ISC2 CC Security Operations Practice Question
A company's SIEM solution aggregates logs from various sources and generates an alert when multiple failed logins occur within a short timeframe. Which log source is most likely to provide the data for this alert?
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 login attempts, including failures, and are the primary source for detecting brute-force attacks.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
System logs
Why it's wrong here
System logs record service events and errors, not login attempts.
- ✗
Firewall logs
Why it's wrong here
Firewall logs show allowed/blocked connections, not authentication events.
- ✗
Application logs
Why it's wrong here
Application logs track application-specific errors and transactions.
- ✓
Authentication logs
Why this is correct
Authentication logs capture login successes and failures.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Authentication and Authorization Methods
Key term
SIEM
SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) is a system that collects and analyzes log data from across an IT environment to detect and respond to security threats in real time.
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.
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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.