This CS0-003 practice question tests your understanding of security operations. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 SOC analyst notices a spike in outbound traffic from a server that normally only serves web pages. The signature-based IDS did not alert. What should the analyst do next?
Query threat intelligence for the destination IPs
Helps determine if traffic is malicious.
Disable the server immediately
Why wrong: Premature; could cause business impact.
Check for zero-day vulnerabilities
Why wrong: No evidence of zero-day; need more info.
Increase the IDS sensitivity threshold
Why wrong: This may cause noise, not necessarily detection.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Query threat intelligence for the destination IPs
Querying threat intelligence for the destination IPs is the correct next step because the spike in outbound traffic from a web server suggests a potential data exfiltration attempt or command-and-control (C2) communication. Since the signature-based IDS did not alert, the traffic may be using non-standard ports or encrypted channels that evade known signatures. Threat intelligence can reveal if the destination IPs are associated with known malicious actors, botnets, or recent threat campaigns, providing context to determine if the traffic is benign or malicious.
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.
Query threat intelligence for the destination IPs
Why this is correct
Helps determine if traffic is malicious.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Disable the server immediately
Why it's wrong here
Premature; could cause business impact.
Check for zero-day vulnerabilities
Why it's wrong here
No evidence of zero-day; need more info.
Increase the IDS sensitivity threshold
Why it's wrong here
This may cause noise, not necessarily detection.
Common exam traps
CompTIA often tests the misconception that a signature-based IDS failing to alert means the traffic is safe, leading candidates to incorrectly choose increasing IDS sensitivity or checking for zero-days, rather than recognizing that the analyst must pivot to threat intelligence to identify unknown or evasive threats.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, signature-based IDS relies on pattern matching against known attack signatures (e.g., Snort rules or Suricata signatures). Outbound traffic spikes from a web server could indicate a reverse shell using HTTP/HTTPS tunnels (e.g., using tools like Cobalt Strike or Metasploit), which may use legitimate-looking payloads that evade static signatures. Threat intelligence feeds (e.g., MISP, AlienVault OTX) aggregate data from multiple sources, including DNS sinkholes and sandbox analysis, to flag IPs with recent malicious activity, enabling the analyst to correlate the spike with known indicators of compromise (IOCs).
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A security analyst at a medium-sized enterprise encounters this scenario during an investigation or architecture review. The correct answer reflects best practice for the specific threat or control described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Security exam questions test whether you can match controls to threats in context — not just recall definitions.
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: Query threat intelligence for the destination IPs — Querying threat intelligence for the destination IPs is the correct next step because the spike in outbound traffic from a web server suggests a potential data exfiltration attempt or command-and-control (C2) communication. Since the signature-based IDS did not alert, the traffic may be using non-standard ports or encrypted channels that evade known signatures. Threat intelligence can reveal if the destination IPs are associated with known malicious actors, botnets, or recent threat campaigns, providing context to determine if the traffic is benign or malicious.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
This CS0-003 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 CS0-003 exam.
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