CrowdStrike CCFR-201 Exam Dumps & Practice Test Questions

Question 1:

Within a vSphere environment monitored by VMware Aria Operations for Logs (formerly vRealize Log Insight), a host enters Reduced Functionality Mode (RFM) when its license is missing or has expired. 

Which section of the Aria Operations for Logs interface provides the most precise method for identifying hosts currently experiencing Reduced Functionality Mode?

A. Event Search
B. Executive Summary Dashboard
C. Host Search
D. Installation Tokens

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

Reduced Functionality Mode (RFM) occurs in VMware vSphere environments when a host either lacks a valid license or the existing license has expired. This status restricts the host’s capabilities, limiting its performance and functionality until proper licensing is restored. Identifying which hosts are in RFM is critical for system administrators to ensure uninterrupted service, maintain compliance with licensing terms, and avoid operational disruptions.

VMware Aria Operations for Logs offers several interfaces to review system health and logs, but the Host Search section is specifically tailored for detailed examination of host-level data, including licensing status. This feature allows administrators to filter hosts by multiple attributes, including their licensing condition, making it the most accurate and straightforward way to find any host currently operating under Reduced Functionality Mode.

While other parts of the interface provide useful insights, they do not focus specifically on licensing status:

• Event Search is primarily used for querying logs and events, offering rich event data but not a direct or concise summary of license issues per host.

• The Executive Summary Dashboard provides a broad overview of the environment’s health and performance but lacks the detailed licensing granularity needed to identify RFM hosts quickly.

• Installation Tokens relate to the process of license activation and token management but do not display real-time licensing states for hosts in the environment.

By leveraging the Host Search tool, administrators can quickly pinpoint any hosts affected by license problems, enabling prompt remediation such as license renewal or reassignment. This proactive monitoring ensures both operational stability and legal compliance, helping organizations avoid penalties associated with unlicensed use.

In conclusion, the Host Search feature is the most effective and reliable tool within VMware Aria Operations for Logs for detecting and managing hosts in Reduced Functionality Mode.

Question 2:

While investigating a host’s activity in a security operations platform, analysts often need to refine the event data to focus on relevant incidents.

Which filtering option is available in the Host Timeline feature that helps analysts narrow down event data during their investigations?

A. Severity
B. Event Types
C. User Name
D. Detection ID

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

The Host Timeline is an essential investigative feature in many Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platforms. It displays a chronological sequence of events tied to a specific host, helping security analysts reconstruct what occurred before, during, or after a potential security incident.

Given that hosts generate vast amounts of event data, filtering is critical to isolate relevant information quickly. The Event Types filter is a standard and powerful option within the Host Timeline feature that allows analysts to select specific categories of events—such as process launches, file accesses, network connections, or registry modifications. By filtering on event types, analysts remove unrelated noise and can focus on suspicious or noteworthy actions that are more likely to indicate malicious activity or system anomalies.

Other filter options like Severity, User Name, or Detection ID, while useful in other parts of security platforms, are generally not primary filters available in the Host Timeline view. Severity often applies to alerts rather than raw event logs. User Name is typically more relevant to identity-focused investigations, and Detection ID refers to unique identifiers of specific detections, not general timeline events.

Using Event Types to filter enables more precise and efficient threat hunting, allowing analysts to identify key attack behaviors such as lateral movement, privilege escalation, or persistence mechanisms. This targeted approach significantly speeds up root cause analysis and incident response.

In essence, the Event Types filter within the Host Timeline is a critical tool for security analysts to sift through complex datasets and zero in on events that matter most for accurate threat detection and forensic investigations.

Question 3:

When investigating DNSRequest events within system monitoring or threat detection logs, which field specifically identifies the process that originally initiated the DNS request?

