The correct answer is to implement account lockout after 5 failed attempts. This control directly mitigates SSH brute force attacks by enforcing a threshold that halts password guessing after a defined number of failures, preventing automated scripts or manual attempts from continuing indefinitely. On the CompTIA SecurityX CAS-004 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of authentication policy controls as a defense against credential-based attacks, often appearing in log analysis questions where you must distinguish between technical controls like rate limiting versus administrative controls like account lockout. A common trap is choosing to block the IP address, but that fails against dynamic or internal attackers, whereas lockout stops the attack at the user account level without disrupting legitimate traffic. Memory tip: think “five strikes, you’re out” to remember the lockout threshold as a direct counter to password guessing.
CAS-004 Governance, Risk and Compliance Practice Question
This CAS-004 practice question tests your understanding of governance, risk and compliance. 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.
A security engineer is reviewing firewall logs and finds multiple failed SSH attempts from an internal IP. Which control should be implemented to reduce this risk?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Implement account lockout after 5 failed attempts
Option B is correct because implementing an account lockout policy after a defined number of failed attempts (e.g., 5) directly mitigates brute-force or password-guessing attacks against SSH. This control enforces a threshold that stops automated scripts or manual attempts from continuing, reducing the risk of unauthorized access without blocking legitimate administrative traffic.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Allow SSH only from a specific management subnet
Why it's wrong here
This reduces the attack surface but does not address the failed attempts from an already allowed IP.
✓
Implement account lockout after 5 failed attempts
Why this is correct
Account lockout prevents brute-force attacks by temporarily disabling the account.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Install a host-based IDS on the server
Why it's wrong here
HIDS can detect but not prevent brute-force attacks.
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often choose a network-based control like subnet restriction (Option A) because it seems logical to limit access, but they overlook that the failed attempts are already coming from an internal IP, meaning the attacker is already inside the trusted zone and subnet filtering alone will not stop the attack.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Account lockout policies are typically enforced via PAM (Pluggable Authentication Modules) on Linux systems, using modules like pam_tally2 or pam_faillock to track failed login attempts per user. The lockout duration and threshold are configurable in /etc/pam.d/sshd or /etc/security/faillock.conf, and the lockout can be applied per user or globally. In a real-world scenario, combining account lockout with rate-limiting (e.g., fail2ban) provides defense in depth against both targeted and distributed brute-force attacks.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A network engineer segments a warehouse floor into three subnets: 20 scanners, 5 printers, and 2 management hosts. Picking the wrong mask wastes addresses or leaves too few usable hosts. Exam questions test whether you can apply CIDR notation, calculate block size, and identify the correct usable-host range for a given prefix.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Governance, Risk and Compliance — This question tests Governance, Risk and Compliance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Implement account lockout after 5 failed attempts — Option B is correct because implementing an account lockout policy after a defined number of failed attempts (e.g., 5) directly mitigates brute-force or password-guessing attacks against SSH. This control enforces a threshold that stops automated scripts or manual attempts from continuing, reducing the risk of unauthorized access without blocking legitimate administrative traffic.
What should I do if I get this CAS-004 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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