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Exam Information
Official specifications published by Cisco
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Skills this practice test covers
- Read basic YARA rules and explain how they identify and classify malware.
- Recognize base 64, hex encoding and polymorphic or metamorphic code in a suspicious file.
- Write Python, PowerShell or Bash scripts that search logs from several data sources.
- Interpret SIEM, IDS/IPS and syslog alerts and recommend a mitigation for each one.
- Analyze Apache and NGINX logs and NetFlow records for signs of malicious activity.
- Evaluate a ThreatGrid report and threat intelligence shared in STIX and TAXII formats.
Explore related topics
300-215 exam content
5 domains · 39 topics · 225 of 232 questions sorted by domain
Fundamentals20%47 questions
This domain lays the groundwork for an investigation: what a root cause analysis report contains, how to examine network devices and how attackers hide their tracks. It also covers YARA rules, encoding and obfuscation, the main forensic tools and the problems of gathering evidence in the cloud.
Skills tested
- List the components that a root cause analysis report needs.
- Describe how to perform forensic analysis of routers, switches and firewalls.
- Recognize base 64 and hex encoding, and polymorphic and metamorphic coding.
- Explain the role of hex editors, disassemblers, debuggers and deobfuscation tools in an investigation.
- Describe the issues of gathering evidence from virtualized environments at major cloud vendors.
Questions by topic
- Describe the use and characteristics of YARA rules (basics) for malware identification5
- Describe the process of performing forensics analysis of infrastructure network devices5
- Describe the issues related to gathering evidence from virtualized environments6
- Describe antiforensic tactics, techniques, and procedures6
- Analyze the components needed for a root cause analysis report6
- Recognize encoding and obfuscation techniques such as base 644
- Recognize encoding and obfuscation techniques such as polymorphic and metamorphic coding4
- Describe the role of Hex editors in DFIR investigations3
- Describe the role of Disassemblers and debuggers to perform basic malware analysis4
- Describe the role of Deobfuscation tools4
Forensics Techniques20%41 questions
Here the investigation moves to the host. Candidates find the files that matter, read the output of SIEM and malware analysis tools for indicators of compromise, and write short scripts that search logs.
Skills tested
- Apply MITRE ATT&CK methods to the analysis of fileless malware.
- Determine which files an investigation needs and where they sit on the host.
- Identify the type of code in a provided snippet.
- Construct Python, PowerShell and Bash scripts that parse logs from tools such as Cisco Umbrella.
- State the purpose of tools such as Volatility, SIFT tools and TCPdump.
Questions by topic
- Recognize purpose, use, and functionality of libraries and tools such as Volatility6
- Construct Python, PowerShell, and Bash scripts to parse and search logs12
- Recognize the methods identified in the MITRE attack framework to perform fileless malware analysis6
- Determine data to correlate based on incident type (host-based and network-based activities)1
- Recognize purpose, use, and functionality of libraries and tools such as Systernals4
- Determine the files needed and their location on the host8
- Evaluate SIEM, malware analysis, and other tools output(s) to identify IOC on a host4
Incident Response Techniques30%71 questions
The largest domain turns evidence into decisions. Candidates interpret alerts, choose the data to correlate, find the attack vector and recommend a response, often by naming the right Cisco security solution.
Skills tested
- Interpret alert logs from a SIEM, an IDS/IPS and syslog.
- Choose the host-based and network-based data to correlate for an incident type.
- Recommend mitigations for alerts from firewalls, SOAR platforms and Cisco XDR.
- Respond to a zero-day exploitation with risk assessment and exploitation prediction.
- Build a threat actor profile from threat intelligence artifacts.