A. Both ContextProcessId_decimal and ParentProcessId_decimal fields
B. ParentProcessId_decimal field
C. ContextProcessId_decimal field
D. TargetProcessId_decimal field

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

In cybersecurity monitoring and forensic investigations, especially when examining DNSRequest events from sources like Microsoft Defender for Endpoint or Sysmon logs, it is critical to trace back network activity to the exact process that triggered it. This is key for identifying suspicious or malicious behaviors such as malware attempting to communicate externally.

The DNSRequest event logs capture DNS resolution attempts, but the vital question is: which process caused this query? Among the various process ID fields in the logs, the ContextProcessId_decimal is the definitive identifier for this purpose. This field reflects the process ID (PID) of the application or process context responsible for generating the DNS request at the time of the event.

Other process ID fields often seen in such telemetry, like ParentProcessId_decimal, represent the process that launched or spawned the originating process, which can help map process hierarchies but does not directly tie to the DNS request itself. Meanwhile, the TargetProcessId_decimal is typically unrelated to DNSRequest events and is more relevant to scenarios involving process injection or inter-process communication.

By using ContextProcessId_decimal, analysts can accurately connect DNS activity to the originating executable or service. This connection is crucial in threat hunting workflows because it helps reveal if known benign processes are responsible or if suspicious or unauthorized binaries are making unusual DNS queries—an indicator of potential command and control (C2) communications or data exfiltration attempts.

Therefore, focusing on ContextProcessId_decimal provides a reliable method to link DNS requests to their source, enhancing incident response and forensic investigations with precise process-level attribution.

Question 4:

What is the main function of the MITRE ATT&CK Framework, and what type of cybersecurity data does it provide to security professionals?

A. It lists best practices for different cybersecurity domains like Identity and Access Management.
B. It offers a step-by-step methodology for responding to cyber incidents.
C. It describes the stages of an attacker’s lifecycle, the targeted platforms, and specific tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) they use.
D. It assigns particular cyberattack methods to identified threat actors.

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

The MITRE ATT&CK Framework is a comprehensive, globally recognized knowledge base created by the MITRE Corporation that details the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) employed by cyber adversaries. It is built upon real-world observations of attacker behavior, making it an essential tool for cybersecurity professionals seeking to understand how attackers operate across various environments.

Unlike frameworks that focus on compliance or incident response steps, ATT&CK systematically breaks down the adversary’s attack lifecycle into discrete stages called tactics — representing attacker objectives such as gaining initial access or escalating privileges. For each tactic, the framework lists techniques—the specific methods attackers use to achieve those goals—and sometimes sub-techniques for more detailed behaviors.

MITRE ATT&CK spans multiple platforms, including Windows, Linux, macOS, cloud infrastructure, and mobile environments, allowing defenders to map threats across diverse technology stacks. It includes references to real-world threat actor groups known to have used particular techniques, alongside recommended detection strategies and mitigation controls.

While ATT&CK does not prescribe incident response workflows nor merely provide generic best practices, its strength lies in enabling organizations to model threats accurately and build defenses grounded in how attackers actually behave. This makes it invaluable for activities like threat hunting, threat intelligence analysis, red team exercises, and designing security architectures.

In summary, MITRE ATT&CK empowers cybersecurity teams by delivering detailed, actionable knowledge about adversary behaviors—helping organizations identify gaps in defense, anticipate attacker moves, and strengthen their overall security posture.

Question 5:

Within the MITRE ATT&CK framework, under the “Persistence” category and specifically the “Create Account” technique, how should the action labeled “Keep Access > Persistence > Create Account” be understood?

A. The adversary is establishing a new user account to remain persistent in the environment.
B. The adversary is using browser extensions to establish persistence.
C. The adversary is leveraging external remote services to stay persistent.
D. The adversary is employing application skimming to maintain persistence.

Answer: A

Explanation:

The MITRE ATT&CK framework provides a structured taxonomy of adversary tactics and techniques, helping defenders categorize and understand attacker behaviors. One of the tactics in ATT&CK is Persistence, which describes techniques adversaries use to maintain footholds within a network or system after initial access. Under Persistence, one specific technique is Create Account. When you see “Keep Access > Persistence > Create Account” in ATT&CK, it refers to adversaries creating or modifying a user account so that they can regain access even if their initial entry point is discovered or remediated.

