SPLK-5002 Exam Dumps - Splunk Cybersecurity Defense Analyst Questions and Answers

Why Usetstatsfor Faster Searches?

When a cybersecurity engineer experiences delays in retrieving indexed data, the best way to improve search performance is to usetstatsinstead of raw searches.

????What iststats?tstatsis a high-performance command that queries data from indexed fields only, rather than scanning raw events. This makes searches significantly faster and more efficient.

????Why is This the Best Approach?

tstatssearches are 10-100x faster than raw event searches.

It leverages metadata and indexed fields, reducing search load.

It minimizes memory and CPU usage on the search head and indexers.

????Example Use Case:????Scenario: The SOC team is investigating failed logins across multiple indexers.✅Using a raw search:

index=security sourcetype=auth_logs action=failed | stats count by user

????Problem: This query scans millions of raw events, causing slow performance.

✅Optimized usingtstats:

| tstats count where index=security sourcetype=auth_logs action=failed by user

✅Advantage: Faster results without scanning raw events.

Why Not the Other Options?

❌A. Increase search head memory allocation – May help, but inefficient queries will still slow down searches.❌C. Configure a search head cluster – A single search head isn't necessarily the problem; improvingsearch performance is more effective.❌D. Implement accelerated data models – Useful for prebuilt dashboards, but won't improve ad-hoc searches.

Splunk’s REST API allows external applications and security tools to automate workflows, integrate with Splunk, and retrieve/search data programmatically.

✅Why Use REST APIs in Splunk Automation?

Automates interactions between Splunk and other security tools.

Enables real-time data ingestion, enrichment, and response actions.

Used in Splunk SOAR playbooks for automated threat response.

Example:

A security event detected in Splunk ES triggers a Splunk SOAR playbook via REST API to:

Retrieve threat intelligence from VirusTotal.

Block the malicious IP in Palo Alto firewall.

Create an incident ticket in ServiceNow.

❌Incorrect Answers:

A. To configure storage retention policies → Storage is managed via Splunk indexing, not REST APIs.

C. To compress data before indexing → Splunk does not use REST APIs for data compression.

D. To generate predefined reports → Reports are generated using Splunk’s search and reporting functionality, not APIs.

????Additional Resources:

Splunk REST API Documentation

Automating Workflows with Splunk API

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-

Correlation searches in Splunk Enterprise Security (ES) are a critical component of Security Operations Center (SOC) workflows, designed to detect threats by analyzing security data from multiple sources.

Primary Purpose of Correlation Searches:

Identify threats and anomalies: They detect patterns and suspicious activity by correlating logs, alerts, and events from different sources.

Automate security monitoring: By continuously running searches on ingested data, correlationsearches help reduce manual efforts for SOC analysts.

Generate notable events: When a correlation search identifies a security risk, it creates a notable event in Splunk ES for investigation.

Trigger security automation: In combination with Splunk SOAR, correlation searches can initiate automated response actions, such as isolating endpoints or blocking malicious IPs.

Since correlation searches analyze relationships and patterns across multiple data sources to detect security threats, the correct answer is B. To identify patterns and relationships between multiple data sources.

References:

Splunk ES Correlation Searches Overview

Best Practices for Correlation Searches

Splunk ES Use Cases and Notable Events