Questions by topic
- Alert Mitigation10
- Interpret alert logs such as SIEM, IDS/IPS and syslogs7
- Recommend the Cisco security solution for detection and prevention9
- Recommend mitigation techniques for evaluated alerts from SOAR platforms8
- Recommend actions based on post-incident analysis6
- Determine data to correlate based on incident type (host-based and network-based activities)6
- Describe capabilities of Cisco security solutions related to threat intelligence5
- Recommend response to 0 day exploitations6
- Recommend a response based on intelligence artifacts4
- Evaluate artifacts from threat intelligence to determine the threat actor profile3
- Determine attack vectors or attack surface and recommend mitigation4
- Interpret threat intelligence feeds to determine IOCs and IOAs from internal and external sources3
Forensics Processes15%33 questions
This domain is the methodical side of analysis: web server logs, network traffic, suspicious files and binaries. Candidates must also recognize antiforensic techniques such as geo location spoofing, obfuscation, evading detection and data destruction.
Skills tested
- Analyze Apache and NGINX logs for signs of an attack.
- Find malicious traffic with NetFlow and display filtering in Wireshark.
- Recommend the next step when a file shows suspicious characteristics.
- Interpret binaries with objdump and other command-line tools.
Questions by topic
- Interpret binaries using objdump and other CLI tools7
- Analyze logs from modern web applications and servers (Apache and NGINX)6
- Recommend next step(s) in the process of evaluating files based on distinguished characteristics of files5
- Analyze network traffic associated with malicious activities using network monitoring tools7
- Describe antiforensic techniques8
Incident Response Processes15%33 questions
This domain looks at the response process as a whole: its goals, the playbook that guides it and the reports that feed it. ThreatGrid reports, endpoint file checks and threat intelligence in STIX and TAXII formats appear here.
Skills tested
- Describe the goals of incident response.
- Evaluate the elements that an incident response playbook needs.
- Pick out the relevant components of a ThreatGrid report.
- Recommend the next steps for files found on endpoints, including ad-hoc scans.
- Analyze threat intelligence provided in STIX and TAXII formats.
Questions by topic
- Evaluate elements required in an incident response playbook12
- Evaluate the relevant components from the ThreatGrid report6
- Analyze threat intelligence provided in different formats such as STIX and TAXII6
- Describe the goals of incident response5
- Recommend next step(s) in the process of evaluating files from endpoints and performing ad-hoc scans4
Requirements
- No formal prerequisites: anyone can book the exam.
- Recommended: three to five years of cybersecurity experience, including security operations work.
- Recommended: a grasp of networking fundamentals, incident response processes and forensic analysis concepts.
- Recommended: CCNA Cybersecurity first, or the same knowledge of security operations.
About the 300-215 exam
300-215 CBRFIR is the Cisco exam for security analysts who investigate incidents and run the response. It covers forensic work on hosts, network devices and cloud systems, malware and log analysis, threat intelligence and the incident response process, often with Cisco security products. Passing it on its own earns a Cisco specialist certification in forensic analysis and incident response. With the core exam CBRCOR, it also completes CCNP Cybersecurity.
Every explanation in the PlanetCert practice test points to the detail that settles the question, such as a Base64 string hidden in a PowerShell command line. Incident Response Techniques is the largest domain and has the most practice questions. Flashcard Mode suits the long tool list in Fundamentals, from HxD and Ghidra to xortool. Brainy AI Assistant can walk through an objdump listing line by line or sketch a Python script that filters a web server log.
How to earn the certification
- Earns
- Cisco Certified Cybersecurity Specialist - Cybersecurity Forensic Analysis and Incident ResponseProfessional (concentration exam)
The certification stays valid for three years and renews with Continuing Education credits or qualifying exams.
- Before
- 200-201 CCNA Cybersecurity (CyberOps Associate)
Optional. Cisco's associate exam for SOC analysts covers the monitoring and analysis basics that this exam builds on.
- 200-201 CCNA Cybersecurity (CyberOps Associate)
How to prepare for 300-215
- 1
Install the tools the blueprint names
Set up a Linux virtual machine with free tools from the objectives, such as Ghidra, xortool, Volatility, objdump and Wireshark. Run each one once on a sample file, memory image or capture.
- 2
Script searches against real logs
Write short Python, PowerShell and Bash scripts that pull one IP address or user name out of a web server log. The Forensics Techniques domain asks candidates to construct such scripts.
