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CS0-003 · Question #202

A security analyst must review a suspicious email to determine its legitimacy. Which of the following should be performed? (Choose two.)

The correct answer is B. Review the headers from the forwarded email F. Examine the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC fields from the original email. To determine the legitimacy of a suspicious email, an analyst should review the full original email headers and specifically examine the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication fields.

Submitted by devops_kid· Mar 6, 2026Security Operations

Question

A security analyst must review a suspicious email to determine its legitimacy. Which of the following should be performed? (Choose two.)

Options

  • AEvaluate scoring fields, such as Spam Confidence Level and Bulk Complaint Level
  • BReview the headers from the forwarded email
  • CExamine the recipient address field
  • DReview the Content-Type header
  • EEvaluate the HELO or EHLO string of the connecting email server
  • FExamine the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC fields from the original email

How the community answered

(51 responses)
  • A
    2% (1)
  • B
    76% (39)
  • C
    4% (2)
  • D
    12% (6)
  • E
    6% (3)

Why each option

To determine the legitimacy of a suspicious email, an analyst should review the full original email headers and specifically examine the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication fields.

AEvaluate scoring fields, such as Spam Confidence Level and Bulk Complaint Level

Scoring fields like SCL and BCL are heuristic scores from email filters, which indicate spam likelihood but don't provide definitive technical proof of legitimacy or malicious intent.

BReview the headers from the forwarded emailCorrect

Reviewing the full, original headers of an email, especially if it was forwarded, reveals crucial technical details about its routing, sender, and intermediate servers, helping to uncover spoofing or tampering that isn't visible in the display-from address.

CExamine the recipient address field

Examining only the recipient address field does not provide information about the legitimacy of the sender or the authenticity of the email's origin.

DReview the Content-Type header

The Content-Type header specifies the format of the email body, which is important for rendering but not a direct indicator of the email's legitimacy or malicious nature.

EEvaluate the HELO or EHLO string of the connecting email server

While the HELO or EHLO string can sometimes reveal suspicious mail server behavior, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC provide more comprehensive and reliable authentication checks for sender legitimacy.

FExamine the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC fields from the original emailCorrect

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are email authentication protocols designed to verify the sender's identity and detect email spoofing. Examining these fields in the email headers provides definitive technical evidence of whether the sender domain is authorized to send that email, which is critical for determining legitimacy.

Concept tested: Email header analysis for legitimacy

Source: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/security/office-365-security/email-authentication-overview?view=o365-worldwide

Topics

#email analysis#email headers#SPF DKIM DMARC#phishing investigation

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