Free Practice Questions for the CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Exam (2026 Updated)

A tabletop exercise is a simulation-based activity where incident response team members and relevant stakeholders walk through a hypothetical security incident in a discussion-based format. This exercise helps validate response plans, roles, and communication channels without actual system disruption.

Lessons learned (A) is a post-incident review, digital forensics (B) is evidence collection after an incident, and root cause analysis (D) investigates the underlying cause after an event.

Tabletop exercises are standard practices within the Security Operations domain to prepare teams for real incidents【6:Chapter 14†CompTIA Security+ Study Guide】.

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is the best solution to allow remote employees secure access to company resources without interception concerns. A VPN establishes an encrypted tunnel over the internet, ensuring that data transferred between remote employees and the company is secure from eavesdropping.

Proxy server helps with web content filtering and anonymization but does not provide encrypted access.

NGFW (Next-Generation Firewall) enhances security but is not the primary tool for enabling remote access.

Security zone is a network segmentation technique but does not provide remote access capabilities​​​.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

A fail-open configuration means that if the firewall experiences an outage or failure, traffic is allowed to pass through rather than being blocked. This design decision directly prioritizes availability over other security principles.

The CIA Triad (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability) is central in SY0-701. A fail-open firewall risks allowing unauthorized or malicious traffic during a failure, sacrificing security controls in order to maintain service uptime. This is typically used in environments where interruptions are unacceptable, such as:

Public-facing websites

Critical customer applications

Healthcare systems

Financial transaction portals

Fail-closed configurations, in contrast, prioritize confidentiality and integrity by blocking traffic when a failure occurs.

Because the organization chose fail-open, it demonstrates that maintaining continuous access to the website is more important than preventing potential exposure. This approach is aligned with the Availability pillar of the CIA model.

The SY0-701 exam emphasizes this design choice under General Security Concepts, specifically in resilience, failover mechanisms, and risk-based decisions when selecting fail-open vs. fail-closed strategies.

The scenario described, where client files are only accessible to employees who " need to know " the information, reflects the concept of confidentiality. Confidentiality ensures that sensitive information is only accessible to those who are authorized to view it, preventing unauthorized access.

Availability ensures that data is accessible when needed but doesn’t focus on restricting access.

Integrity ensures that data remains accurate and unaltered but doesn’t pertain to access control.

Non-repudiation ensures that actions cannot be denied after they are performed, but this concept is unrelated to access control​​.

The best answer is C. Chain of custody.

Chain of custody is the documented process used to track forensic evidence from the moment it is collected until it is presented, stored, transferred, or disposed of. It records:

who handled the evidence

when it was handled

where it was stored

how it was transferred

how its integrity was preserved

This is critical to ensure the evidence remains credible and admissible.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A. Acquisition of evidenceAcquisition refers to collecting or imaging evidence, but it does not specifically cover the full documentation of handling over time.

B. E-discoveryE-discovery relates to identifying and producing electronically stored information for legal matters, not specifically preserving forensic handling records.

D. Forensic tabletop exercisesThese are discussion-based practice activities, not evidence handling procedures.

From a Security+ perspective, preserving and documenting forensic evidence handling is the definition of chain of custody.

A web filter is a device or software that can monitor, block, or allow web traffic based on predefined rules or policies. One of the common methods of web filtering is to scan the URL for strings and deny access when matches are found. For example, a web filter can block access to websites that contain the words “gambling”, “porn”, or “malware” in their URLs. A URL is a uniform resource locator that identifies the location and protocol of a web resource. A URL typically consists of the following components: protocol://domain:port/path?query#fragment.The protocol specifies the communication method used to access the web resource, such as HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, or SMTP. The domain is the name of the web server that hosts the web resource, such as www.google.com or www.bing.com. The port is an optional number that identifies the specific service or application running on the web server, such as 80 for HTTP or 443 for HTTPS. The path is the specific folder or file name of the web resource, such as /index.html or /images/logo.png. The query is an optional string that contains additional information or parameters for the web resource, such as ?q=security or ?lang=en. The fragment is an optional string that identifies a specific part or section of the web resource, such as #introduction or #summary.