To interpret “Keep Access > Persistence > Create Account,” it is essential to recognize that creating a new user account (often with elevated privileges) is a classic and straightforward persistence mechanism. Once an attacker has compromised a system, they may not want to rely solely on backdoored services or stolen credentials that could be invalidated by defenders. By adding a legitimate-seeming user account—perhaps with a name that blends into the existing naming conventions or with minimal logging enabled—they establish a more resilient means of returning later. If defenders clean up the original malware or reset certain credentials, the hidden user account still exists and provides an alternate entry point. Thus, Option A is the precise description: the adversary is creating a new account explicitly to stay persistent.

The other options are incorrect because they do not accurately describe the “Create Account” technique. For example, Option B mentions browser extensions, which typically fall under different techniques such as Persistence: Browser Extensions or Credential Access, rather than Create Account. An adversary using a malicious browser extension is not directly creating a new operating system user account; instead, they exploit the browser’s mechanism to load malicious code. That is a separate ATT&CK technique.

Option C references “external remote services,” which might correspond to techniques like Remote Access Tools or External Remote Services under different tactics (Defense Evasion or Persistence). In these cases, adversaries rely on remote servers or command-and-control channels to maintain access, rather than local user accounts. This does not match the “Create Account” sub-technique, which specifically involves creating or modifying an account on the compromised host or in a connected directory (like Active Directory).

Option D suggests “application skimming,” which refers to data theft—intercepting or copying sensitive information, often from point-of-sale systems. That is part of the Collection or Credential Access tactics, not Persistence via account creation. Therefore, it does not align with “Keep Access > Persistence > Create Account.”

In summary, “Keep Access > Persistence > Create Account” means exactly what it says: the adversary is establishing a new account on the system or network to maintain an ongoing foothold. This approach helps attackers remain inside the environment even if other access methods are discovered and removed, making it a critical technique for defenders to monitor and mitigate.

Question 6:

When you apply an IOA (Indicator of Attack) exclusion in an endpoint security platform such as CrowdStrike Falcon, what effect does this exclusion have on the protected host and on the alert information visible in the console?

A. The specified process is no longer sent to the Falcon Sandbox for further analysis.
B. The detection associated with that IOA is suppressed, and the process in question is permitted to execute.
C. The sensor ceases sending any events originating from processes that match the exclusion’s regular expression.
D. The IOA continues to generate detections, but the process is still allowed to run.

Answer: B

Explanation:

In modern endpoint security solutions—like CrowdStrike Falcon—Indicators of Attack (IOAs) describe behavioral patterns or activities that might indicate a malicious attack in progress, rather than relying solely on static indicators like file hashes. Administrators can configure IOA exclusions to prevent known benign processes from generating recurring false positives. Understanding how an IOA exclusion functions is essential to ensure that legitimate software can run uninterrupted while maintaining overall security.

When you create an IOA exclusion, you identify a particular IOA rule or pattern—often defined by a regular expression (regex) that matches certain process names or behaviors—and instruct the security sensor to ignore that IOA for the specified process. The immediate effect is that any future activity matching that IOA exclusion will not trigger an alert or detection. Instead, the sensor allows the process to run normally. Thus, the key outcome is suppression of the detection while allowing the process to execute without interference. This is precisely what Option B describes.

Concretely, let’s say an organization uses a custom-built monitoring agent that sometimes looks like malicious code to the default CrowdStrike IOA rule set. Without an exclusion, the sensor would repeatedly flag and quarantine or block that agent, disrupting critical monitoring operations. By configuring an IOA exclusion that matches the agent’s executable path or process name, the administrator tells the Falcon sensor: “When you see this specific behavior tied to this process, do not treat it as malicious—suppress the associated detection and let it run.” The sensor continues to collect events for everything else; it does not stop monitoring entirely, nor does it automatically send such processes to the sandbox for analysis. Instead, it simply omits any alerts or console entries related to that IOA, reducing noise and preventing operational disruption.

