation workflows (A)

Ensures consistency in how incidents are reported and tracked.

Reduces manual errors and improves collaboration between SOC teams.

Integrating Splunk with ITSM tools (C)

Automates the process of creating and updating tickets in ServiceNow, Jira, or Remedy.

Enables better tracking of incidents and response actions.

Why Use Real-Time Notable Event Dashboards for Phishing Detection?

Phishing campaigns require real-time monitoring to detect threats as they emerge and respond quickly.

????Why "Real-Time Notable Event Dashboards" is the Best Choice? (Answer B)✅Shows live security alerts for phishing detections.✅Enables SOC analysts to take immediate action (e.g., blocking malicious domains, disabling compromised accounts).✅Uses correlation searches in Splunk Enterprise Security (ES) to detect phishing indicators.

????Example in Splunk:????Scenario: A company runs a phishing awareness campaign.✅Real-time dashboards track:

How many employees clicked on phishing links.

How many users reported phishing emails.

Any suspicious activity (e.g., account takeovers).

Why Not the Other Options?

❌A. Weekly incident trend reports – Helpful for analysis but not fast enough for phishing detection.❌C. Risk score-based summary reports – Risk scores are useful but not designed for real-time phishing detection.❌D. SLA compliance reports – SLA reports measure performance but don’t help actively detect phishing attacks.

References & Learning Resources

????Splunk ES Notable Events & Phishing Detection: https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/ES ????Real-Time Security Monitoring with Splunk: https://splunkbase.splunk.com ????SOC Dashboards for Phishing Campaigns: https://www.splunk.com/en_us/blog/tips-and-tricks

Splunk SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response) playbooks automate security processes, reducing response times.

✅1. Defined Workflows (A)

A structured flowchart of actions for handling security events.

Ensures that the playbook follows a logical sequence (e.g., detect → enrich → contain → remediate).

Example:

If a phishing email is detected, the workflow includes:

Extract email artifacts (e.g., sender, links).

Check indicators against threat intelligence feeds.

Quarantine the email if it is malicious.

✅2. Actionable Steps or Tasks (C)

Each playbook contains specific, automated steps that execute responses.

Examples:

Extracting indicators from logs.

Blocking malicious IPs in firewalls.

Isolating compromised endpoints.

✅3. Integration with External Tools (E)

Playbooks must connect with SIEM, EDR, firewalls, threat intelligence platforms, and ticketing systems.

Uses APIs and connectors to integrate with tools like:

Splunk ES

Palo Alto Networks

Microsoft Defender

ServiceNow

❌Incorrect Answers:

B. Threat intelligence feeds → These enrich playbooks but are not mandatory components of playbook development.

D. Manual approval processes → Playbooks are designed for automation, not manual approvals.

????Additional Resources:

Splunk SOAR Playbook Documentation

Best Practices for Developing SOAR Playbooks

Effective security reporting helps SOC teams, executives, and compliance officers make informed decisions.

✅1. Automating Report Generation (A)

Saves time by scheduling reports for regular distribution.

Reduces manual effort and ensures timely insights.

Example:

A weekly phishing attack report sent to SOC analysts.

✅2. Customizing Reports for Different Audiences (B)

Technical reports for SOC teams include detailed event logs.

Executive summaries provide risk assessments and trends.

Example:

SOC analysts see incident logs, while executives get a risk summary.

✅3. Providing Actionable Recommendations (D)

Reports should not just show data but suggest actions.

Example:

If failed login attempts increase, recommend MFA enforcement.

❌Incorrect Answers:

C. Including unrelated historical data for context → Reports should be concise and relevant.

E. Using dynamic filters for better analysis → Useful in dashboards, but not a primary factor in reporting effectiveness.

????Additional Resources:

Splunk Security Reporting Guide

Best Practices for Security Metrics

How Splunk SOAR Improves Phishing Response?

Phishing attacks require fast detection and response. Manual investigation delays can be eliminated using Splunk SOAR automation.