To prohibit access to non-encrypted websites, an analyst should employ a search string that matches the protocol of non-encrypted web traffic, which is HTTP. HTTP stands for hypertext transfer protocol, and it is a standard protocol for transferring data between web servers and web browsers. However, HTTP does not provide any encryption or security for the data, which means that anyone who intercepts the web traffic can read or modify the data. Therefore, non-encrypted websites are vulnerable to eavesdropping, tampering, or spoofing attacks. To access a non-encrypted website, the URL usually starts with http://, followed by the domain name and optionally the port number. For example, http://www.example.com or http://www.example.com:80. By scanning the URL for the string http://, the web filter can identify and block non-encrypted websites.

The other options are not correct because they do not match the protocol of non-encrypted web traffic. Encryption=off is a possible query string that indicates the encryption status of the web resource, but it is not a standard or mandatory parameter. Https:// is the protocol of encrypted web traffic, which uses hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) to provide encryption and security for the data. Www.*.com is a possible domain name that matches any website that starts with www and ends with .com, but it does not specify the protocol. :443 is the port number of HTTPS, which is the protocol of encrypted web traffic. References = CompTIA Security+ Study Guide (SY0-701), Chapter 2: Securing Networks, page 69. Professor Messer’s CompTIA SY0-701 Security+ Training Course, Section 2.1: Network Devices and Technologies, video: Web Filter (5:16).

Orchestration is the process of automating multiple tasks across different systems and applications. It can help save time and reduce human error by executing predefined workflows and scripts. In this case, the systems administrator can use orchestration to create accounts for a large number of end users without having to manually enter their information and assign permissions. References: CompTIA Security+ Study Guide: Exam SY0-701, 9th Edition, page 457 1

Code repositories are a common source of unintentional corporate credential leakage, especially in cloud environments. Developers may accidentally commit and push sensitive information, such as API keys, passwords, and other credentials, to public or poorly secured repositories. These credentials can then be accessed by unauthorized users, leading to security breaches. Ensuring that repositories are properly secured and that sensitive data is never committed is critical for protecting against this type of leakage.

References =

CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Course Content: Domain 03 Security Architecture​.

CompTIA Security+ SY0-601 Study Guide: Chapter on Threats and Vulnerability Management​.

A host-based firewall controls incoming and outgoing network traffic on a device by enforcing security rules, effectively blocking unwanted or insecure communications. It is specifically designed to protect the device from unauthorized access and malicious traffic.

System hardening (A) reduces vulnerabilities by disabling unnecessary services and patching but does not control communications dynamically. Intrusion detection systems (C) detect suspicious traffic but typically do not block it (unless paired with prevention). Anti-malware (D) protects against malicious software but not directly network communication filtering.

Host-based firewalls are a fundamental component of endpoint security highlighted in the Security Operations domain of SY0-701【6:Chapter 11†CompTIA Security+ Study Guide】.

Port security is the best solution to prevent unauthorized devices, like a visitor ' s laptop, from connecting to the company’s network. Port security can limit the number of devices that can connect to a network switch port and block unauthorized MAC addresses, effectively stopping unauthorized access attempts.

Web application firewall (WAF) protects against web-based attacks, not unauthorized network access.

Transport Layer Security (TLS) ensures encrypted communication but does not manage physical network access.

Virtual Private Network (VPN) secures remote connections but does not control access through physical network ports​​​.

 Password spraying is a type of brute force attack that tries common passwords across several accounts to find a match. It is a mass trial-and-error approach that can bypass account lockout protocols. It can give hackers access to personal or business accounts and information. It is not a targeted attack, but a high-volume attack tactic that uses a dictionary or a list of popular or weak passwords12.

The logs show that the attacker is using the same password ( " password123 " ) to attempt to log in to different accounts ( " admin " , " user1 " , " user2 " , etc.) on the same web server. This is a typical pattern of password spraying, as the attacker is hoping that at least one of the accounts has a weak password that matches the one they are trying. The attacker is also using a tool called Hydra, which is one of the most popular brute force tools, often used in cracking passwords for network authentication3.

