SY0-601 CompTIA Security+ Exam 2021 Questions and Answers

Password hash is a method of storing a user’s credentials without the need to store the actual sensitive data. A password hash is a one-way function that transforms the user’s password into a fixed-length string of characters that cannot be reversed. The authentication application can then compare the password hash with the stored hash to validate the user’s credentials without revealing the original password. References: 1 CompTIA Security+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 15, Domain 3.0: Implementation, Objective 3.5: Implement secure authentication mechanisms 2 CompTIA Security+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 16, Domain 3.0: Implementation, Objective 3.6: Implement identity and account management best practices 3 https://www.comptia.org/blog/what-is-password-hashing

Hashing is a process that applies a mathematical algorithm to a data set, such as a file or a message, and produces a fixed-length string of characters called a hash or a digest. Hashing helps to demonstrate integrity during a forensics investigation because it can verify that the data has not been altered, corrupted, or tampered with. By comparing the hash values of the original and the copied data, investigators can ensure that they are identical and authentic. If the hash values are different, it means that the data has been modified in some way

Documenting the collection and requiring a sign-off when possession changes are essential steps for maintaining chain of custody during an investigation. Chain of custody is the process of documenting and preserving the integrity and authenticity of evidence from the time it is collected until it is presented in court. Documenting the collection involves recording information such as date, time, location, description, serial number, etc., of the evidence. Requiring a sign-off when possession changes involves obtaining signatures from every person who handles or transfers the evidence.

Jailbreaking is a process of bypassing or removing the manufacturer-imposed restrictions on a mobile device’s operating system, allowing users to install unauthorized applications, modify settings, etc. It is a primary security concern for setting up a BYOD program because it can expose the device and its data to malware, vulnerabilities, unauthorized access, etc. 

Wireless jamming is a way for an attacker to disrupt a wireless network and create a denial of ser-vice situation by decreasing the signal-to-noise ratio at the receiving device. The attacker would need to be relatively close to the wireless network to overwhelm the good signal. The other options are not likely to cause a wireless network outage for users near the parking lot.

Monitoring outbound traffic is a technique that can detect the behavior of malware that allows the unauthorized movement of data from a system. Outbound traffic refers to the data that leaves a system or network and goes to an external destination, such as another network, server, or website. Monitoring outbound traffic can help identify any suspicious or anomalous patterns, such as large volumes of data being sent to unknown or malicious destinations, which could indicate a malware infection or a data exfiltration attempt. Monitoring outbound traffic can also help prevent malware from communicating with command-and-control servers or downloading additional payloads101112 References: CompTIA Security+ SY0-601 Certification Study Guide, Chapter 11: Explaining Digital Forensics Concepts, page 496; Outbound Traffic Monitoring: Why It’s Important for Your Network | SolarWinds MSP; How to Monitor Outbound Traffic on Your Network | NetFort Blog; Why You Should Monitor Outbound Traffic on Your Network | CSO Online

The SIEM log shows that the user opened an email attachment named “Invoice.xlsx” and then executed a PowerShell script that downloaded and ran a malicious file from a remote server. This indicates that the attacker was able to bypass the application approve list by emailing a spreadsheet attachment with an embedded PowerShell in the file. This is a common technique used by malware authors to evade detection and deliver their payloads1.

An intrusion prevention system (IPS) is the best solution to implement on the company’s network to detect and prevent suspicious attempts to access company resources. An IPS is a network security technology that continuously monitors network traffic for malicious or anomalous activity and takes automated actions to block or mitigate it. An IPS can also alert the system administrators of any potential threats and provide detailed logs and reports of the incidents. An IPS can help the company to improve its security posture and prevent data breaches, unauthorized access, or denial-of-service attacks. References:

• https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cyberpedia/what-is-an-intrusion-prevention-system-ips
• https://www.forcepoint.com/cyber-edu/intrusion-prevention-system-ips

A next-generation firewall (NGFW) is a solution that can defend against malicious actors misusing protocols and being allowed through network defenses. A NGFW is a type of firewall that can perform deep packet inspection, application-level filtering, intrusion prevention, malware detection, and identity-based access control. A NGFW can also use threat intelligence and behavioral analysis to identify and block malicious traffic based on protocols, signatures, or anomalies. References: https://www.comptia.org/blog/what-is-a-next-generation-firewall https://www.certblaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/CompTIA-Security-SY0-601-Exam-Objectives-1.0.pdf

nmap is a network scanning tool that can perform various tasks such as port scanning, service detection, version detection, OS detection, vulnerability scanning, etc… nmap comptia.org -p 80 -sv is a command that scans port 80 (the default port for HTTP) on comptia.org domain name and tries to identify the service name and version running on that port. This can help identify potential vulnerabilities in the web server software by comparing the version with known exploits or patches.

