200-201 Security Concepts Practice Question
A security analyst is reviewing the organization's incident response plan. The plan currently defines containment, eradication, and recovery but does not include a formal step to determine the root cause of an incident. Which phase of the NIST SP 800-61 incident response lifecycle should the analyst add to address this gap?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that root cause analysis happens during detection and analysis, when it is formally part of the post-incident activity phase.
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
✓
Post-incident activity
The NIST SP 800-61 lifecycle includes preparation; detection and analysis; containment, eradication, and recovery; and post-incident activity. Root cause analysis and lessons learned belong to the post-incident activity phase, which the plan lacks. Adding it ensures the organization systematically identifies why the incident occurred and improves future response.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Post-incident activity
Why this is correct
Post-incident activity is the final phase of the NIST SP 800-61 lifecycle, where the team reviews what happened, identifies the root cause, documents lessons learned, and updates procedures. Adding this phase directly fills the gap because root cause analysis is a core activity of the post-incident review, not of containment, eradication, or recovery.
- ✗
Containment, eradication, and recovery
Why it's wrong here
These phases focus on stopping the spread, removing the threat, and restoring normal operations. They do not formally capture root cause analysis or lessons learned. The scenario explicitly states these phases are already defined, so selecting them would not add the missing capability the analyst needs.
- ✗
Preparation
Why it's wrong here
Preparation is the first phase and focuses on establishing capabilities, tools, and training before an incident occurs. It does not include root cause analysis, which happens after an incident has been handled. The scenario states that containment, eradication, and recovery already exist, so the missing element is the phase that follows them, not the one that precedes them.
- ✗
Detection and analysis
Why it's wrong here
Detection and analysis involves identifying and validating that an incident has occurred and understanding its scope. While analysis occurs here, determining the underlying root cause for improvement happens after the incident is resolved. The scenario already implies incident handling steps are in place, so adding detection and analysis would not address the stated gap.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 968 original 200-201 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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
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.