200-201 Security Concepts Practice Question
A security analyst observes repeated failed login attempts from a single external IP address, causing the authentication server to become unresponsive. Which type of attack is occurring?
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
✓
Denial of Service
A Denial of Service (DoS) attack aims to make a system or service unavailable by overwhelming it with requests.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Denial of Service
Why this is correct
The repeated login attempts are overwhelming the server, causing a DoS.
- ✗
Reconnaissance
Why it's wrong here
Reconnaissance is information gathering, not causing unavailability.
- ✗
Brute force attack
Why it's wrong here
Brute force attempts to guess credentials but does not necessarily cause unavailability.
- ✗
Man-in-the-middle
Why it's wrong here
MitM involves interception, not flooding.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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