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350-701 Practice Question: A network administrator is troubleshooting why…
A network administrator is troubleshooting why users in the marketing department cannot access a specific cloud storage site through the Cisco WSA. The access policy for marketing is set to 'Monitor' for the File Sharing category, but the site is blocked. What is the most likely reason?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often assume a policy set to 'Monitor' for a category will always allow traffic, forgetting that Cisco WSA's policy evaluation uses a first-match model where more specific policies can override broader ones.
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
✓
A more specific identity or policy is applying a block action.
Cisco WSA applies policies in a hierarchical order, and a more specific identity or policy (e.g., one based on user group, subnet, or time range) can override a broader policy set to 'Monitor'. Even though the marketing department's access policy is configured to monitor the File Sharing category, a more granular rule may explicitly block the cloud storage site, causing the unexpected block.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Web reputation threshold is set to block the site.
Why it's wrong here
Monitor action should not be blocked by reputation unless reputation-based action is set.
- ✗
The site is mis-categorized as an unknown URL.
Why it's wrong here
If File Sharing category includes it, it should be recognized.
- ✓
A more specific identity or policy is applying a block action.
Why this is correct
For example, a time-based or user-specific policy may override.
- ✗
URL filtering is disabled for that policy.
Why it's wrong here
If disabled, no category would be applied.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 350-701 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco 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 350-701 exam.