Option A is incorrect because exclusions do not control sandbox submissions. The Falcon sensor typically decides whether to send a file to the cloud sandbox based on file reputation, hash, or dynamic behavior analysis—not directly tied to the IOA exclusion rule. Excluded processes might still be analyzed for other reasons, but the IOA itself won’t cause an analysis or alert.

Option C is also misleading. Excluding an IOA rule does not fully disable event collection for the process. The sensor still logs file, process, and network activity for purposes of overall telemetry and forensic investigations. Excluding an IOA simply stops that specific pattern from generating a detection; it does not stop all events from that process from being recorded or forwarded to the cloud.

Finally, Option D is incorrect because if an IOA is excluded, the associated detection is not generated at all. It does not produce a suppressed or “hidden” alert in the console while still allowing the process. Instead, exclusion means there is no alert to begin with. The console will not show a suppressed detection or mark it hidden—it simply will not appear. The process runs without the sensor triggering on that IOA.

In summary, when you configure an IOA exclusion, you instruct the endpoint sensor to suppress the corresponding detection and permit the matched process to continue running unhindered. This helps reduce false positives for trusted applications while still allowing the security platform to monitor and protect against other malicious behaviors.

Question 7:

In the context of CrowdStrike Falcon, what best describes Event Actions?

A. Automated searches enabling users to pivot between connected events and queries
B. Hyperlinks used to navigate within a Host Search
C. User-bookmarked custom event data queries
D. Unprocessed raw event data collected by Falcon

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

Event Actions within CrowdStrike Falcon are powerful automation features designed to assist security analysts and incident responders in efficiently investigating security incidents. These actions facilitate rapid exploration by linking related events and search results, enabling analysts to pivot seamlessly through interconnected data points without needing to manually construct each query.

Specifically, Event Actions consist of predefined or dynamic searches that trigger when certain events are detected, allowing users to instantly pull up relevant information like network traffic logs, authentication attempts, or system event details connected to the original alert. This accelerates the investigation process by reducing the time and effort required to correlate disparate data sources.

Now, to clarify why the other options are less accurate:

• Option B refers to hyperlinks that aid navigation during Host Searches, but this is more of a manual navigation aid rather than automated, intelligent pivots — Event Actions automate this process.

• Option C mentions bookmarked custom queries, which are user-saved searches. Although valuable, they are static and don’t inherently provide the dynamic pivoting functionality that Event Actions deliver.

• Option D describes raw event data itself, which is the foundational input Falcon uses. Event Actions are about interacting with and analyzing this data, not the raw data directly.

In summary, Event Actions in Falcon automate the investigative workflow by allowing users to quickly pivot between related events and queries. This feature is key to speeding up threat detection and response by creating a more connected and automated analysis experience, essential for effective endpoint security operations.

Question 8:

On a Windows machine running CrowdStrike security software, where are quarantined files generally stored?

A. C:\Windows\Quarantine
B. C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\CrowdStrike\Quarantine
C. C:\Windows\System32\
D. C:\Windows\Temp\Drivers\CrowdStrike\Quarantine

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

When CrowdStrike’s endpoint security detects potentially harmful files on a Windows host, it quarantines those files to isolate and prevent any damage or further spread. The quarantine process moves these suspect files into a secure, dedicated folder where they cannot execute or affect the system, allowing analysts to review and decide on further actions such as deletion or restoration.

The specific folder where CrowdStrike places these quarantined files is typically:

C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\CrowdStrike\Quarantine

This path is strategically located within the Windows directory structure to provide both security and easy access for CrowdStrike processes. Storing quarantined files under the “Drivers” folder indicates that these files are handled at a system level, preventing ordinary users or malicious actors from easily accessing or tampering with them.

