Which approach reduces alert fatigue by excluding known IOC matches while preserving visibility for future events?

• A. Temporarily disable the rule until the IOC expires.
• B. Reduce severity when the IOC match occurs in any internal range.
• C. Add an exception in the detection rule to exclude matches originating from specific asset groups.
• D. Add the IP to a SecOps reference list and suppress alerts for that list.

Answer: (D)

Reducing alert fatigue comes from filtering out known, non-actionable indicators while still keeping a trace of them for future reference. Adding the IP to a SecOps reference list creates an allowlist of known IOC matches. The detection system then suppresses alerts for those items, which stops the constant noise from repeated hits on the same benign or already-verified indicators. At the same time, the indicator remains visible in logs and history, so analysts can search for it later, correlate it with other data, or re-enable alerts if the context changes. This approach balances quieting unnecessary alerts with maintaining visibility and auditability for future events.

Other options either remove visibility or risk missing important detections. Temporarily disabling the rule hides activity entirely during the IOC’s lifetime, which can create blind spots. Reducing severity for internal-range matches still leaves alerts and can lead to missed actions if high-priority items are de-emphasized. Adding an exception to exclude matches from specific asset groups narrows the detection scope and can cause gaps in coverage, requiring ongoing maintenance and increasing the chance of missing real threats elsewhere. Using a SecOps reference list for suppression provides a practical, auditable way to reduce noise while preserving the ability to investigate and re-evaluate in the future.