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200-201 Practice Question: Which TWO are common sources of security event…
Which TWO are common sources of security event data in a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between network management protocols (SNMP) and security monitoring sources (syslog, NetFlow), leading candidates to mistakenly select SNMP traps as a security event source because they associate 'traps' with alerts, when in fact SNMP is for device health, not security event logging.
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
✓
NetFlow records
NetFlow records (B) are a common SIEM data source because they provide flow-level metadata—source/destination IP, ports, protocol, byte/packet counts, and timestamps—that SIEMs use for traffic analysis, anomaly detection, and threat hunting. Syslog from network devices (D) is also a core source, as routers, switches, and firewalls send event messages (e.g., RFC 5424/3164 format) to a SIEM for correlation and alerting. SMTP logs (A) are email-server logs and, while they can be ingested, they are not a common primary SIEM source category in the same way as flow and syslog data. SNMP traps (C) are asynchronous device notifications used mainly for network management/monitoring, not a standard SIEM event-data source. DNS queries (E) can be logged and analyzed for security (e.g., DNS tunneling), but they are a specialized telemetry type rather than one of the two common sources identified here.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
SMTP logs
Why it's wrong here
SMTP logs are specific to email and less common as a primary SIEM source.
- ✓
NetFlow records
Why this is correct
NetFlow records export metadata about IP flows — source, destination, ports, and byte counts — letting a SIEM correlate traffic patterns and detect anomalies such as scanning or exfiltration. They feed network-level event data alongside logs and alerts.
- ✗
SNMP traps
Why it's wrong here
SNMP traps are more for network performance monitoring than security events.
- ✓
Syslog from network devices
Why this is correct
Syslog from network devices is a core SIEM ingestion source: routers, switches and firewalls export event messages over UDP or TCP port 514, feeding authentication failures, interface changes and ACL denials into the correlation engine. This satisfies the stem's requirement for common security event data sources alongside other telemetry feeds.
- ✗
DNS queries
Why it's wrong here
DNS logs can be security-relevant but are not a primary SIEM source.
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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.