200-201 Security Concepts Practice Question
A security analyst discovers that a malicious actor is using a technique to gather information about employees by searching social media sites. Which type of attack is being performed?
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
✓
Passive reconnaissance
Reconnaissance attacks involve gathering information to identify vulnerabilities. Passive reconnaissance uses publicly available sources like social media.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Active reconnaissance
Why it's wrong here
Active reconnaissance involves direct interaction with the target, such as port scanning.
- ✓
Passive reconnaissance
Why this is correct
Passive reconnaissance collects information without directly engaging the target.
- ✗
Denial of Service
Why it's wrong here
DoS attacks aim to disrupt service availability.
- ✗
Social engineering
Why it's wrong here
Social engineering manipulates people into divulging information, not just gathering from public sources.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 200-201 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 200-201 exam.