Account forgery is not the correct answer, because it involves creating fake accounts or credentials to impersonate legitimate users or entities. There is no evidence of account forgery in the logs, as the attacker is not creating any new accounts or using forged credentials.

Pass-the-hash is not the correct answer, because it involves stealing a hashed user credential and using it to create a new authenticated session on the same network. Pass-the-hash does not require the attacker to know or crack the password, as they use the stored version of the password to initiate a new session4. The logs show that the attacker is using plain text passwords, not hashes, to try to log in to the web server.

Brute-force is not the correct answer, because it is a broader term that encompasses different types of attacks that involve trying different variations of symbols or words until the correct password is found. Password spraying is a specific type of brute force attack that uses a single common password against multiple accounts5. The logs show that the attacker is using password spraying, not brute force in general, to try to gain access to the web server. References = 1: Password spraying: An overview of password spraying attacks … - Norton, 2: Security: Credential Stuffing vs. Password Spraying - Baeldung, 3: Brute ForceAttack: A definition + 6 types to know | Norton, 4: What is a Pass-the-Hash Attack? - CrowdStrike, 5: What is a Brute Force Attack? | Definition, Types & How It Works - Fortinet

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a secure method to provide employees with remote access to a company ' s network. It encrypts data, protecting it from interception and ensuring secure communication between the user and the internal network.References: Security+ SY0-701 Course Content​, Security+ SY0-601 Book​.

The analyst needs to establish baselines. Abnormal behavior can only be identified reliably when there is a known standard of normal activity. A baseline defines expected server behavior, such as CPU usage, memory consumption, network connections, logon patterns, running processes, service activity, traffic volume, and file access patterns. Once normal behavior is documented, deviations become easier to detect and investigate. Disabling unnecessary ports is system hardening, not behavior analysis. Patching the system reduces known vulnerabilities but does not define what is normal or abnormal. Alert tuning adjusts detection rules to reduce false positives or false negatives, but tuning is stronger after baselines are understood. Therefore, baseline establishment is the correct operational step for identifying abnormal server behavior.

 Root cause analysis is a process of identifying and resolving the underlying factors that led to an incident. By conducting root cause analysis as part of incident response, security professionals can learn from the incident and implement corrective actions to prevent future incidents of the same nature. For example, if the root cause of a data breach was a weak password policy, the security team can enforce a stronger password policy and educate users on the importance of password security. Root cause analysis can also help to improve security processes, policies, and procedures, and to enhance security awareness and culture within the organization. Root cause analysis is not meant to gather loCs (indicators of compromise) for the investigation, as this is a task performed during the identification and analysis phases of incident response. Root cause analysis is also not meant to discover which systems have been affected or to eradicate any trace of malware on the network, as these are tasks performed during the containment and eradicationphases of incident response. References = CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Study Guide, page 424-425; Professor Messer’s CompTIA SY0-701 Security+ Training Course, video 5.1 - Incident Response, 9:55 - 11:18.

OCSP stands for Online Certificate Status Protocol. It is a protocol that allows applications to check the revocation status of a certificate in real-time. It works by sending a query to an OCSP responder, which is a server that maintains a database of revoked certificates. The OCSP responder returns a response that indicates whether the certificate is valid, revoked, or unknown. OCSP is faster and more efficient than downloading and parsing Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs), which are large files that contain the serial numbers of all revoked certificates issued by a Certificate Authority (CA). References: CompTIA Security+ Study Guide: Exam SY0-701, 9th Edition, page 337 1

DLP stands for Data Loss Prevention, which is a tool that can assist with detecting and preventing the unauthorized transmission or leakage of sensitive data, such as a customer’s PII (Personally Identifiable Information). DLP can monitor, filter, and block data in motion (such as emails), data at rest (such as files), and data in use (such as applications). DLP can also alert the sender, the recipient, or the administrator of the data breach, and apply remediation actions, such as encryption, quarantine, or deletion. DLP can help an organization comply with data protection regulations, such as GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI DSS, and protect its reputation and assets. References = CompTIA Security+ Study Guide with over 500 Practice Test Questions: Exam SY0-701, 9th Edition, Chapter 2, page 78. CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Exam Objectives, Domain 2.5, page 11.

