This 350-701 practice question tests your understanding of security concepts. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Refer to the exhibit. An engineer is analyzing an intrusion policy on Cisco Firepower Management Center (FMC). The network uses Windows servers and clients. A flood of HTTP traffic is being detected as a potential attack, but it is legitimate. Which preprocessor configuration change would most likely reduce false positives without losing detection of real attacks?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Change global_sensitivity to medium
The http_inspect preprocessor's global_sensitivity setting controls how aggressively it normalizes HTTP traffic before analysis. Setting it to 'medium' reduces false positives from legitimate HTTP floods by relaxing the threshold for anomalous HTTP behavior, while still allowing the preprocessor to detect real attacks that exhibit more extreme deviations. This is the most targeted change because it directly addresses the flood of HTTP traffic without disabling the preprocessor entirely.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Disable the http_inspect preprocessor
Why it's wrong here
Disabling HTTP inspection would prevent detection of HTTP-based attacks.
✓
Change global_sensitivity to medium
Why this is correct
Lowering sensitivity reduces false positives for benign traffic while still detecting true attacks.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Change frag3 policy to bsd
Why it's wrong here
Frag3 policy affects IP fragmentation reassembly, not HTTP false positives.
✗
Change stream5_tcp policy to linux
Why it's wrong here
Linux policy is not optimal for Windows environment and may cause false negatives.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the misconception that disabling a preprocessor or changing unrelated protocol policies (like TCP or IP fragmentation) is the solution, when the correct answer is a targeted tuning parameter within the relevant preprocessor.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The http_inspect preprocessor in Cisco Firepower uses a 'global_sensitivity' parameter (values: low, medium, high) to control the aggressiveness of HTTP anomaly detection; 'medium' is the default and balances detection of malformed HTTP requests against false positives from legitimate traffic. Under the hood, this setting influences thresholds for events like 'HTTP Server Header with no request' or 'HTTP Request with unusual method', which are common in legitimate HTTP floods but rare in targeted attacks. In a real-world scenario, a web server under heavy load might generate many HTTP requests with slightly unusual headers (e.g., missing User-Agent), and 'medium' sensitivity would ignore these while still flagging actual exploits like buffer overflow attempts in HTTP headers.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the 350-701 exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Security Concepts — This question tests Security Concepts — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Change global_sensitivity to medium — The http_inspect preprocessor's global_sensitivity setting controls how aggressively it normalizes HTTP traffic before analysis. Setting it to 'medium' reduces false positives from legitimate HTTP floods by relaxing the threshold for anomalous HTTP behavior, while still allowing the preprocessor to detect real attacks that exhibit more extreme deviations. This is the most targeted change because it directly addresses the flood of HTTP traffic without disabling the preprocessor entirely.
What should I do if I get this 350-701 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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