easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
CRISC Practice Question: Has a risk indicator that shows the number of…
An organization has a risk indicator that shows the number of failed login attempts per day. The threshold is 100. Last week, the number spiked to 200 on two days. What does this indicate?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse a spike in failed logins with a DoS attack, but DoS attacks target availability (e.g., SYN flood) rather than authentication failures, which are a confidentiality/integrity concern.
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
✓
There may be a brute-force attack in progress.
A spike in failed login attempts from a baseline of 100 to 200 per day is a classic indicator of a brute-force attack, where an attacker systematically tries multiple username/password combinations. This risk indicator directly measures authentication failures, which are the primary symptom of such an attack. The threshold breach signals that the control (account lockout or rate limiting) may be insufficient or failing.
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 system is experiencing a denial-of-service attack.
Why it's wrong here
Failed logins are not typical of DoS.
- ✓
There may be a brute-force attack in progress.
Why this is correct
High failed logins suggest password guessing.
- ✗
The password policy needs to be updated.
Why it's wrong here
Not directly indicated by a spike.
- ✗
Users have forgotten their passwords.
Why it's wrong here
Could be, but security incident is more critical.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CRISC 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 CRISC exam.