200-201 Question #120: Real Exam Question with Answer & Explanation

Question

A network engineer discovers that a foreign government hacked one of the defense contractors in their home country and stole intellectual property. What is the threat agent in this situation?

Options

• Athe intellectual property that was stolen
• Bthe defense contractor who stored the intellectual property
• Cthe method used to conduct the attack
• Dthe foreign government that conducted the attack

Explanation

Threat Agent Explanation

A threat agent is the actor or entity that carries out an attack or causes harm - in this case, the foreign government is the one who actively conducted the hack and stole the intellectual property, making D correct. Option A is wrong because the intellectual property is the asset (what was targeted/stolen), not the entity causing harm. Option B is incorrect because the defense contractor is the victim or the organization that owns the asset, not the source of the threat. Option C describes the attack vector or threat method (e.g., malware, phishing), which is a separate concept from the agent performing the attack.

💡 Memory Tip: Think of a "threat agent" like the criminal in a robbery - it's always the who, not the what was stolen, how they did it, or who got robbed. If you can answer "who is doing the threatening?", you've found the threat agent.

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