CISSP Security Operations Practice Question
A security analyst is reviewing SIEM logs and notices multiple failed login attempts from a single IP address followed by a successful login. The account belongs to a user in finance. Which incident category is most appropriate?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse 'insider threat' with any unauthorized access, but the external IP address clearly indicates the attacker is not an insider, making unauthorized access the correct category.
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
✓
Unauthorized access
The sequence of multiple failed login attempts followed by a successful login from the same external IP address indicates a brute-force or password-spraying attack that succeeded. This constitutes unauthorized access because the attacker gained entry to an account without legitimate authorization, violating the confidentiality and integrity of the finance user's account.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
DoS
Why it's wrong here
A Denial of Service (DoS) attack aims to disrupt the availability of a service or resource, making it inaccessible to legitimate users. The scenario describes a pattern leading to unauthorized access, not an overwhelming of system resources or a disruption of service availability, which would be the primary indicator of a DoS attack.
- ✗
Insider threat
Why it's wrong here
An insider threat originates from an individual who has authorized access to an organization's assets and misuses that access, either intentionally or unintentionally. The SIEM logs indicating a pattern of attempts resulting in unauthorized access strongly suggest an external actor attempting to breach defenses, rather than an authorized user exploiting their existing privileges.
- ✗
Social engineering
Why it's wrong here
Social engineering relies on psychological manipulation to deceive individuals into performing actions or divulging confidential information. The SIEM logs revealing a technical pattern of attempts and subsequent unauthorized access points to a direct technical attack, such as a brute-force attempt, rather than a human-centric deception tactic.
- ✓
Unauthorized access
Why this is correct
Unauthorized access refers to gaining entry to a system, network, or data without the necessary permissions or authorization. The SIEM logs indicating a pattern, such as numerous failed login attempts followed by a successful one, directly points to a successful breach where an entity gained entry without legitimate credentials, fulfilling the definition of unauthorized access.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Access Control Models and Mechanisms
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
Incident
An incident is a security event that violates an organization's policies or threatens its data, systems, or operations, requiring a structured response.
About these practice questions
This CISSP question is part of Courseiva's 816-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CISSP 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 CISSP exam.