Quick Answer
The correct first action is to verify the alert and check if the account is compromised. This is because the foundational principle of incident response is to validate the alert before taking any disruptive steps; a failed login alert could easily be a false positive caused by a user mistyping their password or a forgotten credential, so verification ensures you are responding to a real threat rather than wasting resources or blocking legitimate access. On the ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity CC exam, this tests your understanding of the incident response process, specifically the “detection and analysis” phase, where triage and validation come before containment or eradication. A common trap is jumping straight to disabling the account or blocking the IP, which could lock out a legitimate user or tip off an attacker. Remember the mnemonic “Verify Before You Veto”—always confirm the alert’s validity before taking irreversible action.
This CC practice question tests your understanding of security operations. 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.
A security analyst receives an alert indicating multiple failed login attempts from a single IP address targeting a user account. Which action should the analyst take FIRST?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Disable the user account immediately
Why wrong: Disabling without verification could disrupt work.
Verify the alert and check if the account is compromised
Verification ensures the alert is not a false positive.
Escalate the alert to law enforcement
Why wrong: Escalation is premature without internal analysis.
Block the IP address at the firewall
Why wrong: Blocking without verification could impact legitimate users.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Verify the alert and check if the account is compromised
Option B is correct because the first step in incident response is to validate the alert. The analyst must verify that the failed login attempts are not a false positive (e.g., a user mistyping their password) and then check if the account has been compromised by reviewing logs for successful logins from the same IP or anomalous behavior. Prematurely disabling the account or blocking the IP could disrupt legitimate access or alert an attacker, while escalation to law enforcement is premature without confirmation of a breach.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Disable the user account immediately
Why it's wrong here
Disabling without verification could disrupt work.
Verify the alert and check if the account is compromised
Why this is correct
Verification ensures the alert is not a false positive.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Escalate the alert to law enforcement
Why it's wrong here
Escalation is premature without internal analysis.
Block the IP address at the firewall
Why it's wrong here
Blocking without verification could impact legitimate users.
Common exam traps
ISC2 often tests the principle that verification and analysis must precede any containment or eradication action, tempting candidates to jump to blocking the IP or disabling the account as a quick fix without confirming the alert's validity.
Detailed technical explanation
In security operations, the NIST SP 800-61 incident response lifecycle emphasizes preparation, detection and analysis, containment, eradication, and recovery. The detection phase requires validating alerts by correlating logs from authentication servers (e.g., Windows Event ID 4625 for failed logons) with network flows or IDS/IPS data. A single IP with multiple failed attempts could indicate a brute-force attack, but the analyst should also check for successful logins (Event ID 4624) from that IP to confirm compromise before taking containment actions like disabling the account or blocking the IP.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A SOC analyst notices unusual lateral movement in the network at 2 AM. The IR playbook dictates: identify and contain (isolate the affected machine), then eradicate (remove the malware), then recover (restore from backup), then document. Skipping containment before eradication risks the attacker regaining access. Questions like this test the sequence and rationale of incident response phases.
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FAQ
Security Operations — This question tests Security Operations — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Verify the alert and check if the account is compromised — Option B is correct because the first step in incident response is to validate the alert. The analyst must verify that the failed login attempts are not a false positive (e.g., a user mistyping their password) and then check if the account has been compromised by reviewing logs for successful logins from the same IP or anomalous behavior. Prematurely disabling the account or blocking the IP could disrupt legitimate access or alert an attacker, while escalation to law enforcement is premature without confirmation of a breach.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
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