This 200-201 practice question tests your understanding of security monitoring. 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.
Which TWO of the following are common sources of security events used in security monitoring?
Employee attendance records
Why wrong: Attendance records are not a source of security events.
Firewall logs
Firewall logs provide information on allowed and denied connections.
Marketing campaign results
Why wrong: Marketing data is not relevant to security monitoring.
Company newsletter subscriptions
Why wrong: Newsletter data is not a security event source.
DNS query logs
DNS logs can reveal malicious domain lookups and C&C communications.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Firewall logs
Firewall logs (B) are a primary source of security events because they record allowed and denied traffic based on access control lists (ACLs), providing critical data on attempted intrusions, policy violations, and reconnaissance scans. DNS query logs (E) are equally vital as they capture domain resolution requests, enabling detection of malware command-and-control (C2) communication, DNS tunneling, and connections to known malicious domains. Both are standard inputs for SIEM systems and security monitoring platforms.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Employee attendance records
Why it's wrong here
Attendance records are not a source of security events.
Firewall logs
Why this is correct
Firewall logs provide information on allowed and denied connections.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Marketing campaign results
Why it's wrong here
Marketing data is not relevant to security monitoring.
Company newsletter subscriptions
Why it's wrong here
Newsletter data is not a security event source.
DNS query logs
Why this is correct
DNS logs can reveal malicious domain lookups and C&C communications.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Cisco often tests the distinction between operational business data (HR, marketing) and actual security telemetry sources, expecting candidates to recognize that only logs from network infrastructure (firewalls, DNS servers, IDS/IPS) generate actionable security events.
Detailed technical explanation
Firewall logs typically contain fields such as source/destination IP, port, protocol (TCP/UDP/ICMP), and action (permit/deny), often formatted as syslog messages (RFC 5424) or via NetFlow/IPFIX. DNS query logs, generated by resolvers or authoritative servers, record the queried domain, query type (A, AAAA, MX, etc.), response code (NOERROR, NXDOMAIN), and client IP, which are essential for detecting fast-flux domains or algorithmically generated domain names (DGAs) used by botnets. In practice, correlating firewall denies with DNS queries to suspicious domains can reveal exfiltration attempts or malware beaconing.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A security administrator must allow nursing staff to reach a patient records server while blocking access from the guest Wi-Fi VLAN. After applying an extended ACL, traffic is still blocked from nursing workstations. The ACL was applied outbound instead of inbound on the wrong interface. Questions like this test ACL direction and placement rules.
What to study next
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FAQ
Security Monitoring — This question tests Security Monitoring — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Firewall logs — Firewall logs (B) are a primary source of security events because they record allowed and denied traffic based on access control lists (ACLs), providing critical data on attempted intrusions, policy violations, and reconnaissance scans. DNS query logs (E) are equally vital as they capture domain resolution requests, enabling detection of malware command-and-control (C2) communication, DNS tunneling, and connections to known malicious domains. Both are standard inputs for SIEM systems and security monitoring platforms.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
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