MDM stands for Mobile Device Management, which is a software solution that can manage and secure smartphones, laptops, tablets and other mobile devices across heterogeneous platforms. MDM can enforce security features such as encryption, password policies, remote wipe, device tracking, app control and more. MDM can also monitor and update the devices remotely and provide reports and alerts on their status. MDM is the most effective solution to implement security features across heterogeneous platforms, as it can provide centralized and consistent management of various types of devices. Verified References:

• Security+ (Plus) Certification | CompTIA IT Certifications https://www.comptia.org/certifications/security (See Domain 3: Architecture and Design, Objective 3.4: Given a scenario, implement secure systems design.)
• CompTIA Security+ 601 - Infosec https://www.infosecinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/CompTIA-Security-eBook.pdf (See Security+: 5 in-demand cybersecurity skills, Implementation)
• Certification Security+ | CompTIA https://www.comptia.org/landing/securityplus/index.html (See Exam Objectives)

Order of volatility is the order in which a forensic specialist should collect evidence based on how quickly the data can be lost or altered. The most volatile data, such as CPU registers and cache, should be collected first, followed by less volatile data, such as disk drives and archival media. Order of volatility helps preserve the integrity and validity of the evidence and prevent data loss or corruption123 References: CompTIA Security+ SY0-601 Certification Study Guide, Chapter 11: Explaining Digital Forensics Concepts, page 494; Order of Volatility - Computer Forensics Recruiter; Order of Volatility – CompTIA Security+ SY0-401: 2.4; CFR and Order of Volatility - Get Certified Get Ahead

A SHA 2 signature is a cryptographic hash function that produces a unique and fixed-length output for any given input. It can provide non-repudiation during a forensics investigation by verifying the integrity and authenticity of a drive image and proving that it has not been altered or tampered with since it was created

Off boarding is a security practice that involves revoking access rights and privileges from employees who leave an organization or change their roles. Off boarding can help address the issue of successful logon attempts to access the departed executive’s accounts by disabling or deleting their accounts, changing passwords, collecting devices, etc., as soon as they leave the organization.

Availability zones are the most appropriate cloud feature to address the concern of resiliency in case a cloud provider’s data center or network connection goes down. Availability zones are physically separate locations within an Azure region that have independent power, cooling, and networking. Each availability zone is made up of one or more data centers and houses infrastructure to support highly available, mission-critical applications. Availability zones are connected with high-speed, private fiber-optic networks. Azure services that support availability zones fall into two categories: Zonal services – you pin the resource to a specific zone (for example, virtual machines, managed disks, IP addresses), or Zone-redundant services – platform replicates automatically across zones (for example, zone-redundant storage, SQL Database). To achieve comprehensive business continuity on Azure, build your application architecture using the combination of availability zones with Azure region pairs. You can synchronously replicate your applications and data using availability zones within an Azure region for high-availability and asynchronously replicate across Azure regions for disaster recovery protection.

A supply-chain attack is a type of cyberattack that targets a trusted third-party vendor who offers services or products vital to the supply chain. A supply-chain attack can occur in software or hardware. In this case, the most likely scenario is that the SoC (system on chip) was compromised by a malicious actor before it was delivered to the company, either by tampering with or replacing it with a malicious version. This would allow the attacker to gain access to the company’s systems through the specially configured workstations

CASB stands for cloud access security broker, which is a software tool or service that acts as an intermediary between users and cloud service providers. CASB can help protect data stored in cloud services by enforcing security policies and controls such as encryption, tokenization, authentication, authorization, logging, auditing, and threat detection. Tokenization is a process that replaces sensitive data with non-sensitive substitutes called tokens that have no intrinsic value. Tokenization can help prevent data leakage by ensuring that only authorized users can access the original data using a tokenization system.

References: https://www.comptia.org/certifications/security#examdetails https://www.comptia.org/content/guides/comptia-security-sy0-601-exam-objectives https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/security/what

Hacktivists are hackers who use their skills to promote a political or social cause, such as human rights, environmentalism, anti-censorship, etc. Hacktivists may target organizations or individuals who oppose their views or agendas, and launch cyberattacks such as defacement, denial-of-service, data theft, or sabotage. In this case, the security manager should consider hacktivists as a potential threat actor who may launch cyberattacks in response to the CEO’s controversial opinion article.

