The Cisco 300-720 exam validates your ability to secure email infrastructure using Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA). This certification is part of the Cisco Certified Network Professional and Cisco Certified Network Professional Security paths, designed for network professionals who deploy and manage email security in enterprise environments. This page provides a structured study roadmap, covering the exam syllabus, question formats, and practical preparation strategies to help you succeed.
Use this topic map to guide your study for Cisco 300-720 (Securing Email with Cisco Email Security Appliance) within the Cisco Certified Network Professional and Cisco Certified Network Professional Security path.
The 300-720 exam uses multiple question types to assess both conceptual knowledge and decision-making in real-world email security scenarios. Questions progress in difficulty and require practical reasoning beyond simple recall.
Questions emphasize practical application and reward candidates who understand not just what features exist, but when and how to use them effectively.
An effective study plan maps each syllabus topic to weekly goals and includes hands-on practice with configuration tasks. Allocate time proportionally: email authentication and content filtering typically carry more exam weight than foundational administration. Combine reading, labs, and practice questions to reinforce learning across all domains.
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Email Authentication and Encryption (topic 5) and Content and Message Filters (topic 3) typically account for a larger portion of exam questions. These domains directly impact organizational compliance and threat prevention, so Cisco emphasizes them heavily. Allocate extra study time to SPF, DKIM, DMARC configuration and content policy design to maximize your score.
In practice, they form an integrated pipeline. First, you configure ESA Administration (topic 1) to establish the platform. Then LDAP and SMTP Sessions (topic 4) integrate the appliance with your directory and mail servers. Spam Control (topic 2) and Content Filters (topic 3) inspect incoming messages in parallel. Email Authentication (topic 5) verifies sender legitimacy, and finally System Quarantines (topic 6) handle suspicious messages. Understanding these connections helps you design cohesive policies rather than isolated rules.
Hands-on experience is valuable but not required to pass. However, candidates who have configured ESA policies, set up LDAP bindings, and tested quarantine workflows typically score higher and feel more confident. If possible, access a lab environment or demo appliance to practice at least one configuration from each topic. If labs are unavailable, detailed scenario-based practice questions can substitute, but they are less effective than direct experience.
Many candidates confuse DKIM signing with DMARC enforcement and choose incorrect remediation steps. Others underestimate the complexity of content filter logic and miss edge cases in scenario questions. A frequent error is not understanding the difference between quarantine policies and delivery methods, leading to wrong configuration choices. Review practice question explanations carefully and pay close attention to subtle wording in scenario descriptions.
In your final week, focus on weak topics identified during practice tests rather than re-reading strong areas. Complete one full-length timed mock exam to assess pacing and identify remaining gaps. Spend 2-3 days reviewing scenario-based questions and their explanations, paying special attention to why incorrect answers are wrong. On the day before the exam, do a light review of key definitions and avoid cramming new material, which increases anxiety without improving retention.
What is a valid content filter action?
A content filter action is an operation that Cisco ESA performs on a message if it matches the conditions of a content filter rule, such as headers, envelope, body, attachments, etc.
Quarantine is a valid content filter action that allows Cisco ESA to store the message in a quarantine area for further review or release by an administrator or an end user.
The other options are not valid content filter actions on Cisco ESA.
A network engineer is reviewing the record presented.
Which type of DNS record would contain the record as per the DKIM public key RFC 6376?
A Cisco ESA administrator has several mail policies configured. While testing policy match using a specific sender, the email was not matching the expected policy.
What is the reason of this?
The envelope sender and the envelope recipeint have a higher priority over the sender header when you match a message to a mail policy. If you configure a mail policy to match a specific user, the messages are automatically classified into the mail policy based on the envelope sender and the envelope recipient. https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/security/esa/esa11-1/user_guide/b_ESA_Admin_Guide_11_1/b_ESA_Admin_Guide_chapter_01001.html
An engineer must provide differentiated email filtering to executives within the organization Which two actions must be taken to accomplish this task? (Choose two)
Define an LDAP group query to specify users to whom the mail policy rules apply. This way, you can create a custom group of executive users and apply different mail policies to them based on their LDAP attributes[4, p. 2].
Create content filters for actions to take on messages that contain specific data. Content filters allow you to scan the message body and attachments for keywords, phrases, or patterns that match your criteria and perform actions such as quarantine, encrypt, or drop the message[4, p. 7].
The other options are not valid because:
C .Uploading a csv file containing the email addresses for the users for whom you want to create mail policies is not a supported feature of Cisco Secure Email1.
D . Enabling the content-scanning features you want to use with mail policies is not necessary, as content scanning is enabled by default for all incoming and outgoing messages[4, p. 6].
E . Defining the default mail policies for incoming or outgoing messages is not sufficient, as default mail policies apply to all users and do not allow for differentiation based on user groups[4, p. 2].
What are organizations trying to address when implementing a SPAM quarantine?
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/security/esa/esa12-0/user_guide/b_ESA_Admin_Guide_12_0/b_ESA_Admin_Guide_12_0_chapter_0100000.html#con_1482874
False positives are legitimate messages that are incorrectly identified as spam by the Cisco ESA.Organizations may want to implement a spam quarantine to reduce the risk of losing false positive messages and allow users or administrators to review and release them2. Reference =User Guide for AsyncOS 12.0 for Cisco Email Security Appliances - GD (General Deployment) - Spam Quarantine [Cisco Secure Email Gateway] - Cisco
