This CS0-003 practice question tests your understanding of security operations. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 receives an alert from the HIDS indicating that a critical configuration file was modified unexpectedly. What is the best immediate action?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Ignore the alert as HIDS false positives are common
Why wrong: May miss a real compromise.
Immediately revert the file and block any similar changes
Why wrong: Too aggressive without confirmation.
Check the change management system to see if the change was approved
Determines if modification is legitimate.
Restore the file from a known good backup
Why wrong: Could undo authorized changes.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Check the change management system to see if the change was approved
Option C is correct because the best immediate action when a HIDS alerts on a critical configuration file change is to first verify whether the change was authorized through the change management system. This aligns with the incident response process of validation before remediation; reverting or restoring without checking could disrupt approved maintenance or patch deployments. HIDS monitors file integrity via checksums (e.g., SHA-256), but it cannot distinguish approved changes from malicious ones without external context.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Ignore the alert as HIDS false positives are common
Why it's wrong here
May miss a real compromise.
Immediately revert the file and block any similar changes
Why it's wrong here
Too aggressive without confirmation.
Check the change management system to see if the change was approved
Why this is correct
Determines if modification is legitimate.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Restore the file from a known good backup
Why it's wrong here
Could undo authorized changes.
Common exam traps
Cisco often tests the principle that immediate remediation (reverting or restoring) is not the best first step; candidates mistakenly jump to containment actions without validating whether the change was authorized, confusing incident response speed with due diligence.
Detailed technical explanation
HIDS typically uses file integrity monitoring (FIM) by storing cryptographic hashes (e.g., SHA-256) of baseline files and comparing them on each scan. When a mismatch occurs, the alert includes metadata like the timestamp and user context, but the HIDS cannot determine intent. In a real-world scenario, a change management ticket might reference a planned configuration update via Ansible or Puppet, and checking the ticket first prevents unnecessary rollback and potential downtime. The NIST SP 800-61 incident response framework emphasizes the 'triage' phase, where verification of change authorization is a critical step before containment.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A security team runs a vulnerability scan on a web application and discovers an unpatched SQL injection flaw. The team prioritises remediation by CVSS score — critical flaws are patched within 24 hours, high within 7 days. Questions like this test whether you understand vulnerability management processes, scanning tools, and remediation prioritisation.
What to study next
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FAQ
Security Operations — This question tests Security Operations — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Check the change management system to see if the change was approved — Option C is correct because the best immediate action when a HIDS alerts on a critical configuration file change is to first verify whether the change was authorized through the change management system. This aligns with the incident response process of validation before remediation; reverting or restoring without checking could disrupt approved maintenance or patch deployments. HIDS monitors file integrity via checksums (e.g., SHA-256), but it cannot distinguish approved changes from malicious ones without external context.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
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