CAS-004 Security Operations Practice Question
A security analyst is reviewing logs from a SIEM and notices that a user account has been successfully authenticated from two different geographic locations within a short time span, which is impossible. The SIEM uses user behavior analytics (UBA). What type of anomaly is this most likely to detect?
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 credential theft and reuse incident
UBA establishes a baseline of normal user behavior, such as typical login locations and times. An impossible travel event (e.g., logging in from two distant locations within minutes) is a common anomaly that triggers an alert.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
A credential theft and reuse incident
Why this is correct
Impossible travel indicates the credentials may have been stolen and used by an attacker from a different location.
- ✗
A misconfigured VPN that routes traffic through multiple gateways
Why it's wrong here
VPN misconfiguration might cause different source IPs, but not necessarily impossible travel times.
- ✗
A brute-force attack on the user account
Why it's wrong here
Brute-force would show multiple failed logins, not successful logins from distant locations.
- ✗
A man-in-the-middle attack intercepting the authentication
Why it's wrong here
MITM attacks would not necessarily cause logins from different locations.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CAS-005 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA 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 CAS-005 exam.