Let’s review the other options:

• A. C:\Windows\Quarantine: This might seem like a logical quarantine folder, but it’s not the standard path used by CrowdStrike.

• C. C:\Windows\System32: This is a critical system directory but not where quarantined files are placed directly. CrowdStrike uses a subfolder here for quarantine purposes.

• D. C:\Windows\Temp\Drivers\CrowdStrike\Quarantine: The Temp folder is intended for temporary storage and not secure enough for quarantine, so CrowdStrike does not use this location.

By placing quarantined files in the designated CrowdStrike subfolder, the system ensures these files are protected from accidental execution or deletion while allowing controlled access for security reviews. This careful organization helps maintain system stability and security integrity during malware investigations.

Question 9:

Regarding CrowdStrike’s cloud data retention practices, how long is detection data stored in the CrowdStrike Cloud before being automatically deleted?

A. 90 Days
B. 45 Days
C. 30 Days
D. 14 Days

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

CrowdStrike is a prominent cybersecurity platform known for its cloud-native approach to threat detection and response. One of its key capabilities involves collecting and storing detection data in the cloud, which provides continuous insight into security events and potential threats across endpoints. Understanding how long this data is retained is essential for security teams aiming to conduct thorough investigations and comply with regulatory requirements.

CrowdStrike’s standard policy retains detection data in the cloud for a 90-day period. This means all events and detections recorded by the system remain accessible for three months. During this window, security analysts can review past incidents, perform trend analysis, and investigate suspicious activity in a comprehensive manner. Retaining data for this length of time strikes a balance: it ensures enough historical context to spot patterns or anomalies, yet it avoids storing outdated data indefinitely, which could burden system performance and increase storage costs.

After 90 days, the detection data is automatically purged from the cloud platform. This cleanup process is designed to maintain platform efficiency by freeing up storage resources, allowing CrowdStrike to deliver fast, scalable, and reliable threat intelligence services without unnecessary data bloat. Purging also aligns with data governance best practices by limiting the lifespan of sensitive information.

Organizations with specific compliance needs or extended investigation requirements can often negotiate longer retention periods with CrowdStrike through premium or enterprise service plans. These extensions allow them to meet industry mandates for data retention or conduct in-depth forensic analysis over extended timeframes.

In summary, the 90-day retention window is a deliberate design choice that supports effective security operations while preserving system performance and compliance flexibility.

Question 10:

What is a primary benefit of using a Process Timeline in system analysis and monitoring?

A. Filtering process events by specific event types
B. Highlighting suspicious processes with color codes based on frequency and legitimacy
C. Displaying processes that cause spikes in CPU usage over time
D. Providing a visual map of Parent-Child and Sibling process relationships

Correct Answer: D

Explanation:

A Process Timeline is an important analytical tool used in monitoring system behavior and diagnosing performance or security issues. Among its many features, one of the most valuable is its ability to visually represent the hierarchical relationships between processes, specifically the Parent-Child and Sibling connections.

The Parent-Child relationship refers to when one process initiates or spawns another process. For example, an application (parent) might start multiple subprocesses (children) to carry out tasks. Visualizing these relationships on a timeline helps system administrators and security analysts understand the flow of execution within a system. It reveals which processes are dependent on others and how they interact over time.

Sibling processes are those that share the same parent process. Seeing these processes together provides insights into how resources are shared or contested among related tasks. It can also help identify whether sibling processes are running as expected or if they may be causing conflicts or resource bottlenecks.

By illustrating these relationships in a clear, chronological format, a Process Timeline aids in troubleshooting complex system behavior. For instance, if a parent process suddenly spawns an unusually high number of child processes, it could indicate a malfunction, a runaway process, or malicious activity such as malware replication. Similarly, observing sibling processes can help detect performance degradation caused by inefficient resource allocation or process contention.

In summary, the Process Timeline’s visualization of Parent-Child and Sibling process relationships offers crucial insights into system operations, making it an indispensable tool for both performance monitoring and cybersecurity investigations.