200-201 Security Monitoring Practice Question
A security analyst is examining web server logs and finds an entry with method 'POST', URL '/login.php', response code '200', and user-agent 'Mozilla/5.0'. The log shows 100 similar entries from the same IP within 5 seconds. What is the most likely activity?
⚠ Common exam trap
200-201 often tests whether candidates can distinguish brute force from SQLi and DDoS by volume and pattern; the trap is assuming any POST to login.php is SQL injection, when the high uniform request rate points to brute force.
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
✓
A brute-force attack on the login form
Repeated POST requests to /login.php from a single IP at a rate of 100 in 5 seconds (20 requests/second) with a generic browser user-agent is the classic signature of an automated brute-force attack against a login form. The 200 response code indicates the server processed the requests, consistent with credential guessing rather than a single exploit attempt. High request rate plus authentication endpoint equals brute force.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
A brute-force attack on the login form
Why this is correct
One hundred POST requests to the login endpoint from a single IP within five seconds indicates automated credential guessing against the authentication form. The rapid repetition and uniform user-agent reveal scripted abuse rather than human login behaviour, matching brute-force attack characteristics.
- ✗
A SQL injection attempt on the login page
Why it's wrong here
A SQL injection attempt would typically produce error codes or malformed query strings, not 100 identical POSTs to /login.php returning 200. The volume and uniformity point to credential stuffing or brute force. SQL injection is tempting because login forms are common injection targets, but the log pattern here shows repeated authentication submissions, not injected payloads.
- ✗
A DDoS attack targeting the web server
Why it's wrong here
A DDoS attack floods a service to exhaust resources, typically hitting many endpoints with high volume to deny availability. Here 100 requests target one login endpoint in five seconds and return 200, which is credential stuffing or brute force, not volumetric denial. DDoS is tempting because of the request burst, but the pattern is authentication-focused.
- ✗
A user repeatedly clicking the login button due to a slow connection
Why it's wrong here
A slow connection would produce sporadic, spaced-out retries, not 100 POSTs in five seconds from one IP. That rate is machine-generated, indicating automated credential stuffing or brute-force tooling. Manual button-clicking is tempting because users do retry logins, but human clicking cannot achieve twenty requests per second.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Cisco exam blueprint
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