200-201 Security Monitoring Practice Question
A SOC analyst is reviewing firewall logs and sees repeated entries: 'Deny TCP 10.0.0.5:49152 -> 203.0.113.1:22' and 'Deny TCP 10.0.0.5:49153 -> 203.0.113.1:22'. What does this pattern suggest?
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
✓
An SSH brute-force attack from the internal host
Multiple denied connection attempts from the same internal IP to the same external IP on port 22 (SSH) with different source ports indicates a brute-force SSH attack. The firewall is denying the connections, but the pattern is indicative of an attack.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
An SSH brute-force attack from the internal host
Why this is correct
The repeated connection attempts to port 22 with varying source ports is characteristic of a brute-force attempt.
- ✗
DNS tunneling
Why it's wrong here
DNS tunneling uses port 53, not 22.
- ✗
A legitimate SSH session
Why it's wrong here
Legitimate SSH connections would not generate multiple denied attempts with different source ports.
- ✗
A port scan from the external host
Why it's wrong here
The source is internal (10.0.0.5), not external.
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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.