200-201 Security Monitoring Practice Test 8 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A SOC analyst is reviewing a security alert generated by the SIEM. The alert indicates a successful login from an unusual geographic location for a user who typically logs in from the corporate office. The analyst verifies that the user is currently on vacation and should not be accessing the network. What should the analyst do next?

Accepted Answer

Disable the user account and begin an investigation. Option D is correct because the alert indicates a clear security incident: a successful login from an unusual geographic location for a user who is on vacation and should not be accessing the network. Disabling the user account immediately contains the threat by preventing further unauthorized access, and beginning an investigation allows the analyst to determine if the account was compromised or if credentials were stolen. This aligns with the NIST SP 800-61 incident response process, where containment is a priority before proceeding to eradication and recovery.

Answer

Ignore the alert because the user might be using a VPN

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Block the IP address in the firewall

Answer

Start a full incident investigation before taking any action

Question 2

An organization uses both network-based intrusion detection (NIDS) and host-based intrusion detection (HIDS). A HIDS alert reports that a critical server's registry key was modified. The NIDS shows no corresponding network activity. The change occurred during a scheduled maintenance window. What is the best course of action for the analyst?

Accepted Answer

Check the change management system to see if the modification was authorized. Option B is correct because the registry modification occurred during a scheduled maintenance window, which is a legitimate time for authorized changes. The analyst should first verify the change management system to confirm whether the modification was planned and approved, as this aligns with standard change control processes. The absence of NIDS alerts further suggests the change was likely local and non-malicious, but confirmation via change management is essential before taking any action.

Answer

Ignore the alert because it occurred during maintenance

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Escalate the alert as a potential security incident

Answer

Immediately revert the registry change

Question 3

Which TWO of the following are best practices for configuring syslog in a secure monitoring environment? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Configure a maximum log file size to prevent disk exhaustion. Configuring a maximum log file size prevents syslog messages from filling up the disk, which could cause the system to crash or become unresponsive. This is a critical best practice in secure monitoring to ensure logging continues without exhausting storage resources.

Answer

Use UDP as the transport protocol to ensure reliable delivery

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Set log files to overwrite daily

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Change the default syslog port to avoid detection by attackers

Question 4

Which THREE of the following are key elements of a security monitoring and analysis strategy? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Establishing a feedback loop for continuous improvement. Establishing a feedback loop for continuous improvement (A) is a key element because security monitoring is not a static process; it requires iterative refinement based on lessons learned from incidents, false positives, and changes in the threat landscape. This loop ensures that detection rules, response playbooks, and monitoring configurations evolve to maintain effectiveness against new attack vectors and reduce noise over time.

Answer

Focusing only on network-based monitoring to reduce complexity

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Automating all incident response decisions to eliminate human error

Question 5

Which TWO of the following are valid reasons to use a proxy server for security monitoring? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

To inspect encrypted traffic by acting as a man-in-the-middle with SSL decryption. Options A and C are correct. A proxy can decrypt SSL traffic for inspection (with proper consent) and filter outbound traffic to block malware C2. Option B is incorrect because proxies generally increase latency. Option D is incorrect because anti-malware scanning is typically done on endpoints or at the gateway, not solely as a proxy function. Option E is incorrect because while proxies can log, they are not the only tool; specialized monitoring tools may be more effective.

Answer

To reduce network latency for monitored traffic

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To provide a complete log of all network traffic for forensics

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To replace the need for endpoint anti-malware software

Question 6

You are a SOC analyst at a medium-sized enterprise. The company uses a SIEM that collects logs from firewalls, endpoints, and Active Directory. At 2:00 AM, the SIEM generates a high-priority alert: 'Multiple Failed Logins for Administrator Account from Remote IP 198.51.100.20'. The analyst on the night shift reviews the alert and sees that there were 50 failed attempts in 10 minutes, followed by a successful login at 2:12 AM. The successful login originated from the same IP. The account is a domain administrator. The analyst checks the firewall logs and sees that the IP is from a known VPN provider. The analyst also checks the endpoint logs and sees that no unusual activity has occurred after the login. The company has a policy that remote administration is allowed only from a specific jump server with IP 203.0.113.10. The analyst suspects a brute-force attack succeeded. What should the analyst do first?

Accepted Answer

Disable the compromised administrator account immediately. Option B is correct because the immediate priority is to contain the breach by disabling the compromised domain administrator account. The successful login from an unauthorized IP (198.51.100.20) after 50 failed attempts indicates a successful brute-force attack, and the account has domain-level privileges. Disabling the account stops any further lateral movement or privilege escalation, which is the first step in incident response containment before any remediation or investigation.

