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200-201 Practice Question: Which THREE of the following are valid techniques…
Which THREE of the following are valid techniques to detect a compromised host using network monitoring?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between normal network behavior (like ICMP pings or CDN traffic) and actual malicious indicators, so candidates may mistake common but benign traffic for signs of compromise.
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
✓
Identifying periodic outbound connections to an unknown IP at regular intervals (beaconing).
Beaconing is a classic indicator of a compromised host establishing a command-and-control (C2) channel. The host periodically sends outbound connections to an unknown IP at regular intervals, which is a behavior that network monitoring tools can detect as anomalous traffic patterns, often used by malware to maintain persistence and receive instructions.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Identifying periodic outbound connections to an unknown IP at regular intervals (beaconing).
Why this is correct
Beaconing is a common C2 technique.
- ✗
Watching for ICMP echo requests from internal hosts to external hosts.
Why it's wrong here
ICMP is common and not a reliable compromise indicator.
- ✓
Observing DNS queries for domains that are known to be malicious from threat intelligence.
Why this is correct
DNS queries to malicious domains indicate compromise.
- ✓
Detecting a host that is sending SMTP traffic to a server not authorized as a mail relay.
Why this is correct
Spambot activity is a sign of compromise.
- ✗
Monitoring for high volumes of HTTP traffic to a known CDN.
Why it's wrong here
CDN traffic is normal and expected.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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