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200-201 Practice Question: During a security incident, the incident response…
During a security incident, the incident response team isolates a compromised workstation from the network. The security policy requires that all actions taken during the incident be documented and approved. However, the team lead isolates the workstation without waiting for formal approval. Which principle of incident response is being prioritized?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between 'Rapid containment' and 'Speed of containment' to see if candidates know that the official NIST SP 800-61 term is 'Speed of containment,' not 'Rapid containment,' which is a common distractor.
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
✓
Speed of containment
The team lead prioritized isolating the workstation to prevent the threat from spreading laterally, which aligns with the principle of rapid containment. While formal approval is required by policy, in an active incident the immediate need to stop the attack often overrides administrative steps. The speed of containment is critical because delaying isolation could allow malware or an attacker to pivot to other systems, increasing the scope of the breach.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Rapid containment
Why it's wrong here
Rapid containment is similar to speed, but the correct term in incident response is speed of containment.
- ✗
Chain of custody
Why it's wrong here
Chain of custody concerns evidence handling, not containment speed.
- ✓
Speed of containment
Why this is correct
Immediate containment limits damage and is often prioritized over formal approval in policies.
- ✗
Preservation of evidence
Why it's wrong here
While isolation can preserve evidence, the action without approval prioritizes speed over documentation.
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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.