Answer

Block the IP address 198.51.100.20 on the firewall

Answer

Perform a full network scan of the VPN provider's entire IP range

Answer

Reset the password of the compromised administrator account

Question 7

You are a cybersecurity analyst in a SOC. The company uses a combination of Snort NIDS and Windows Event Log monitoring. At 3:00 PM, you receive a critical alert: 'ET TROJAN Observed Malicious SSL Certificate (Fake Google)'. The alert shows that a workstation (IP 10.0.1.45) initiated an SSL connection to IP 192.0.2.10 on port 443. The certificate presented by the server is self-signed and claims to be 'google.com'. The destination IP is not in any known Google IP range. You check the firewall logs and see that the outbound connection was allowed. The workstation's host logs show that the user is a marketing employee who frequently accesses webmail. The user reports no unusual behavior. You also check the company's web proxy logs and see that the user accessed 'http://www.google.com' earlier today, but the SSL connection is to a different IP. What should be your next step?

Accepted Answer

Isolate the workstation from the network and perform a forensic analysis. The alert indicates a potential man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack or malware using a self-signed SSL certificate impersonating google.com. Isolating the workstation is critical to prevent lateral movement or data exfiltration while preserving evidence for forensic analysis. The combination of Snort NIDS detecting the malicious certificate and the connection to an unknown IP (192.0.2.10) strongly suggests compromise, regardless of user reports.

Answer

Ignore the alert because the user is unaware of any issue

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Wait and monitor the workstation for further alerts before taking action

Answer

Block the destination IP 192.0.2.10 on the firewall

Question 8

You are a senior analyst in a SOC that monitors a large financial institution. The SIEM correlates events from firewalls, IDS, endpoints, and database servers. Over the past week, you have noticed multiple low-priority alerts from the IDS indicating 'ET SCAN NMAP -sS' scans from internal IP 10.0.0.50, which is a print server. The alerts occur at random times during business hours. The number of alerts has increased from 5 per day to 20 per day. The print server runs a standard OS and printer management software. No other alerts are triggered from that host. The firewall logs show outbound connections from the print server to IPs on the internet on port 443, which is abnormal for a print server. You check the printer management software and see no recent updates. The user of the print server, the IT administrator, reports no issues. What is your best course of action?

Accepted Answer

Isolate the print server from the network and conduct a forensic investigation. The print server at 10.0.0.50 is exhibiting multiple indicators of compromise: it is performing NMAP SYN scans (ET SCAN NMAP -sS) from an internal IP, and firewall logs show abnormal outbound HTTPS connections to internet IPs on port 443. These behaviors are inconsistent with a standard print server's role and suggest the host may be compromised, possibly acting as a pivot point for reconnaissance or command-and-control communication. Isolating the host and conducting a forensic investigation is the appropriate incident response step to contain the threat and determine the root cause before it can cause further damage.

Answer

Increase the alert threshold to reduce noise and continue monitoring

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Disable the printer service on the server and monitor for recurrence

Answer

Dismiss the alerts as false positives because print servers often perform network discovery

Question 9

You are a SOC analyst for a school district. The district uses a Cisco Firepower NGFW for traffic inspection and a SIEM for log aggregation. A teacher reports that her workstation is slow and unresponsive. You check the SIEM and see that the workstation (IP 10.1.2.10) has been generating thousands of DNS queries to a domain 'badstuff.example.com' over the past hour. The firewall logs show that the workstation also made many outbound connections to IP 203.0.113.50 on port 80. The DNS queries are for various random subdomains of 'badstuff.example.com'. The school's web filter has no policy for this domain. The user is not technical and cannot explain the behavior. What is the most likely cause and the appropriate first action?

Accepted Answer

Isolate the workstation from the network and add the domain to the block list. The workstation is generating thousands of DNS queries for random subdomains of 'badstuff.example.com' and making outbound connections to IP 203.0.113.50 on port 80. This behavior is classic DNS tunneling, where an infected host encodes data in DNS queries to bypass security controls. Isolating the workstation stops the immediate threat and data exfiltration, while adding the domain to the block list prevents further communication from other hosts. A full antivirus scan is insufficient because DNS tunneling malware often evades signature-based detection and requires network containment first.

Answer

Run a full antivirus scan on the workstation

Answer

Update the web filter to block the domain and continue monitoring

Answer

Ignore the alert because DNS tunneling is not a real threat

Question 10

You are a security analyst at a healthcare organization. The organization uses Cisco Stealthwatch for network visibility and a SIEM for event correlation. You receive an alert that a medical records database server (IP 10.0.3.20) is communicating with an external IP (198.51.100.100) on port 22 (SSH) at 2:00 AM. The database server should have no outbound SSH connections; only remote administration is allowed from a management subnet via VPN. You check Stealthwatch and see that the connection duration is 30 minutes and the volume of data transferred is 500 MB. The database server logs show no local account logins at that time. The firewall logs show that the connection was initiated from the database server. The incident response team has been alerted. What is the most likely scenario and your immediate action?

Accepted Answer

Block the external IP 198.51.100.100 on the firewall and isolate the database server. The database server is initiating an outbound SSH connection to an unknown external IP at an anomalous time, transferring 500 MB of data—far beyond typical administrative traffic. This behavior, combined with no local account logins and the server's policy prohibiting outbound SSH, strongly indicates compromise (e.g., an attacker using SSH for data exfiltration). Immediate isolation and blocking the external IP are critical to contain the threat and prevent further data loss, aligning with incident response best practices.

