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200-201 Practice Question: Which TWO are goals of a security operations…
Which TWO are goals of a security operations center (SOC)? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between operational SOC responsibilities (monitoring and response) and other security functions like IAM, development, or proactive testing, so candidates may mistakenly select penetration testing as a SOC goal because it is security-related, but it is not a continuous SOC function.
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
✓
Continuous monitoring of security events
Continuous monitoring of security events is a primary goal of a SOC, ensuring real-time detection of threats through log aggregation and analysis from sources like firewalls, IDS/IPS, and endpoints. This aligns with the SOC's responsibility to maintain situational awareness and identify indicators of compromise (IoCs) as part of the NIST incident response lifecycle.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Continuous monitoring of security events
Why this is correct
SOC monitors events 24/7.
- ✗
Managing user passwords
Why it's wrong here
Password management is an IT admin task.
- ✗
Developing software applications
Why it's wrong here
Development is not a SOC function.
- ✗
Performing penetration tests
Why it's wrong here
Pen testing is typically done by separate red teams.
- ✓
Responding to security incidents
Why this is correct
Incident response is a primary SOC role.
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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.