200-201 Security Monitoring Practice Question
An analyst is reviewing IDS alerts and sees an alert with signature name 'ET POLICY Suspicious inbound to MySQL port 3306'. The source IP is external and destination is an internal database server. What is the best immediate action?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the misconception that IDS alerts should be analyzed for false positives before taking action, but in this scenario, the immediate risk of an external connection to a database port demands a blocking response first, with analysis to follow.
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
✓
Block the external IP at the firewall
An inbound connection from an external IP to a MySQL server (port 3306) is highly suspicious — MySQL is a database service that should never be exposed directly to the internet. The immediate best action is to block the external IP at the firewall to prevent potential exploitation, data exfiltration, or brute-force attacks. This aligns with the principle of least privilege and defense-in-depth, as database servers should only accept connections from trusted internal hosts.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Allow the traffic because it is a legitimate database query
Why it's wrong here
Databases should not be exposed to internet.
- ✗
Ignore the alert as it is a false positive
Why it's wrong here
Inbound MySQL from external is suspicious.
- ✗
Disable the signature to reduce noise
Why it's wrong here
Disabling signatures reduces visibility.
- ✓
Block the external IP at the firewall
Why this is correct
Blocking the source IP stops potential attack.
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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.