Answer

Change the database administrator password immediately

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Check if the SSH connection was an authorized remote administration session

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Investigate the database server logs for signs of compromise before taking action

Question 11

You are a SOC analyst for a financial services firm. The firm uses a combination of Cisco Firepower IPS, Windows Event Log collection, and a custom SIEM. At 10:00 AM, the SIEM generates an alert: 'Event ID 4625: Multiple failed logins for user 'jdoe' from IP 10.0.0.100'. The alert fires 10 times within 5 minutes. The source IP is a file server. You check the file server's logs and see that it is running a scheduled script that attempts to map a network drive using jdoe's credentials. The script is legitimate and has been running for months. However, the script's credentials may have expired or changed. The user jdoe is currently on leave. The file server administrator confirms that the script is part of a backup process. What is the best course of action?

Accepted Answer

Update the script with correct credentials and clear the alert. The alert is a false positive triggered by a legitimate scheduled script that has been running for months. The root cause is expired or changed credentials for user 'jdoe'. Updating the script with the correct credentials resolves the issue without disrupting operations. Clearing the alert removes the noise from the SIEM, allowing the SOC to focus on genuine threats.

Answer

Escalate the alert to the incident response team for investigation

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Disable user jdoe's account immediately to prevent further attempts

Answer

Block the file server's IP address in the firewall

Question 12

You are an analyst in a SOC that monitors a retail company with multiple branch offices. The company uses VPN connections between branches. The SIEM reports that a branch office router (IP 10.99.0.1) has been sending large amounts of data to an external IP 185.220.101.10 on port 123 (NTP) during off-hours. The NTP traffic is abnormal because the branch uses a local time server. The amount of data sent is 2 GB over 8 hours. The router logs show normal administrative traffic. The branch manager reports no issues. You check threat intelligence and find that 185.220.101.10 is a known malicious IP associated with data exfiltration. What should be your immediate response?

Accepted Answer

Block the external IP 185.220.101.10 on the firewall and initiate incident response for the router. Option C is correct because the branch router is sending 2 GB of NTP traffic to a known malicious IP (185.220.101.10) during off-hours, which is a strong indicator of data exfiltration using NTP (often via tunneling or covert channels). The immediate response should be to block the external IP on the firewall to stop the data flow and initiate incident response to investigate the compromised router, as the traffic is abnormal (branch uses a local time server) and the IP is associated with exfiltration.

Answer

Disable NTP service on the branch router

Answer

Notify the CISO and wait for further instructions

Answer

Contact the branch manager to confirm if any scheduled backups are running

Question 13

A SOC analyst is monitoring network traffic using Cisco Stealthwatch. An alert is generated indicating a large volume of data being transferred from a critical server to an external IP address during off-hours. The analyst observes that the data transfer is using encrypted HTTPS traffic to a cloud storage provider. The server is known to host sensitive customer data. The analyst reviews the server's outbound firewall rules and finds that HTTPS traffic to any destination is allowed. The analyst checks the server's recent login logs and sees an authentication from a user account that is typically used by a contractor who only works during business hours. The contractor's account has not been disabled after the contract ended last week. What should the analyst do first?

Accepted Answer

Investigate the alert further by checking the server for any signs of malware or unauthorized access, and then escalate to the incident response team.. The correct first step is to investigate the alert further to confirm whether it is a genuine security incident. Option C is correct because it follows established incident response procedures: gather more evidence (e.g., check for malware, unauthorized access) before taking containment or eradication actions. Prematurely blocking the IP (A) could disrupt legitimate business operations if the transfer is authorized. Disabling the account (B) is a valid remediation step but should occur after confirming the incident and as part of a coordinated response. Ignoring the alert (D) is dangerous because encryption does not automatically indicate benign activity; exfiltration often uses HTTPS to evade detection.

Answer

Ignore the alert because the traffic is encrypted and cannot be inspected.

Answer

Immediately block the external IP address at the firewall to stop the data transfer.

Answer

Disable the contractor's user account and notify the IT manager.

Question 14

Which TWO are common sources of security event data in a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system?

Accepted Answer

NetFlow records. NetFlow records (B) are a common source of security event data in a SIEM because they provide detailed metadata about network flows, including source/destination IPs, ports, protocols, and byte counts. SIEMs ingest NetFlow to detect anomalies, such as data exfiltration or beaconing, by analyzing flow patterns rather than full packet payloads. This makes NetFlow a standard telemetry source for network visibility and threat hunting.

Answer

SMTP logs

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SNMP traps

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DNS queries

Question 15

Based on the Cisco ASA syslog message, what does this event indicate?

Accepted Answer

An inbound UDP packet from an external source to an internal destination was denied.. The syslog message indicates that an inbound UDP packet from an external source to an internal destination was denied by the Cisco ASA. The message includes the source and destination IP addresses and ports, and the action is 'denied' due to the access-group 'OUTSIDE_IN' applied to the outside interface. This matches option B, which correctly identifies the denied inbound UDP traffic.

Answer

A DNS response from an external server to an internal client was allowed.

Answer

The access-group "OUTSIDE_IN" is misconfigured.

Answer

An outbound UDP connection was denied.