The correct action is to investigate for a brute force attack. Repeated login failures are a hallmark of brute force attempts, where an attacker systematically tries numerous password combinations to gain unauthorized access. Investigating first—rather than immediately blocking or disabling accounts—allows the analyst to confirm the attack pattern by examining frequency, source IPs, and targeted accounts, which aligns with the verify-then-act principle central to incident response. On the Cisco CyberOps Associate 200-201 exam, this question tests your ability to apply security policy to real-world indicators, often appearing in scenario-based questions where a common trap is jumping to a reactive measure like account lockout without analysis. Remember the memory tip: “Failures first, investigate the burst”—repeated login failures always warrant a closer look before any irreversible action.
200-201 Security Policies and Procedures Practice Question
This 200-201 practice question tests your understanding of security policies and procedures. 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.
Exhibit
*Mar 1 12:34:56: %SEC_LOGIN-4-LOGIN_FAILED: Login failed for user 'admin' from source 192.168.1.50
*Mar 1 12:34:57: %SEC_LOGIN-4-LOGIN_FAILED: Login failed for user 'admin' from source 192.168.1.50
*Mar 1 12:34:58: %SEC_LOGIN-4-LOGIN_FAILED: Login failed for user 'admin' from source 192.168.1.50
Refer to the exhibit. A security analyst notices repeated login failures. According to the company's security policy, what action should be taken?
*Mar 1 12:34:56: %SEC_LOGIN-4-LOGIN_FAILED: Login failed for user 'admin' from source 192.168.1.50
*Mar 1 12:34:57: %SEC_LOGIN-4-LOGIN_FAILED: Login failed for user 'admin' from source 192.168.1.50
*Mar 1 12:34:58: %SEC_LOGIN-4-LOGIN_FAILED: Login failed for user 'admin' from source 192.168.1.50
A
Block the source IP at the firewall
Why wrong: Blocking the IP may stop the attack but should be done after investigation to avoid legitimate false positives.
B
Ignore because it's only three failures
Why wrong: Ignoring violations violates security policy; even three failures can indicate an attack.
C
Investigate for brute force attack
The pattern suggests a brute-force attempt; investigation is the first step per incident response procedures.
D
Disable the user account
Why wrong: Disabling the account is premature; the user 'admin' may be legitimate but the source is trying brute force.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Investigate for brute force attack
Repeated login failures are a classic indicator of a brute-force attack, where an attacker attempts to guess credentials by trying many passwords. The security policy should require investigation to confirm the attack pattern (e.g., frequency, source, target accounts) before taking irreversible actions like blocking or disabling. Option C is correct because it follows the principle of verify-then-act, aligning with incident response procedures.
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 at the firewall
Why it's wrong here
Blocking the IP may stop the attack but should be done after investigation to avoid legitimate false positives.
✗
Ignore because it's only three failures
Why it's wrong here
Ignoring violations violates security policy; even three failures can indicate an attack.
✓
Investigate for brute force attack
Why this is correct
The pattern suggests a brute-force attempt; investigation is the first step per incident response procedures.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Disable the user account
Why it's wrong here
Disabling the account is premature; the user 'admin' may be legitimate but the source is trying brute force.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the candidate's ability to distinguish between reactive actions (block, disable) and proper incident response steps (investigate first), where the trap is to jump to a technical fix without following the security policy's investigation requirement.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Brute-force detection often relies on monitoring authentication logs (e.g., /var/log/auth.log on Linux or Windows Security Event ID 4625) for repeated failure codes like 0xC000006A (bad password). Tools like Fail2ban or SIEM rules can correlate failures per source IP or username, but investigation is needed to distinguish a distributed attack (multiple IPs) from a single source. In a real-world scenario, an attacker might use a slow, low-and-slow approach to evade threshold-based blocks, making manual log analysis essential.
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.
Security Policies and Procedures — This question tests Security Policies and Procedures — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Investigate for brute force attack — Repeated login failures are a classic indicator of a brute-force attack, where an attacker attempts to guess credentials by trying many passwords. The security policy should require investigation to confirm the attack pattern (e.g., frequency, source, target accounts) before taking irreversible actions like blocking or disabling. Option C is correct because it follows the principle of verify-then-act, aligning with incident response procedures.
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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