200-201 Security Concepts Practice Question
A security analyst discovers that an attacker is using a vulnerability scanning tool to identify open ports on the company's network. 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
✓
Active reconnaissance
Active reconnaissance involves direct interaction with the target, such as port scanning, to gather information.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Social engineering
Why it's wrong here
Social engineering manipulates people, not network scanning.
- ✗
Passive reconnaissance
Why it's wrong here
Passive reconnaissance does not directly interact with the target, e.g., social media searches.
- ✓
Active reconnaissance
Why this is correct
Port scanning is active reconnaissance because it sends probes to the target.
- ✗
Denial of Service
Why it's wrong here
DoS attacks disrupt services, not gather information.
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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.