GCIH Practice Questions: SMB Security Domain

Published: August 12, 2025 | 10 min read

Test your GCIH knowledge with 5 practice questions from the SMB Security domain. Includes detailed explanations and answers.

GCIH Practice Questions

Master the SMB Security Domain

Test your knowledge in the SMB Security domain with these 5 practice questions. Each question is designed to help you prepare for the GCIH certification exam with detailed explanations to reinforce your learning.

Question 1

During an incident response investigation, you suspect that an attacker is exploiting the SMB protocol to move laterally within the network. What is the best first step to confirm this suspicion?

A) Conduct a full packet capture analysis on all network traffic.

B) Use Wireshark to filter and analyze SMB traffic for unusual patterns.

C) Deploy an Nmap scan to identify open SMB ports across the network.

D) Immediately shut down all systems suspected of being compromised.

Show Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: Using Wireshark to filter and analyze SMB traffic is the best first step in this scenario. It allows you to quickly identify unusual patterns or anomalies in SMB traffic without the overhead of capturing all network data. Options A and D are either too broad or disruptive, and option C, while useful for mapping open ports, does not directly address the analysis of SMB traffic patterns.

Question 2

You are monitoring network traffic and notice a large volume of SMB traffic from a single machine. What is the best initial action to take?

A) Shut down the machine immediately

B) Conduct a packet capture for further analysis

C) Alert the IT department to investigate the machine

D) Increase the bandwidth limit for the machine

Show Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: Conducting a packet capture allows you to analyze the nature of the SMB traffic and determine if it is legitimate or malicious. Shutting down the machine is too drastic without understanding the situation. Alerting the IT department is useful but should be informed by evidence from the packet capture. Increasing the bandwidth limit is inappropriate and could exacerbate the problem if the traffic is malicious.

Question 3

During a routine network monitoring session, an incident handler notices unusual SMB traffic originating from a critical server. The traffic pattern suggests potential lateral movement by an attacker. What is the most effective initial action the incident handler should take to triage this situation?

A) Immediately shut down the affected server to prevent further compromise.

B) Use Wireshark to capture and analyze the SMB traffic for suspicious patterns.

C) Isolate the server from the network to prevent further unauthorized access.

D) Run an Nmap scan on the server to identify open SMB-related ports.

Show Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: C

Explanation: The most effective initial action is to isolate the server from the network (Option C). This step helps contain the potential threat, preventing further lateral movement and unauthorized access. While analyzing traffic with Wireshark (Option B) or running an Nmap scan (Option D) can provide valuable information, they do not immediately stop the threat. Shutting down the server (Option A) could result in data loss and disrupt critical services without necessarily stopping the attacker.

Question 4

You receive a report of slow network performance and suspect SMB traffic might be involved. What is the first tool you should use to diagnose the issue?

A) Nmap

B) Wireshark

C) Metasploit

D) Exiftool

Show Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: Wireshark is the best tool for diagnosing network performance issues related to SMB traffic as it allows you to capture and analyze the traffic in detail. Nmap is for scanning, Metasploit is for exploitation, and Exiftool is for metadata analysis, none of which are suitable for diagnosing network performance issues.

Question 5

After detecting unusual SMB traffic, an incident handler needs to determine if data exfiltration is occurring. What should be their first response?

A) Implement network segmentation to contain the threat.

B) Use Wireshark to analyze the content of the SMB packets.

C) Increase logging levels on the SMB service for detailed records.

D) Shut down the affected SMB service to prevent further exfiltration.

Show Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: The first response should be to use Wireshark to analyze the content of the SMB packets. This allows the incident handler to quickly determine if sensitive data is being exfiltrated. Option A, network segmentation, is a containment strategy but not the first step in analysis. Option C, increasing logging, is useful for future monitoring but doesn't address the current situation. Option D, shutting down the service, is drastic and could disrupt legitimate business operations.

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About GCIH Certification

The GCIH certification validates your expertise in smb security and other critical domains. Our comprehensive practice questions are carefully crafted to mirror the actual exam experience and help you identify knowledge gaps before test day.