The STAR technique is a structured method used to answer behavioural and competency-based interview questions. It stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. This format helps candidates clearly explain real-life examples by outlining the context of a scenario (Situation), what needed to be achieved (Task), what they personally did (Action), and what the outcome was (Result). STAR is widely used because it encourages focused, concise answers that highlight both problem-solving skills and measurable impact—making it easier for interviewers to assess a candidate’s experience and decision-making ability.
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STAR Example: Remote Access Trojan (RAT) Incident – Senior Security Engineer
S – Situation
During routine monitoring, our SOC team received an alert from CrowdStrike indicating suspicious remote desktop activity originating from an internal host outside standard operating hours. The behaviour aligned with known Remote Access Trojan (RAT) tactics. The host belonged to a senior executive, increasing the potential risk of data exfiltration or credential compromise.
T – Task
As the Senior Security Engineer, I led the incident response. My objective was to coordinate across the SOC, IT, and Identity teams to contain the threat, analyse the infection vector, ensure the RAT was fully eradicated, and prevent recurrence—all while maintaining executive-level communication due to the user’s role.
A – Action
I followed our NIST 800-61-aligned playbook while adapting it for high-privilege target risk:
- Preparation & Triage:
- Verified alert fidelity using CrowdStrike and correlated it with Splunk logs (authentication, DNS, proxy).
- Conducted a high-priority escalation call to isolate the device via EDR and alert executive leadership.
- Detection & Analysis:
- Retrieved memory and disk artefacts using Velociraptor and FTK Imager for forensic triage.
- Identified the RAT as part of a phishing payload delivered via a weaponised Excel attachment.
- Analysed PowerShell and registry modifications—persistence was established via a scheduled task and a renamed binary in
%AppData%.
- Containment, Eradication & Recovery:
- Removed persistence mechanisms and killed the malicious process tree.
- Invalidated cached credentials and enforced password resets for the user and any exposed service accounts.
- Deployed YARA rules to detect RAT variants across the estate and scanned all endpoints.
- Rebuilt the affected system from gold image and restored business-critical files from backup.
- Post-Incident:
- Conducted a root cause analysis and documented timeline in our case management tool (TheHive).
- Led a cross-functional post-mortem and improved the phishing playbook to include additional behavioural detection rules.
- Shared IoCs (hashes, IPs, domains) with our threat intel platform for broader protection.
- Recommended mandatory phishing training refresh for the exec team and implemented attachment sandboxing on email gateways.
R – Result
The RAT was eradicated within hours of detection, with no evidence of lateral movement or data exfiltration. Our prompt response prevented a potentially severe breach. I was commended by the CISO for calmly managing a sensitive situation, aligning stakeholders, and ensuring a forensic-grade investigation under pressure.