 A geolocation policy is a policy that restricts or allows access to data or resources based on the geographic location of the user or device. A geolocation policy can be implemented using various methods, such as IP address filtering, GPS tracking, or geofencing. A geolocation policy can help the company’s legal department to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive documents from individuals in high-risk countries12.

The other options are not effective ways to limit access based on location:

Data masking: This is a technique of obscuring or replacing sensitive data with fictitious or anonymized data. Data masking can protect the privacy and confidentiality of data, but it does not prevent access to data based on location3.

Encryption: This is a process of transforming data into an unreadable format using a secret key or algorithm. Encryption can protect the integrity and confidentiality of data, but it does not prevent access to data based on location. Encryption can also be bypassed by attackers who have the decryption key or method4.

Data sovereignty regulation: This is a set of laws or rules that govern the storage, processing, and transfer of data within a specific jurisdiction or country. Data sovereignty regulation can affect the availability and compliance of data, but it does not prevent access to data based on location. Data sovereignty regulation can also vary depending on the country or region.

References = 1: CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Study Guide, page 972: Account Policies – SY0-601 CompTIA Security+ : 3.7, video by Professor Messer3: CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Study Guide, page 1004: CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Study Guide, page 101. : CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Study Guide, page 102.

Geographic dispersion is the practice of having backup data stored in different locations that are far enough apart to minimize the risk of a single natural disaster affecting both sites. This ensures that the company can recover its regulated data in case of a disaster at the primary site. Platform diversity, hot site, and load balancing are not directly related to the protection of backup data from natural disasters. References: CompTIA Security+ Study Guide: Exam SY0-701, 9th Edition, page 449; Disaster Recovery Planning: Geographic Diversity

When investigating abnormal outbound traffic originating from a specific endpoint, endpoint logs are the most appropriate first data source to review. According to CompTIA Security+ SY0-701, endpoint logs provide detailed visibility into process execution, user actions, service creation, network connections initiated by applications, and security agent detections. This context is critical for determining which process initiated the encrypted traffic and why it is using non-standard ports.

Because the traffic is encrypted, packet captures (D) would reveal limited payload information and are more resource-intensive. Endpoint logs can quickly identify suspicious executables, command-line arguments, parent-child process relationships, and persistence mechanisms that indicate malware or command-and-control activity. Modern EDR tools rely heavily on endpoint telemetry for exactly this reason.

Application logs (A) may be useful later but are limited to specific applications. Vulnerability scans (B) identify weaknesses, not active malicious behavior.

Security+ SY0-701 emphasizes starting investigations as close to the suspected source as possible. Since the activity originates from a corporate endpoint, endpoint logs provide the fastest and most relevant confirmation of whether the traffic is malicious.

Deception technologies are designed to attract, observe, and study attackers in controlled environments. Examples include honeypots, honeyfiles, honeytokens, decoy credentials, and fake services. Their value is not mainly prevention; it is detection, delay, intelligence gathering, and attacker behavior analysis. By interacting with decoys, attackers reveal tactics, techniques, procedures, tooling, source infrastructure, and objectives without reaching real production assets. Endpoint protection prevents malware execution, which is not the primary role of deception. Blocking all external traffic is a firewall or segmentation function. Privileged-user monitoring may detect insider threats, but it is not the core purpose of deception technology. Security+ treats deception as an operational detection and threat intelligence capability.

A diagram of a computer AI-generated content may be incorrect.

Step 1: Understand Requirements & Security Principles

Requirements:

Customer-facing payment application (PCI DSS compliance applies)

Hosted on third-party cloud (e.g., AWS)

Must segment public-facing and internal resources

Needs to be scalable and resilient

Must have strong security controls

Step 2: Design the High-Level Network Layout

Core Components:

VPC (Virtual Private Cloud): Isolates your environment from other tenants in the cloud.

Subnets:

Public subnet: For resources that must communicate with the internet.

Private subnet: For internal resources, NOT directly exposed to the internet.

