Question 711 of 1,152

Security Operations →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

SY0-701 Security Operations Practice Question

This SY0-701 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 receives an alert from the VPN appliance and identity platform. In the last 10 minutes, a user account had 14 failed VPN logons from one country, then one successful login from a different country. The user calls the help desk and says they have not used their account today. 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.

Question 1mediummultiple choice

Read the full VPN explanation →

A
Block the foreign IP address at the firewall and wait for more alerts before acting.
Why wrong: Blocking one source may reduce noise, but it does not stop access if the attacker changes addresses or already has a session.
B
Disable the user account and revoke active sessions or tokens while escalating the event as a suspected account compromise.
The successful login after repeated failures, combined with the user’s confirmation that they were not active, strongly suggests compromise. The fastest effective containment is to disable the account and invalidate existing sessions or tokens so the attacker cannot continue using stolen credentials. This preserves the ability to investigate while stopping ongoing access. It is a stronger first action than a password reset alone, which may leave active tokens usable.
C
Reset the user password and close the alert because the new password will stop the attack.
Why wrong: A password reset helps, but it may not invalidate existing sessions or tokens already issued to the attacker. The account could remain usable until those sessions expire.
D
Reimage the user’s laptop immediately to remove any possible malware before taking other steps.
Why wrong: Reimaging is a heavy-handed response and can destroy useful evidence before the investigation confirms endpoint compromise. The log pattern is primarily an identity incident.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

Disable the user account and revoke active sessions or tokens while escalating the event as a suspected account compromise.

Option B is correct because the combination of multiple failed logins from one country followed by a successful login from a different country, combined with the user's denial of activity, is a classic indicator of account compromise (e.g., credential stuffing or token theft). Disabling the account and revoking active sessions/tokens immediately stops the attacker's access, preventing further lateral movement or data exfiltration, while escalation ensures proper incident response. This aligns with the CompTIA incident response process: identification, containment, eradication, and recovery.

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 foreign IP address at the firewall and wait for more alerts before acting.
Why it's wrong here
Blocking one source may reduce noise, but it does not stop access if the attacker changes addresses or already has a session.
✓
Disable the user account and revoke active sessions or tokens while escalating the event as a suspected account compromise.
Why this is correct
The successful login after repeated failures, combined with the user’s confirmation that they were not active, strongly suggests compromise. The fastest effective containment is to disable the account and invalidate existing sessions or tokens so the attacker cannot continue using stolen credentials. This preserves the ability to investigate while stopping ongoing access. It is a stronger first action than a password reset alone, which may leave active tokens usable.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Reset the user password and close the alert because the new password will stop the attack.
Why it's wrong here
A password reset helps, but it may not invalidate existing sessions or tokens already issued to the attacker. The account could remain usable until those sessions expire.
✗
Reimage the user’s laptop immediately to remove any possible malware before taking other steps.
Why it's wrong here
Reimaging is a heavy-handed response and can destroy useful evidence before the investigation confirms endpoint compromise. The log pattern is primarily an identity incident.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates may think resetting the password (Option C) is sufficient, but they overlook that active sessions and tokens must be explicitly revoked to fully contain the compromise, as per CompTIA's emphasis on session management in incident response.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

In modern identity platforms (e.g., Azure AD, Okta), a successful login after multiple failures from different geolocations often indicates a password spray or credential stuffing attack where the attacker uses a valid password but triggers a location anomaly. Revoking tokens (e.g., OAuth 2.0 refresh tokens, SAML sessions) is critical because they can persist even after password changes, as per RFC 6749 and OAuth 2.0 security best practices. The SOC analyst should also check for impossible travel time—if the successful login occurred minutes after the failures from a distant country, it confirms the account is compromised.

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.

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.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this SY0-701 question test?

Security Operations — This question tests Security Operations — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Disable the user account and revoke active sessions or tokens while escalating the event as a suspected account compromise. — Option B is correct because the combination of multiple failed logins from one country followed by a successful login from a different country, combined with the user's denial of activity, is a classic indicator of account compromise (e.g., credential stuffing or token theft). Disabling the account and revoking active sessions/tokens immediately stops the attacker's access, preventing further lateral movement or data exfiltration, while escalation ensures proper incident response. This aligns with the CompTIA incident response process: identification, containment, eradication, and recovery.

What should I do if I get this SY0-701 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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