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200-201 Practice Question: Which THREE of the following are common…
Which THREE of the following are common indicators of compromise (IOCs) that a security monitoring system might trigger on?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between performance metrics (like CPU usage) and true security indicators, so candidates mistakenly select high CPU usage as an IOC when it is actually a symptom that requires further investigation, not a direct compromise indicator.
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
✓
Unusual outbound network connections to unfamiliar IP addresses.
Unusual outbound network connections to unfamiliar IP addresses are a common indicator of compromise (IOC) because they often signal command-and-control (C2) communication, data exfiltration, or malware beaconing. Security monitoring systems analyze netflow or firewall logs to detect connections to IP addresses not in the organization's baseline or known threat intelligence feeds. This behavior deviates from normal traffic patterns and is a key trigger for alerts in SIEM or IDS/IPS systems.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Unusual outbound network connections to unfamiliar IP addresses.
Why this is correct
Common C2 indicator.
- ✓
Packets with destination IP addresses from a threat intelligence feed.
Why this is correct
Direct matching against known malicious IPs.
- ✗
High CPU usage on a server.
Why it's wrong here
Can be legitimate or malicious; not a definitive IOC.
- ✗
Successful logon from a domain administrator account.
Why it's wrong here
Normal activity unless anomalous.
- ✓
Changes to critical system files or registry keys.
Why this is correct
May indicate malware installation.
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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.