- A
The user's credentials have been compromised, and the attacker is testing them across the IdP. The organization should immediately force a password reset for the user and enable MFA for all users.
Why wrong: No successful authentication has occurred, so credentials may not be compromised yet. Forcing a reset is premature and does not address the attack vector.
- B
A misconfiguration in the IdP allows pre-authentication enumeration. The organization should disable account lockout and implement rate limiting at the application proxy.
Why wrong: Account lockout is a valuable control; disabling it would increase risk. The attack pattern is consistent with password spraying, not enumeration.
- C
The attacker is performing a password spraying attack, attempting to guess the password for that specific account. The organization should implement a CAPTCHA requirement after a few failed attempts.
The burst pattern with IP rotation is classic password spraying. CAPTCHA or progressive delay will effectively slow automated attacks.
- D
The IdP is experiencing integration issues with the AD domain controller, causing authentication failures that are logged as failed attempts. The organization should check the synchronization status and network connectivity.
Why wrong: Integration issues would likely affect many users, not a single targeted account, and the pattern of bursts is inconsistent with connectivity problems.
Quick Answer
The correct answer is a password spraying attack, where the attacker systematically tries a few common passwords against a high-value account while staying just below the lockout threshold. This explains the observed pattern of bursts of exactly four failed logins from different IPs, then stopping—a deliberate technique to evade detection by the IdP’s lockout policy. On the CISA exam, this scenario tests your ability to distinguish password spraying from brute force or credential stuffing; the key clue is that failed attempts never reach the MFA stage, proving the attacker is testing passwords at the SAML authentication prompt itself. A common trap is assuming account lockout alone is sufficient defense, but attackers simply rotate IPs to avoid it. Remember the mnemonic: “Four from many, never MFA—spraying the password, not the lockout.”
CISA Protection of Information Assets Practice Question
This CISA practice question tests your understanding of protection of information assets. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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.
An organization has recently implemented a cloud-based identity provider (IdP) for single sign-on (SSO) across all SaaS applications. Users authenticate using their corporate credentials via SAML 2.0. After a week, the IT security team notices a significant increase in failed login attempts from various IP addresses targeting a specific user account. The helpdesk reports that the user, a senior executive, has not complained about any issues. The security team investigates and finds that the account lockout policy is set to 5 failed attempts within 15 minutes, after which the account is locked for 30 minutes. The failed attempts are occurring in bursts of 4, then stopping, then resuming from different IPs. The organization uses conditional access policies that require MFA from unknown locations. However, the failed attempts appear to be stopped at the authentication prompt and never reach the MFA stage. What is the most likely explanation and the best course of 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.
Clue:
"most likely"Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Clue:
"never"Why it matters: Absolute qualifier. True only if the statement has zero exceptions — be cautious of options that seem obvious but break down in edge cases.
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
The attacker is performing a password spraying attack, attempting to guess the password for that specific account. The organization should implement a CAPTCHA requirement after a few failed attempts.
Option C is correct because the attack pattern—bursts of exactly 4 failed attempts (just below the lockout threshold of 5) from different IPs, then stopping—is a textbook password spraying attack. The attacker is trying commonly used passwords against a high-value account (senior executive) while deliberately avoiding account lockout to remain undetected. Since the attempts stop at the SAML authentication prompt and never reach MFA, the attacker is testing passwords against the IdP's SAML endpoint, which validates credentials before triggering conditional access policies.
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.
- ✗
The user's credentials have been compromised, and the attacker is testing them across the IdP. The organization should immediately force a password reset for the user and enable MFA for all users.
Why it's wrong here
No successful authentication has occurred, so credentials may not be compromised yet. Forcing a reset is premature and does not address the attack vector.
- ✗
A misconfiguration in the IdP allows pre-authentication enumeration. The organization should disable account lockout and implement rate limiting at the application proxy.
Why it's wrong here
Account lockout is a valuable control; disabling it would increase risk. The attack pattern is consistent with password spraying, not enumeration.
- ✓
The attacker is performing a password spraying attack, attempting to guess the password for that specific account. The organization should implement a CAPTCHA requirement after a few failed attempts.
Why this is correct
The burst pattern with IP rotation is classic password spraying. CAPTCHA or progressive delay will effectively slow automated attacks.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "best", "most likely", "never" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
The IdP is experiencing integration issues with the AD domain controller, causing authentication failures that are logged as failed attempts. The organization should check the synchronization status and network connectivity.
Why it's wrong here
Integration issues would likely affect many users, not a single targeted account, and the pattern of bursts is inconsistent with connectivity problems.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse a password spraying attack with a credential stuffing attack (Option A) or assume that any burst of failed attempts indicates a misconfiguration (Option B), when the key clue is the attacker deliberately staying below the lockout threshold to avoid detection.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Password spraying exploits the fact that many organizations enforce complex passwords but users often reuse weak passwords across accounts. The attacker uses a list of common passwords (e.g., 'Password123!', 'Spring2024') and tries each against multiple accounts, but here they focus on a single high-value account to avoid triggering account lockout. SAML 2.0 authentication flows typically validate credentials at the IdP before issuing a SAML assertion; if the IdP logs failed authentication attempts at the SAML endpoint, conditional access policies (which require MFA) are never evaluated because the initial password check fails.
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 small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
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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Protection of Information Assets — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CISA question test?
Protection of Information Assets — This question tests Protection of Information Assets — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The attacker is performing a password spraying attack, attempting to guess the password for that specific account. The organization should implement a CAPTCHA requirement after a few failed attempts. — Option C is correct because the attack pattern—bursts of exactly 4 failed attempts (just below the lockout threshold of 5) from different IPs, then stopping—is a textbook password spraying attack. The attacker is trying commonly used passwords against a high-value account (senior executive) while deliberately avoiding account lockout to remain undetected. Since the attempts stop at the SAML authentication prompt and never reach MFA, the attacker is testing passwords against the IdP's SAML endpoint, which validates credentials before triggering conditional access policies.
What should I do if I get this CISA 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: "best", "most likely", "never". 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.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
This CISA practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISACA 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 CISA exam.
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