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200-201 Practice Question: A security analyst is asked to assess the risk of…
A security analyst is asked to assess the risk of a new web application. The analyst calculates the likelihood of a SQL injection as 0.3 and the impact as $100,000. What is the annualized loss expectancy (ALE) if the asset value is $500,000 and the exposure factor is 0.2?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between SLE and ALE, tricking candidates into stopping at the SLE calculation ($100,000) or misapplying the exposure factor to the impact instead of the asset value.
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
✓
$30,000
The annualized loss expectancy (ALE) is calculated as ALE = SLE × ARO, where SLE = AV × EF. Here, AV = $500,000 and EF = 0.2, so SLE = $100,000. The likelihood of 0.3 represents the annualized rate of occurrence (ARO), so ALE = $100,000 × 0.3 = $30,000. Option D is correct because it correctly multiplies the single loss expectancy by the annualized rate of occurrence.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
$100,000
Why it's wrong here
This is SLE, not ALE.
- ✗
$50,000
Why it's wrong here
This is likely SLE without ARO.
- ✗
$15,000
Why it's wrong here
This might result from using EF without AV or wrong multiplication.
- ✓
$30,000
Why this is correct
ALE = SLE * ARO = ($500,000 * 0.2) * 0.3 = $30,000.
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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.