Project exam · Cyber Security: from zero to SOC analyst
Project exam: SOC L1 practical
Project examintermediate· about 1 hour· 6 steps· 60 min · pass 70%
The brief
A timed practical in the style of a SOC L1 technical round. In one hour you write six small Python checks for a co-operative bank: network membership, hash verification, failed-login counting, attacker detection, look-alike URLs and the CERT-In reporting deadline. Every task is checked when you hand in; no hints or answers are shown.
Why it matters
Many SOC interviews in India now include a practical round: parse a log, check an indicator, explain a decision, against the clock. Passing this under time pressure shows you can do the daily work, not just recite definitions.
Skills you practise
- CIDR membership
- SHA-256 verification
- log parsing
- brute-force detection
- phishing URL analysis
- CERT-In timelines
What you will have at the end
exam.py with six working checks, and your score. Review any failed task afterwards in the course modules.
How it is marked (rubric, 100 points)
| Network and hash checksTasks 1 and 2 pass, including the /22 boundary and capitals in the published hash. | 25 |
|---|---|
| Log analysisTasks 3 and 4 pass: invalid users are counted and branch staff are never called attackers. | 40 |
| Phishing judgementTask 5 tells look-alikes from genuine subdomains. | 20 |
| ReportingTask 6 gives the 6-hour CERT-In deadline across days and months. | 15 |
- 6tasks
- 60 mintime limit
- 70%to pass
Rules: a project exam
- The exam opens full screen. Stay on this page until you hand it in.
- Opening another tab or app, or leaving full screen, counts as one time away. After 3 times the exam ends.
- No copy or paste during the exam.
- No hints and no answers. You can run your code, but the checks run only when you hand in.
- Every task is checked automatically when you hand in, or when the time is up.
- You see which tasks passed at the end. You can take it again.