The answer is a brute force attack resulting in account compromise. This is correct because the exhibit reveals a high volume of failed authentication attempts from a single IP address within a short time window, immediately followed by a successful login—a classic signature of brute force attack identification from logs. On the CRISC exam, this scenario tests your ability to correlate log patterns with risk events, specifically distinguishing brute force attacks from credential stuffing or password spraying, where attempts are spread across multiple accounts or IPs. A common trap is misreading the concentrated time frame as a denial-of-service event, but the successful login confirms the attacker’s goal of account takeover. Remember the mnemonic “One IP, many fails, then success equals brute force” to quickly spot this pattern in audit logs.
CRISC IT Risk Assessment Practice Question
This CRISC practice question tests your understanding of it risk assessment. 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.
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
```
2023-11-15 14:23:45 [CRITICAL] Failed login attempt for user 'admin' from IP 10.0.0.5
2023-11-15 14:23:46 [CRITICAL] Failed login attempt for user 'admin' from IP 10.0.0.5
2023-11-15 14:23:47 [CRITICAL] Failed login attempt for user 'admin' from IP 10.0.0.5
... (repeated 100 times in 5 minutes)
2023-11-15 14:28:45 [INFO] Successful login for user 'admin' from IP 10.0.0.5
```
Based on the exhibit, what is the MOST likely risk scenario?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
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.
Refer to the exhibit.
```
2023-11-15 14:23:45 [CRITICAL] Failed login attempt for user 'admin' from IP 10.0.0.5
2023-11-15 14:23:46 [CRITICAL] Failed login attempt for user 'admin' from IP 10.0.0.5
2023-11-15 14:23:47 [CRITICAL] Failed login attempt for user 'admin' from IP 10.0.0.5
... (repeated 100 times in 5 minutes)
2023-11-15 14:28:45 [INFO] Successful login for user 'admin' from IP 10.0.0.5
```
A
Phishing attack that captured user credentials
Why wrong: No evidence of phishing; the attack is direct login attempts.
B
Brute force attack resulting in account compromise
Multiple failed attempts followed by success indicates compromise.
C
Insider threat from a legitimate user
Why wrong: The attempts are from an external IP targeting admin.
D
Denial of service attack on the authentication server
Why wrong: The pattern is not a flood of traffic; it's login attempts.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Brute force attack resulting in account compromise
The exhibit shows a high number of failed authentication attempts from a single IP address over a short time window, followed by a successful login. This pattern is characteristic of a brute force attack, where an attacker systematically tries many password combinations until one succeeds, leading to account compromise.
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.
✗
Phishing attack that captured user credentials
Why it's wrong here
No evidence of phishing; the attack is direct login attempts.
✓
Brute force attack resulting in account compromise
Why this is correct
Multiple failed attempts followed by success indicates compromise.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Insider threat from a legitimate user
Why it's wrong here
The attempts are from an external IP targeting admin.
✗
Denial of service attack on the authentication server
Why it's wrong here
The pattern is not a flood of traffic; it's login attempts.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
ISACA often tests the distinction between authentication failures from a brute force attack versus a denial of service attack, where candidates mistakenly choose DoS because they see many failed attempts, but the key is that the server remains functional and a successful login occurs.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Brute force attacks often leverage tools like Hydra or Medusa that automate password guessing against protocols such as SSH, RDP, or web login forms. The exhibit's log entries likely show a series of HTTP 401 Unauthorized responses followed by a 200 OK, indicating the attacker found the correct password. In real-world scenarios, rate limiting and account lockout policies (e.g., after 5 failed attempts) are common mitigations, but attackers may use distributed IPs or slow down attempts to evade detection.
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.
IT Risk Assessment — This question tests IT Risk Assessment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Brute force attack resulting in account compromise — The exhibit shows a high number of failed authentication attempts from a single IP address over a short time window, followed by a successful login. This pattern is characteristic of a brute force attack, where an attacker systematically tries many password combinations until one succeeds, leading to account compromise.
What should I do if I get this CRISC 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: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
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 →
Why B: The exhibit shows repeated failed login attempts for the root account, which is a classic indicator of a brute-force attack. SSH logs typically record authentication failures, and a high frequency of 'Failed password for root' entries from a single source IP strongly suggests an automated password guessing attempt. This aligns with the risk scenario of a brute-force attack targeting the root account.
Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.