Splunk Certified Cybersecurity Defense Engineer (SPLK-5002) Practice Exam

Splunk Certified Cybersecurity Defense Engineer (SPLK-5002) Practice Exam

About Splunk Certified Cybersecurity Defense Engineer (SPLK-5002) Exam

The Splunk Certified Cybersecurity Defense Engineer certification has been developed to validate your ability to design, engineer, and optimize defense mechanisms within a Security Operations Center (SOC) using Splunk Enterprise Security (ES) and Splunk SOAR. This certification demonstrates your skill in automating incident response, tuning detections, and applying best practices for threat intelligence integration and data management. It’s ideal for professionals seeking to move beyond analysis into advanced security engineering — where detection logic, automation, and analytics converge to strengthen enterprise defense.

Why this Certification Matters?

As security threats grow more sophisticated, organizations rely on professionals who can build scalable, automated, and intelligence-driven defense systems. Earning this certification shows that you can:

• Engineer efficient SOC processes.
• Create and maintain high-performing detection rules.
• Develop automation playbooks that accelerate incident response.
• Bridge the gap between detection, response, and threat intelligence in Splunk.

Who should take this Exam?

• Professionals aiming to advance from analysis to engineering roles in cybersecurity will find this certification a strong stepping stone. It signals readiness for higher-level SOC and defense responsibilities.
• For those working in or managing SOC environments, this certification validates expertise in optimizing Splunk Enterprise Security and Splunk SOAR to streamline detections, investigations, and response workflows.
• Ideal for security analysts, incident responders, and engineers who want to deepen their technical understanding of Splunk’s detection, automation, and orchestration capabilities.
• A great option for administrators looking to upskill into cybersecurity engineering roles and design efficient, automated SOC operations.

Skills Required

To succeed in this certification, candidates should be comfortable with:

• Using Splunk Enterprise Security (ES) and Splunk SOAR for detection and response.
• Writing and tuning correlation searches and detection rules.
• Managing data ingestion, indexing, and normalization in Splunk.
• Understanding risk-based alerting (RBA) and contextual detection models.
• Automating tasks and workflows using SOAR playbooks and REST APIs.
• Developing metrics, dashboards, and reports for SOC visibility.
• Applying threat intelligence and behavioral analytics for proactive defense.

Knowledge Gained

After completing the certification, you’ll be able to:

• Design end-to-end detection and response pipelines in Splunk ES.
• Engineer and automate incident response workflows with Splunk SOAR.
• Build and tune detections aligned with real-world threats and MITRE ATT&CK.
• Integrate threat intelligence for contextual awareness and enrichment.
• Create dashboards, metrics, and analytics to measure SOC performance.
• Apply data engineering principles to optimize Splunk environments.
• Develop documentation and SOPs for repeatable, reliable security operations.

Exam Details

• Exam Level: Professional
• Exam Prerequisites: None (recommended: Power User-level Splunk knowledge)
• Exam Duration: 75 minutes (includes 3 minutes for exam agreement)
• Exam Format: 60 multiple-choice questions

Exam Domains 

The Splunk Certified Cybersecurity Defense Engineer (SPLK-5002) Exam covers the following topics - 

Domain 1 - Understand Data Engineering (10%)

• Conduct data review and analysis.
• Manage efficient indexing and normalization.
• Ensure data consistency and performance across Splunk environments.

Domain 2 - Understand Detection Engineering (40%)

• Create and tune correlation searches.
• Incorporate contextual and risk-based detections.
• Generate and prioritize notable events.
• Manage detection lifecycle and effectiveness.

Domain 3 - Understand Building Effective Security Programs (20%)

• Integrate and operationalize threat intelligence.
• Apply methodologies for risk and detection prioritization.
• Document SOPs and maintain consistent processes.

Domain 4 - Understand Automation and Efficiency (20%)

• Develop playbooks for automated responses.
• Streamline case management workflows.
• Integrate REST APIs and optimize SOAR operations.
• Validate and improve automation between ES and SOAR.

Domain 5 - Understand Auditing and Reporting (10%)

• Create metrics and dashboards for SOC performance.
• Build detailed security reports.
• Visualize analytics for improved visibility and decision-making.