????Why Use Playbooks for Automated Email Triage? (Answer B)✅Extracts email headers and attachments for analysis✅Checks links & attachments against threat intelligence feeds✅Automatically quarantines or deletes malicious emails✅Escalates high-risk cases to SOC analysts

????Example Playbook Workflow in Splunk SOAR:????Scenario: A suspicious email is reported.✅Splunk SOAR playbook automatically:

Extracts sender details & checks against threat intelligence

Analyzes URLs & attachments using VirusTotal/Sandboxing

Tags the email as "Malicious" or "Safe"

Quarantines the email & alerts SOC analysts

Why Not the Other Options?

❌A. Prioritizing phishing cases manually – Still requires manual effort, leading to delays.❌C. Assigning cases to analysts in real-time – Doesn’t solve the issue of slow manual investigations.❌D. Increasing the indexing frequency of email logs – Helps with log retrieval but doesn’t automate phishing response.

References & Learning Resources

????Splunk SOAR Phishing Playbook Guide: https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/SOAR ????Phishing Detection Automation in Splunk: https://splunkbase.splunk.com ????Email Threat Intelligence with SOAR: https://www.splunk.com/en_us/blog/security

Why Use "Data Models" for Standardized Search Accuracy and Detection Logic?

SplunkData Modelsprovide astructured, normalized representationof raw logs, improving:

✅Search consistency across different log sources✅Detection logic by ensuring standardized field names✅Faster and more efficient querieswith data model acceleration

????Example in Splunk Enterprise Security:????Scenario:A SOC team monitors login failures acrossmultiple authentication systems.✅Without Data Models:Different logs usesrc_ip, source_ip, or ip_address, making searches complex.✅With Data Models:All fieldsmap to a standard format, enablingconsistent detection logic.

Why Not the Other Options?

❌A. Field Extraction– Extracts fields from raw events butdoes not standardize field names across sources.❌C. Event Correlation– Detects relationships between logsbut doesn’t normalize data for search accuracy.❌D. Normalization Rules– A general term; Splunkuses CIM & Data Models for normalization.

References & Learning Resources

????Splunk Data Models Documentation: https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/latest/Knowledge/Aboutdatamodels ????Using CIM & Data Models for Security Analytics: https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/263 ????How Data Models Improve Search Performance: https://www.splunk.com/en_us/blog/tips-and-

Why Use Data Models in Dashboards?

SplunkData Modelsallow dashboards toretrieve structured, normalized data quickly, improving search performance and accuracy.

????How Data Models Help in Dashboards?(AnswerB)✅Standardized Field Naming– Ensures that queries always useconsistent field names(e.g.,src_ipinstead ofsource_ip).✅Faster Searches– Data models allow dashboards torun structured searches instead of raw log queries.✅Example:ASOC dashboard for user activity monitoringuses a CIM-compliantAuthentication Data Model, ensuring that querieswork across different log sources.

Why Not the Other Options?

❌A. To store raw data for compliance purposes– Raw data is stored in indexes,not data models.❌C. To compress indexed data– Data modelsstructuredata but donot perform compression.❌D. To reduce storage usage on Splunk instances– Data modelshelp with search performance, not storage reduction.

References & Learning Resources

????Splunk Data Models for Dashboard Optimization: https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/latest/Knowledge/Aboutdatamodels ????Building Efficient Dashboards Using Data Models: https://splunkbase.splunk.com ????Using CIM-Compliant Data Models for Security Analytics: https://www.splunk.com/en_us/blog/tips-and-tricks

Splunk allows dynamic field extraction to enhance data analysis without modifying raw indexed data.

Search-Time Field Extraction:

Extracts fields on-demand when running searches.

Uses Splunk’s Field Extraction Engine (rex,spath, or automatic field discovery).

Minimizes indexing overhead by keeping the raw data unchanged.

The Splunk REST API allows programmatic access to Splunk’s features, helping automate security workflows in a Security Operations Center (SOC).

Key REST API Actions for Automation:

POST for creating new data entries (A)

Used to send logs, alerts, or notable events to Splunk.

Essential for integrating external security tools with Splunk.

GET for retrieving search results (C)

Fetches logs, alerts, and notable event details programmatically.

Helps automate security monitoring and incident response.