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200-201 Practice Question: Which TWO of the following are indicators of a…
Which TWO of the following are indicators of a network intrusion? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between normal administrative traffic (like ICMP pings or a single failed login) and true indicators of compromise (like anomalous DNS queries or outbound SMB connections), trapping candidates who mistake benign activity for malicious.
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
✓
A sudden increase in DNS queries to unknown domains from a single host
A sudden spike in DNS queries to unknown domains from a single host is a classic sign of DNS tunneling or command-and-control (C2) activity. Attackers often use DNS to exfiltrate data or communicate with external servers by encoding data in DNS queries, bypassing traditional firewall rules that allow DNS traffic.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
High bandwidth usage during business hours
Why it's wrong here
High bandwidth can be legitimate, e.g., video streaming or backups.
- ✗
A single failed login attempt from an internal user
Why it's wrong here
One failed login is normal; it does not indicate an intrusion.
- ✗
Regular ICMP echo requests to external hosts
Why it's wrong here
ICMP echo requests are common for network troubleshooting.
- ✓
A sudden increase in DNS queries to unknown domains from a single host
Why this is correct
This could indicate malware beaconing or DNS tunneling.
- ✓
Multiple outbound connections from a server to an external IP on port 445
Why this is correct
Port 445 is SMB; outbound SMB from a server may indicate data exfiltration.
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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.