200-201 Security Policies and Procedures Practice Question
During which phase of the NIST SP 800-61 Rev 2 incident response process would the incident response team conduct initial triage and determine whether an event qualifies as an incident?
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
✓
Detection and Analysis
Initial triage and identification of incidents occur in the Detection and Analysis phase.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Detection and Analysis
Why this is correct
Detection and Analysis covers initial triage, validating alerts and deciding whether an event meets the incident criteria before escalating to containment. This satisfies the stem's requirement, since qualification happens during that phase rather than Preparation, Containment Eradication and Recovery, or Post-Incident Activity.
- ✗
Preparation
Why it's wrong here
Preparation covers building capability, tooling and plans before any event occurs; triage and incident declaration happen during Detection and Analysis. It is tempting because preparation establishes the criteria and contacts used for triage, but no live event is assessed in this phase.
- ✗
Containment, Eradication, and Recovery
Why it's wrong here
Containment, Eradication and Recovery begins after an incident is confirmed and focuses on limiting damage and restoring systems; triage and qualification occur earlier, in Detection and Analysis. It is tempting because containment follows triage closely, so the phases are easily conflated.
- ✗
Post-Incident Activity
Why it's wrong here
Post-Incident Activity reviews lessons learned and evidence retention after recovery completes; triage and incident qualification happen during Detection and Analysis. It is tempting because the phase also examines whether detection worked, but that review is retrospective rather than the initial determination.
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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.