- 3
Give incident response the most hours
Incident Response Techniques carries the largest share of the exam. Practise reading SIEM and IDS/IPS alerts, then write down which data to correlate and which mitigation to recommend.
- 4
Learn what each Cisco product detects
Many answers name a Cisco security solution. Know what Cisco Umbrella, Cisco Secure Endpoint, Cisco Secure Network Analytics, Cisco XDR and ThreatGrid each see, block or report.
- 5
Study by domain, then sit it timed
Work through the 300-215 practice test in Study Mode one domain at a time, then take a full run in Timed Mode. Ask Brainy AI Assistant to explain every missed log or alert question.
Start a timed 300-215run
Cisco's course for this exam is Conducting Forensic Analysis and Incident Response Using Cisco Technologies for Cybersecurity (CBRFIR), taught in class or online. Cisco's learning platform also offers a Cybersecurity Professional learning path with pre- and post-assessments.
Who 300-215 is for
- SOC analysts and incident responders who investigate alerts and confirmed breaches.
- Forensic analysts who examine hosts, memory, logs and network traffic after an attack.
- Incident managers who write and maintain incident response playbooks.
- Cybersecurity engineers working toward CCNP Cybersecurity who choose the forensics concentration.
Typical job titles: Incident responder · SOC analyst · Digital forensic analyst · Cybersecurity investigator · Incident manager · Cybersecurity engineer
300-215 glossary
20 terms from the exam objectives and the vendor's official material, each defined in a sentence.
- Antiforensic techniques
- Methods attackers use to hide, destroy or confuse evidence, such as obfuscation, data destruction and detection evasion.
- Base64 encoding
- A way to write binary data as plain text characters. Attackers use it to hide commands and payloads from simple checks.
- Cisco ThreatGrid
- Cisco's malware analysis service, which runs a file in a sandbox and reports its behavior and indicators.
- Cisco Umbrella
- Cisco's cloud security service, which blocks requests to malicious domains and logs DNS activity.
- Cisco XDR
- Cisco's extended detection and response service, which correlates detections from endpoints, network and cloud in one view.
- Fileless malware
- Malware that runs in memory or through built-in system tools instead of saving its own files to disk.
- Ghidra
- A free reverse engineering tool that disassembles and decompiles programs, used for basic malware analysis.
- Incident response playbook
- A written plan for one type of incident that sets out the roles, decisions and actions of the response.
- Indicators of Attack (IOA)
- Signs that an attack is under way, based on what the attacker is doing rather than on traces left behind.
- Indicators of Compromise (IOC)
- Evidence that a system has been attacked, such as a malicious file hash, domain name or IP address.
- Metamorphic coding
- Malware that rewrites its own code in each copy, so even its decrypted code looks different every time.
- MITRE ATT&CK
- A public knowledge base of attacker tactics and techniques, used to describe and map what an attacker did.
- objdump
- A command-line tool that displays the contents of a compiled binary, including its disassembled machine code.
- Polymorphic coding
- Malware that changes its outward form in each copy, often by re-encrypting itself, while its function stays the same.
- Root cause analysis
- Finding the underlying reason an incident happened, so that the weakness behind it can be removed.
- SOAR
- Security orchestration, automation and response: platforms that run response steps automatically across security tools.
- STIX
- Structured Threat Information Expression: a standard format for describing threat intelligence so that tools can share it.
- TAXII
- Trusted Automated Exchange of Intelligence Information: a protocol for sending STIX threat intelligence between systems.
- Volatility
- An open-source memory forensics framework that extracts processes, network connections and other artifacts from a memory image.
- YARA rules
- Text rules that describe patterns in files, used to identify, classify and document malware.
Related practice tests
- 300-535Automating and Programming Cisco Service Provider Solutions (SPAUTO)
- 200-901CCNA Automation (DevNet Associate)
- 200-201CCNA Cybersecurity (CyberOps Associate)
- 200-301Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)
- 300-420Designing Cisco Enterprise Networks (ENSLD)