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ISC2 CC Practice Question: Implementing a security information and event…
A company is implementing a security information and event management (SIEM) system. Which data source is most critical for detecting an ongoing brute-force attack?
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
✓
Authentication logs.
Authentication logs record successful and failed login attempts, which are directly indicative of brute-force attacks. Other logs may provide supporting information but are not as directly tied to the attack.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
DNS logs.
Why it's wrong here
DNS logs show resolution requests, not authentication attempts.
- ✓
Authentication logs.
Why this is correct
Directly contain login attempt records.
- ✗
Firewall logs.
Why it's wrong here
Show network traffic but not authentication success/failure.
- ✗
Application logs.
Why it's wrong here
May show application-level errors but not login failures.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to Security Principles
Key term
Authentication
Authentication is the process of verifying that someone or something is who or what it claims to be before granting access to a system or resource.
Key term
Event
An event is any identifiable occurrence or action in a computer system, network, or application that can be logged, monitored, or analyzed for security or operational purposes.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CC practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 CC exam.