Which of the following BEST mitigates risk associated with an increase in brute force attacks on critical internet-facing systems?

The correct answer is A. Multi-factor authentication (MFA). Multi-factor authentication (MFA) directly neutralizes the primary goal of a brute force attack. Even if an attacker successfully guesses or cracks a password through exhaustive attempts, they cannot authenticate without the additional factor (e.g., a token or biometric). This…

Submitted by minji_kr· Apr 18, 2026Information Security Risk Management

Question

Options

AMulti-factor authentication (MFA)
BEndpoint detection and response (EDR)
CSecurity information and event management (SIEM)
DNetwork intrusion detection system (NIDS)

How the community answered

(19 responses)

A
74% (14)
B
5% (1)
C
5% (1)
D
16% (3)

Explanation

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) directly neutralizes the primary goal of a brute force attack. Even if an attacker successfully guesses or cracks a password through exhaustive attempts, they cannot authenticate without the additional factor (e.g., a token or biometric). This renders the brute force technique ineffective at achieving account compromise. EDR (B) focuses on endpoint behavior after compromise and does not prevent credential-based attacks. SIEM (C) and NIDS (D) can detect brute force activity and generate alerts but do not prevent successful authentication if the password is discovered. Only MFA breaks the attack chain at the authentication step.

Topics

#Brute-force mitigation#Multi-factor authentication#Access control#Risk mitigation

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