This 200-201 practice question tests your understanding of security monitoring. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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.
A company uses a SIEM that collects logs from firewalls, servers, and endpoints. The SIEM is generating a high volume of low-priority events, causing analysts to miss critical alerts. Which approach would best improve the signal-to-noise ratio?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Implement event filtering and correlation rules to reduce false positives.
The SIEM's high volume of low-priority events indicates a poor signal-to-noise ratio, where benign or irrelevant events drown out critical alerts. Implementing event filtering and correlation rules directly reduces false positives by discarding known noise (e.g., repeated benign scans) and grouping related events into meaningful alerts, allowing analysts to focus on genuine threats. This is the standard approach in SIEM tuning to improve detection fidelity without adding resources or data.
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.
✓
Implement event filtering and correlation rules to reduce false positives.
Why this is correct
Filtering and correlation reduce noise and highlight relevant events.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Deploy additional sensors to collect more data.
Why it's wrong here
More data may increase noise unless properly filtered.
✗
Hire more analysts to review all events.
Why it's wrong here
Hiring does not reduce noise; it only adds manpower to handle the volume.
✗
Increase the storage capacity of the SIEM.
Why it's wrong here
More storage does not reduce noise; it only accommodates more events.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the misconception that 'more data equals better security' (Option B), but the real goal is to reduce noise through intelligent filtering and correlation, not to increase data volume.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
SIEM correlation rules use techniques like threshold-based aggregation (e.g., suppress an event if it occurs more than 100 times in 60 seconds) and pattern matching against known attack signatures (e.g., Snort rules or Sigma rules). Under the hood, event filtering often leverages syslog severity levels (RFC 5424) or custom whitelists to drop events from trusted sources, while correlation engines use time-windowed joins to detect multi-step attacks. A real-world example is filtering out repeated NetFlow records from a legitimate backup server that triggers a 'large data transfer' alert, which would otherwise mask a true exfiltration attempt.
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 200-201 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 Monitoring — This question tests Security Monitoring — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Implement event filtering and correlation rules to reduce false positives. — The SIEM's high volume of low-priority events indicates a poor signal-to-noise ratio, where benign or irrelevant events drown out critical alerts. Implementing event filtering and correlation rules directly reduces false positives by discarding known noise (e.g., repeated benign scans) and grouping related events into meaningful alerts, allowing analysts to focus on genuine threats. This is the standard approach in SIEM tuning to improve detection fidelity without adding resources or data.
What should I do if I get this 200-201 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: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
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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