Segmentation is a security technique that divides a network into smaller subnetworks or segments based on criteria such as function, role, location, etc. Segmentation can help mitigate the risk of unauthorized access or data leakage by isolating different segments from each other and applying different security policies and controls to each segment. Segmentation can help the security manager to implement a mitigation while maintaining alerting capabilities by separating the smart generator from the internal file server and allowing only necessary communication between them.

Intellectual property is a type of data that is proprietary and unique to an organization. It includes trade secrets and other information that the organization does not want to share with third parties or competitors. Employees in the research and development business unit are most likely to use intellectual property in their day-to-day work activities, as they are involved in creating new products, services, or processes for the organization. Intellectual property data requires a high level of security and protection, as it can provide a competitive advantage or disadvantage if leaked or stolen.

Encrypted data is not a type of data, but a state of data. Encryption is a method of transforming data into an unreadable format using a key, so that only authorized parties can access it. Encryption can be applied to any type of data, such as intellectual property, critical data, or data in transit.

Critical data is a type of data that is essential for the operation and continuity of an organization. It includes information such as customer records, financial transactions, employee details, and so on. Critical data may or may not be intellectual property, depending on the nature and source of the data. Critical data also requires a high level of security and protection, as it can affect the reputation, performance, or legal compliance of the organization.

Data in transit is not a type of data, but a state of data. Data in transit refers to data that is moving from one location to another over a network, such as the internet, a LAN, or a WAN. Data in transit can be vulnerable to interception, modification, or theft by malicious actors. Data in transit can also be any type of data, such as intellectual property, critical data, or PII.

A tabletop exercise is a type of simulation exercise that involves discussing hypothetical scenarios and testing the incident response plan in a low-stress environment. A tabletop exercise can help an organization to improve its incident response process by identifying gaps, weaknesses, roles, responsibilities, communication channels, etc., and by evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of the plan.

A generator and a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) are low-cost solutions that can provide backup power to an organization in case of a power outage. A generator is a device that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy, while a UPS is a device that provides battery power to a system when the main power source fails. A generator and a UPS can help the organization to maintain its operations and prevent data loss during a power outage.

A service level agreement (SLA) defines response time, escalation points, and performance metrics. An SLA is a contract between a service provider and a customer that specifies the level and quality of service that will be delivered. An SLA typically includes metrics such as availability, reliability, throughput, latency, security, etc., as well as penalties or remedies for failing to meet them. An SLA also defines how issues will be reported and resolved, how often reviews will be conducted, and how changes will be communicated.

A community cloud deployment strategy would best meet the need of several universities participating in a collaborative research project and needing to share compute and storage resources. A community cloud is a type of cloud service model that provides a shared platform for multiple organizations with common interests, goals, or requirements. A community cloud can offer benefits such as cost savings, scalability, security, privacy, compliance, and collaboration. References: https://www.comptia.org/blog/cloud-service-models-saas-paas-and-iaas-explained https://www.certblaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11 /CompTIA-Security-SY0-601-Exam-Objectives-1.0.pdf

A data controller is an employee role that would determine the purpose of data and how to process it. A data controller is a person or entity that decides why and how personal data is collected, used, stored, shared, or deleted. A data controller has the responsibility to comply with data protection laws and regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and to ensure the rights and privacy of data subjects. References: https://www.comptia.org/blog/what-is-a-data-controller https://www.certblaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/CompTIA-Security-SY0-601-Exam-Objectives-1.0.pdf

A false positive is a result that indicates a problem when there is no actual problem. In this case, the vulnerability scan flagged the domain controller with a critical vulnerability, but the domain controller does not run the application that is vulnerable. Therefore, the scan result is inaccurate and should be documented as a false positive.

A. Ensure the scan engine is configured correctly. This is not the next step, because the scan engine may be configured correctly and still produce false positives due to various factors, such as outdated signatures, network latency, or misconfigured devices.

B. Apply a patch to the domain controller. This is not the next step, because applying a patch to a system that does not have the vulnerability may cause unnecessary problems or conflicts.

C. Research the CVE. This is not the next step, because the systems administrator already researched the vulnerability and discovered that it does not affect the domain controller.

D. Document this as a false positive. This is the correct answer, because documenting false positives helps to improve the accuracy and efficiency of future scans and audits.

A USB data blocker is a device that prevents data transfer between a USB device and a host computer, while still allowing charging. This can prevent data breaches caused by malicious USB chargers or devices that may attempt to access or infect the phone’s data.

Security awareness training is an administrative control that educates users on the best practices and policies for protecting the organization’s data and systems from various threats, such as malware, phishing, social engineering, etc. Security awareness training can reduce the occurrence of malware execution by increasing the users’ ability to recognize and avoid malicious links, attachments, downloads, or websites.

