156-215.81.20 Monitoring and Logging Practice Question
Exhibit
Packet: Source 10.1.1.1 -> Dest 8.8.8.8 Action: Drop Policy: Rule 5 Reason: Threat Prevention Blade: IPS Confidence: High
Refer to the exhibit. What is the most likely reason this traffic was dropped?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often mistake an IPS threat prevention drop for a standard security policy rule block, ignoring the specific blade metadata.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The traffic triggered an IPS protection signature.
The log output provides specific metadata about the drop. By identifying that the 'Blade' is IPS and the 'Reason' is Threat Prevention, we can conclude the traffic matched a malicious pattern detected by the IPS engine. This is a critical distinction, as it differentiates between a standard policy block and a security-enforced threat protection action.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The traffic was blocked by a firewall rule.
Why it's wrong here
Although Rule 5 is mentioned, the 'Blade' field specifically identifies 'IPS' as the cause. A standard firewall rule block would typically show the 'Policy' as the reason and the 'Blade' as 'Firewall'. Therefore, this was not a simple access control policy decision but a security-based threat inspection.
- ✓
The traffic triggered an IPS protection signature.
Why this is correct
The log explicitly states that the 'Blade' is 'IPS' and the 'Reason' is 'Threat Prevention'. This confirms that the IPS engine analyzed the packet and identified it as matching a known malicious signature or anomaly, leading to an automatic block to protect the network from potential attack.
- ✗
The packet was dropped due to a routing error.
Why it's wrong here
Routing errors are generally handled by the kernel and do not involve the IPS blade. If the packet had been dropped because of a routing issue, the logs would reflect a failure in the networking stack, not a security-based drop identified by the Threat Prevention engine.
- ✗
The connection was rejected by the server.
Why it's wrong here
The drop occurred at the Check Point gateway, not at the destination server. If the server had rejected the connection, the log would not show a drop initiated by the IPS blade. The gateway is acting as a security enforcement point, actively intervening in the traffic flow.
About these practice questions
This 156-215.81.20 question is part of Courseiva's 210-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Check Point exam blueprint
This 156-215.81.20 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Check Point certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 156-215.81.20 exam.