The answer is to verify the activity with related logs and check whether the account owner confirms the login. This is correct because a SIEM alert showing multiple failed logins followed by a success is a classic indicator of a potential brute-force attack that eventually compromised the account, but it could also be benign—such as a user traveling and using a VPN, or a forgotten password followed by a correct entry. The first step in any incident response process is validation; acting on an unverified alert could lead to unnecessary account lockouts or escalation, wasting resources on a false positive. On the Security+ SY0-701 exam, this tests your understanding of the "verify" phase in the incident response cycle, and the common trap is jumping straight to containment (like disabling the account) without first confirming the alert’s legitimacy. Memory tip: "Verify before you rectify"—always check the logs and ask the user before taking action.
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 SIEM alert shows 120 failed logins for one user account from three different countries within 10 minutes, followed by a successful login. 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 activity with related logs and check whether the account owner confirms the login.
Option B is correct because the analyst must first validate the alert by correlating the SIEM data with additional logs (e.g., authentication logs, firewall logs) and contacting the account owner to confirm whether the successful login was legitimate. This follows the incident response process of verification before action, preventing unnecessary disruption if the activity is benign (e.g., the user traveling with VPN).
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.
✗
Close the alert because the login eventually succeeded.
Why it's wrong here
A successful login after many failures can still indicate account compromise or a password attack.
✓
Verify the activity with related logs and check whether the account owner confirms the login.
Why this is correct
The first step is to validate the alert by correlating related logs and confirming whether the activity is expected.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Immediately delete the account to stop further access.
Why it's wrong here
Deleting the account is an extreme response that can disrupt business and should not be the first action.
✗
Reimage the user's laptop before collecting any information.
Why it's wrong here
Reimaging destroys useful evidence and is not the first step in alert triage or investigation.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume a successful login after failures means the attack succeeded and jump to containment (Option C or D), but the SY0-701 emphasizes that verification with the user and additional logs is the mandatory first step in the incident response process.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, SIEMs correlate events using time-window aggregation (e.g., 120 events within 600 seconds) and geolocation IP lookups, but false positives can occur due to VPNs, proxy chains, or misconfigured GeoIP databases. The analyst should check Windows Event ID 4625 (failed logon) and 4624 (successful logon) with Logon Type 3 (network) or 10 (remote interactive) to identify the source IP and protocol (e.g., RDP, SMB). In a real-world scenario, a user might trigger this alert by using a corporate VPN while traveling, where the VPN egress IP differs from their physical location, requiring log correlation to avoid unnecessary incident escalation.
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 SY0-701 question in full detail.
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: Verify the activity with related logs and check whether the account owner confirms the login. — Option B is correct because the analyst must first validate the alert by correlating the SIEM data with additional logs (e.g., authentication logs, firewall logs) and contacting the account owner to confirm whether the successful login was legitimate. This follows the incident response process of verification before action, preventing unnecessary disruption if the activity is benign (e.g., the user traveling with VPN).
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A SOC analyst sees 38 failed logins for a finance user account from one public IP address over 4 minutes, followed by one successful login. What should the analyst do first?
easy
A.Immediately delete the account to stop any further access attempts.
✓ B.Correlate the authentication logs with user activity and VPN records to verify whether the login pattern is expected.
C.Assume the account is compromised and notify all users to change their passwords.
D.Close the alert because one successful login means the activity was normal.
Why B: Option B is correct because the analyst must first verify whether the failed logins followed by a successful login represent a brute-force attack or legitimate behavior, such as a user mistyping their password and then succeeding. Correlating authentication logs with user activity and VPN records helps confirm if the public IP belongs to a known remote user or VPN endpoint, which is a standard first step in incident response to avoid false positives.
Variation 2. A SOC analyst sees 20 failed logins for one user account, followed by a successful login 30 seconds later from the same office subnet. The user confirms they mistyped the password several times. What is the best conclusion?
easy
A.It is definitely a brute-force attack and should be treated as confirmed compromise.
✓ B.It is most likely a false positive caused by user error and should be documented after verification.
C.It is evidence of malware on the user's workstation until the device is rebuilt.
D.It proves the password was changed by an attacker and the account must be disabled immediately.
Why B: The scenario shows 20 failed logins followed by a successful login from the same office subnet, and the user confirms they mistyped the password. This pattern is consistent with user error (e.g., Caps Lock or typo), not an automated brute-force attack, which would typically show a much higher volume of attempts from diverse IPs. The best conclusion is a false positive, which should be documented after verification to maintain accurate incident records.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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This SY0-701 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 SY0-701 exam.
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