- A
Immediately block the source IP on the firewall
Why wrong: Blocking without investigation could disrupt legitimate traffic.
- B
Reset the IDS/IPS signature database
Why wrong: Resetting the database is not a response to an alert.
- C
Investigate the source IP and user-agent for malicious activity
Investigating helps determine if the alert is a true positive.
- D
Ignore the alert as it is not a critical signature
Why wrong: High severity alerts should be investigated.
Question 6 of 1,000
200-201 Security Monitoring Practice Question
This 200-201 practice question tests your understanding of security monitoring. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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/IPS alert shows a signature named 'ET POLICY Outgoing HTTP Request with Suspicious User-Agent' with severity high. What is the most likely next step for an analyst?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"most likely"Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
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
✓
Investigate the source IP and user-agent for malicious activity
The 'ET POLICY Outgoing HTTP Request with Suspicious User-Agent' signature indicates a policy violation, not necessarily a confirmed attack. An analyst must first investigate the source IP and user-agent to determine if the traffic is malicious (e.g., command-and-control communication, data exfiltration) or benign (e.g., a legitimate application using a non-standard user-agent). Immediate blocking (Option A) could disrupt legitimate services, while ignoring the alert (Option D) risks missing a real threat.
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.
- ✗
Immediately block the source IP on the firewall
Why it's wrong here
Blocking without investigation could disrupt legitimate traffic.
- ✗
Reset the IDS/IPS signature database
Why it's wrong here
Resetting the database is not a response to an alert.
- ✓
Investigate the source IP and user-agent for malicious activity
Why this is correct
Investigating helps determine if the alert is a true positive.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Ignore the alert as it is not a critical signature
Why it's wrong here
High severity alerts should be investigated.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the distinction between 'policy' and 'exploit' signatures, where candidates mistakenly treat a policy violation as an immediate threat and jump to blocking, rather than following the proper incident response process of investigation first.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The 'ET POLICY' prefix indicates the signature is from the Emerging Threats (ET) open rule set, which includes both exploit and policy rules. The 'Suspicious User-Agent' typically matches non-standard or known malicious user-agent strings (e.g., 'curl', 'wget', or custom agents used by malware). Under the hood, the IDS/IPS compares the HTTP User-Agent header against a regex pattern; a match triggers the alert. In a real-world scenario, an analyst would check the source IP against threat intelligence feeds, review the full HTTP request (e.g., URI, headers, payload), and correlate with other logs (e.g., proxy, DNS) to determine if the traffic is part of a C2 beacon or a misconfigured application.
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 practitioner preparing for the 200-201 exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
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.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this 200-201 question test?
Security Monitoring — This question tests Security Monitoring — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Investigate the source IP and user-agent for malicious activity — The 'ET POLICY Outgoing HTTP Request with Suspicious User-Agent' signature indicates a policy violation, not necessarily a confirmed attack. An analyst must first investigate the source IP and user-agent to determine if the traffic is malicious (e.g., command-and-control communication, data exfiltration) or benign (e.g., a legitimate application using a non-standard user-agent). Immediate blocking (Option A) could disrupt legitimate services, while ignoring the alert (Option D) risks missing a real threat.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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.
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