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200-201 Practice Question: A security administrator for a company with 500…
You are a security administrator for a company with 500 employees. The company uses a SIEM with basic correlation rules. Recently, the HR department reported that several employees received phishing emails with a link to a fake login page. The emails bypassed the spam filter. You want to detect if any employees clicked the link. You have access to web proxy logs, DNS logs, and endpoint antivirus logs. The phishing link is 'http://malicious-login.com/verify'. Which action should you take first to identify affected users?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between DNS resolution and actual HTTP request completion, tricking candidates into thinking DNS logs are sufficient to prove a user clicked a link, when in fact only web proxy logs confirm the full URL was requested.
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
✓
Query the web proxy logs for HTTP requests containing the URL.
The web proxy logs record all HTTP requests made by clients, including the full URL path. Querying for 'http://malicious-login.com/verify' directly shows which employees clicked the link, because the proxy captures the exact destination and timestamp of each request. This is the most direct and reliable evidence of user interaction with the phishing link.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Run a vulnerability scan on all employee workstations.
Why it's wrong here
Not relevant to detecting the phishing visit.
- ✗
Search DNS logs for queries to 'malicious-login.com'.
Why it's wrong here
Shows domain queries but not the specific page.
- ✗
Search endpoint logs for any malware detections.
Why it's wrong here
Phishing pages often don't trigger antivirus.
- ✓
Query the web proxy logs for HTTP requests containing the URL.
Why this is correct
Web proxy logs record full URLs accessed by users.
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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.