The correct next step is to conduct a thorough investigation. Blocking the IP is an immediate containment action, but it does not confirm the root cause or scope of the incident; a thorough investigation is required to determine whether the failed logins were part of a brute-force attack, credential stuffing, or a misconfigured service, and to check for indicators of compromise such as successful logins from the same IP or lateral movement. On the Systems Security Certified Practitioner SSCP exam, this question tests your understanding of the incident response lifecycle, specifically that containment must be followed by analysis and eradication per frameworks like NIST SP 800-61. A common trap is assuming blocking the IP ends the incident, but the exam emphasizes that after blocking IP, the next step investigation is critical to uncover broader breaches. Memory tip: “Block then probe” — containment buys time, but investigation finds the truth.
SSCP Incident Response and Recovery Practice Question
This SSCP practice question tests your understanding of incident response and recovery. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 a large number of failed login attempts from a single IP. The analyst blocks the IP. What should be done next?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Conduct a thorough investigation
Option C is correct because blocking an IP address is an immediate containment action, but it does not confirm the root cause or scope of the incident. A thorough investigation is required to determine whether the failed logins were part of a brute-force attack, credential stuffing, or a misconfigured service, and to check for indicators of compromise (IoCs) such as successful logins from the same IP or lateral movement. Without investigation, the analyst risks missing a broader breach or violating incident response procedures like those outlined in NIST SP 800-61.
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.
✗
Report to management
Why it's wrong here
Reporting should come after investigation to provide meaningful information.
✗
Update the firewall rules
Why it's wrong here
Blocking the IP already handled containment; further firewall updates may be needed later.
✓
Conduct a thorough investigation
Why this is correct
Investigation is critical to understand if the attack was successful and if other systems are affected.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Monitor for recurrence
Why it's wrong here
Monitoring alone is insufficient; investigation is necessary.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume blocking the IP is the final step, confusing containment with resolution, and overlook the mandatory investigation phase required by incident response frameworks like NIST SP 800-61 or SANS PICERL.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In incident response, the 'containment, eradication, and recovery' phase requires that after containment (e.g., blocking an IP via iptables or a WAF rule), the analyst performs forensic analysis—checking logs (e.g., /var/log/auth.log, Windows Event ID 4625) for patterns, correlating with threat intelligence feeds, and verifying if the IP is part of a known botnet or TOR exit node. A real-world scenario is the 2016 Dyn DDoS attack, where blocking source IPs without investigation would have missed the Mirai botnet's distributed nature; only deep analysis revealed the IoT compromise vector.
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 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.
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.
Incident Response and Recovery — This question tests Incident Response and Recovery — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Conduct a thorough investigation — Option C is correct because blocking an IP address is an immediate containment action, but it does not confirm the root cause or scope of the incident. A thorough investigation is required to determine whether the failed logins were part of a brute-force attack, credential stuffing, or a misconfigured service, and to check for indicators of compromise (IoCs) such as successful logins from the same IP or lateral movement. Without investigation, the analyst risks missing a broader breach or violating incident response procedures like those outlined in NIST SP 800-61.
What should I do if I get this SSCP question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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This SSCP 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 SSCP exam.
Question Discussion
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