Step 3: Place Resources in Appropriate Subnets

Public Subnet:

Internet-facing Load Balancer (LB): Distributes traffic to application servers.

Web Application Firewall (WAF): Protects against web exploits.

Autoscaling Instances: EC2 (or VM) servers running your web front-end, automatically scaling as traffic grows.

Private Subnet:

Application servers: Back-end logic, not exposed to internet directly.

Database: Sensitive data storage, only accessible by application servers.

Internal Load Balancer: Manages traffic among app servers.

WAF: Can be used internally as well for defense-in-depth.

Step 4: Add Connectivity and Security Controls

Internet Gateway: Allows resources in public subnet to communicate with the internet.

NAT Gateway: Allows outbound internet traffic from private subnet without exposing private IPs.

Security Groups: Firewalls at the instance level; allow only necessary traffic (e.g., LB to web server, web server to DB).

Network ACLs: Subnet-level firewalls for additional control.

Step 5: Network Diagram Explanation (Based on Your Images)

Public Subnet (Top Layer)

Load Balancer

Accepts HTTPS traffic from customers.

Sends only necessary HTTP/HTTPS to web servers in public subnet.

WAF (Web Application Firewall)

Sits in front of Load Balancer.

Filters malicious requests (SQLi, XSS, etc.).

Autoscaling Group

Multiple web servers for redundancy and scalability.

Placed in public subnet to respond to traffic spikes.

Private Subnet (Bottom Layer)

Application Servers

Receive requests from public subnet’s load balancer.

Not directly exposed to the internet.

Database

Only accessible from application servers, never public.

Security groups restrict all inbound traffic except from app servers.

Internal Load Balancer

Balances requests to application servers.

Step 6: Flow of Data (Step-by-Step)

Client - > Internet Gateway - > WAF - > Load Balancer (Public Subnet):Customers initiate connections to your app over the internet.

Load Balancer - > Autoscaling Web Servers (Public Subnet):Load balancer routes requests to available web servers.

Web Servers - > Application Logic (Private Subnet):Web servers pass necessary requests to the internal application servers.

App Servers - > Database (Private Subnet):Application servers query/update customer payment data in the database.

Outbound (NAT Gateway):App servers may need to access updates or external APIs—use NAT Gateway for secure outbound connections.

Step 7: Security Best Practices

Security Groups: Only allow necessary ports (e.g., 443 for HTTPS to LB, 3306 for MySQL between app server and DB).

Network ACLs: Add another layer of subnet-level restrictions.

Encryption: Use HTTPS for all external connections, encrypt data at rest and in transit (TLS, disk encryption).

IAM Roles/Policies: Principle of least privilege for accessing resources.

Monitoring/Logging: Enable VPC flow logs, cloud service logs, and application logging.

Patch Management: Automate patching for OS and applications.

Backups: Regular, secure backups of critical data.

Step 8: Compliance Considerations

For payment applications (PCI DSS):

Isolate cardholder data environment (CDE).

Strong access controls (multi-factor authentication, role separation).

Regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing.

Retain logs for auditing.

Step 9: Draw the Architecture (Summary)

Internet Gateway: Allows inbound/outbound internet access.

Public Subnet: WAF, Load Balancer, Autoscaling group.

Private Subnet: App servers, DB, internal LB.

NAT Gateway: Outbound access for private resources.

Security Groups/ACLs: Control all traffic flows.

Monitoring/Logging: Enabled at all levels.

Bonus: Sample Security Group Rules

Web Server (Public Subnet):

Inbound: 443 (HTTPS) from Internet

Outbound: 80/443 to App Servers

App Server (Private Subnet):

Inbound: 80/443 from Web Servers

Outbound: 3306 (MySQL) to Database

Database (Private Subnet):

Inbound: 3306 from App Servers

Outbound: None (unless replication required)

References to Security+ Domains

1.0 General Security Concepts: Principle of least privilege, defense in depth.

2.0 Threats, Vulnerabilities, Mitigations: WAF, segmentation, patching.

3.0 Security Architecture: Network segmentation, secure design.

4.0 Security Operations: Monitoring, logging, response.

5.0 Security Program Management: Compliance, policy.