200-201 Network Intrusion Analysis Practice Question
This 200-201 practice question tests your understanding of network intrusion analysis. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
An IDS generates an alert for a signature that matches HTTP traffic containing 'cmd.exe' in the URI. The analyst checks the packet and sees the URI is actually 'cmd.exe?help'. What should the analyst do?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Tune the signature to reduce false positives
The IDS signature triggered on the presence of 'cmd.exe' in the URI, but the actual traffic was 'cmd.exe?help', which is a legitimate help request and not an exploitation attempt. Tuning the signature to account for the query string reduces false positives without losing detection capability for actual attacks. This aligns with best practices for IDS management, where signatures are adjusted to match real threat patterns rather than exact strings.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Block the source IP
Why it's wrong here
Blocking the source IP is too aggressive for a single false positive.
✓
Tune the signature to reduce false positives
Why this is correct
Tuning allows the signature to still detect malicious usage while ignoring benign occurrences.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Disable the signature
Why it's wrong here
Disabling removes detection completely, which is not prudent if actual attacks could occur.
✗
Escalate to incident response
Why it's wrong here
Escalation is appropriate for true positives, not a simple false positive.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the distinction between a false positive and a true positive, and the trap here is that candidates may assume any match for 'cmd.exe' is malicious, leading them to choose escalation or blocking instead of recognizing the need for signature tuning.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The signature likely uses a simple pattern match for 'cmd.exe' in the URI without considering query parameters. In HTTP, the URI includes the path and query string separated by '?', so 'cmd.exe?help' matches the substring 'cmd.exe' but is not an attempt to execute the binary. Tuning could involve using a regex that requires the URI to end with 'cmd.exe' or to exclude query strings, or adjusting the signature to look for 'cmd.exe' in the path only. Real-world scenarios include web applications that legitimately reference 'cmd.exe' in help documentation or error messages, causing frequent false positives if signatures are not tuned.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Network Intrusion Analysis — This question tests Network Intrusion Analysis — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Tune the signature to reduce false positives — The IDS signature triggered on the presence of 'cmd.exe' in the URI, but the actual traffic was 'cmd.exe?help', which is a legitimate help request and not an exploitation attempt. Tuning the signature to account for the query string reduces false positives without losing detection capability for actual attacks. This aligns with best practices for IDS management, where signatures are adjusted to match real threat patterns rather than exact strings.
What should I do if I get this 200-201 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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