CS0-003 Incident Response and Management Practice Question
This CS0-003 practice question tests your understanding of incident response and management. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 analyst notices a single external IP address attempting to log in to multiple user accounts on the company's VPN server over the past hour. All attempts have failed. What should the analyst do FIRST?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Verify the logs and escalate to the incident response team.
Option C is correct because the first step in incident response is to verify the logs to confirm the activity is not a false positive (e.g., a misconfigured client or legitimate brute-force testing) and then escalate to the incident response team for coordinated action. This aligns with the NIST SP 800-61 incident response lifecycle, where identification and validation precede containment. Blocking or disabling without verification could disrupt legitimate access or destroy forensic evidence.
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.
✗
Block the IP address at the firewall.
Why it's wrong here
Blocking the IP is premature without confirming the logs.
✗
Notify law enforcement.
Why it's wrong here
Law enforcement notification is not the first step; the incident must be validated first.
✓
Verify the logs and escalate to the incident response team.
Why this is correct
Verifying logs confirms the incident, and escalation ensures proper handling.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Disable the VPN server.
Why it's wrong here
Disabling the VPN server would disrupt legitimate users and is not the initial action.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
CompTIA often tests the candidate's ability to resist the urge to immediately contain or notify external parties; the trap here is choosing a reactive containment step (blocking or disabling) before performing the critical validation and escalation step required by the incident response framework.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, failed authentication attempts are logged in the VPN server's syslog or Windows Event Log (e.g., Event ID 4625 for failed logons). The analyst should check for patterns like time-based frequency (e.g., >10 attempts per minute) and source IP reputation using threat intelligence feeds. In a real-world scenario, a single external IP attempting multiple logins could indicate a password spraying attack, which is often a precursor to credential stuffing; verifying logs helps distinguish this from a misconfigured RADIUS server or a legitimate user with a stuck script.
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 SOC analyst notices unusual lateral movement in the network at 2 AM. The IR playbook dictates: identify and contain (isolate the affected machine), then eradicate (remove the malware), then recover (restore from backup), then document. Skipping containment before eradication risks the attacker regaining access. Questions like this test the sequence and rationale of incident response phases.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this CS0-003 question in full detail.
Incident Response and Management — This question tests Incident Response and Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Verify the logs and escalate to the incident response team. — Option C is correct because the first step in incident response is to verify the logs to confirm the activity is not a false positive (e.g., a misconfigured client or legitimate brute-force testing) and then escalate to the incident response team for coordinated action. This aligns with the NIST SP 800-61 incident response lifecycle, where identification and validation precede containment. Blocking or disabling without verification could disrupt legitimate access or destroy forensic evidence.
What should I do if I get this CS0-003 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
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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