Geolocation and time-of-day restrictions would be best to mitigate the CEO’s concerns about staff members working from high-risk countries while on holiday or outsourcing work to a third-party organization in another country. Geolocation is a technique that involves determining the physical location of a device or user based on its IP address, GPS coordinates, Wi-Fi signals, or other indicators. Time-of-day restrictions are policies that limit the access or usage of resources based on the time of day or week. Geolocation and time-of-day restrictions can help to enforce access control rules, prevent unauthorized access, detect anomalous behavior, and comply with regulations. References: https://www.comptia.org/blog/what-is-geolocation https://www.certblaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/CompTIA-Security-SY0-601-Exam-Objectives-1.0.pdf

The log files show that the attacker was able to access files and directories that were not intended to be accessible by web users, such as “/etc/passwd” and “/var/log”. This indicates that the attacker was able to exploit a vulnerability in the web server or application that allowed them to manipulate the file path and access arbitrary files on the server. This is a type of attack known as directory traversal, which can lead to information disclosure, privilege escalation, or remote code execution3.

MFA stands for multi-factor authentication, which is a method of verifying a user’s identity using two or more factors, such as something you know (e.g., password), something you have (e.g., token), or something you are (e.g., biometrics). MFA can prevent someone from using the exfiltrated credentials, as they would need to provide another factor besides the username and password to access the system or application. MFA can also alert the legitimate user of an unauthorized login attempt, allowing them to change their credentials or report the incident. References:

• https://www.comptia.org/certifications/security
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCJyPPvM-xg
• https://www.professormesser.com/security-plus/sy0-601/sy0-601-video/multi-factor-authentication-5/

Thin clients are devices that rely on a server or a cloud service to perform most of the processing and storage tasks, while only providing a minimal interface for the user. Thin clients are low-cost solutions that can enable users on the shop floor to log in to the VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure) environment directly, without requiring a full-fledged computer or laptop.

Reputation is the perception or opinion that customers, partners, investors, etc., have about a company or its products and services. It can affect the revenue and profitability of a company after a network breach, even if no intellectual property or customer information was stolen, because it can damage the trust and confidence of the stakeholders and reduce their willingness to do business with the company

A dynamic code analysis tool is a security tool that can improve vulnerability detection on this environment by testing and analyzing the software during runtime. Dynamic code analysis can identify potential vulnerabilities, errors, or performance issues that may not be visible in the source code or during static analysis, such as memory leaks, buffer overflows, or input validation errors. Dynamic code analysis can also simulate real-world scenarios and user inputs to evaluate the behavior and functionality of the software

A cold aisle and a hot aisle are design strategies for data centers that aim to improve the cooling efficiency and reduce the energy consumption. They involve lining up server racks in alternating rows with cold air intakes facing one side (the cold aisle) and hot air exhausts facing the other side (the hot aisle). This prevents the mixing of hot and cold air and creates a more uniform temperature distribution. The cold aisles receive cold air from the cooling units, while the hot aisles return hot air to the cooling units. This improves the performance and reliability of the IT equipment and lowers the cooling costs. References: Hot and Cold-Aisle Containment - Advantages & Disadvantages - AKCP; Hot Aisle Containment vs. Cold Aisle Containment: Which is Better for the Data Center? - Upsite; Aisle Containment Systems FAQ for Hot & Cold Aisle Solutions - Cool Shield; Hot and Cold Aisle Containment Differences - AKCP Monitoring; What is Hot Aisle/Cold Aisle? - Definition from Techopedia

Network access restrictions can limit the exposure of systems that have expired vendor support and lack an immediate replacement, as they can prevent unauthorized or unnecessary access to those systems from other devices or networks. Network access restrictions can include firewalls, network segmentation, VPNs, access control lists, and other methods that can filter or block traffic based on predefined rules or policies. Network access restrictions can reduce the security risks introduced by running systems that have expired vendor support, as they can mitigate the impact of potential vulnerabilities or exploits that may affect those systems. Verified References:

• CompTIA Security+ Certification Exam Objectives Version 3.0 https://www.comptia.jp/pdf/Security%2B%20SY0-601%20Exam%20Objectives.pdf (See Domain 2.1: Given a scenario, implement secure protocols.)
• CompTIA Security+ SY0-501 Study Guide https://www.certblaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/CompTIA-Security-SY0-501-Study-Guide.pdf (See Chapter 2: Technologies and Tools, Section 2.5: Firewall and Network Security Appliances.)

Risk avoidance is the strategy of eliminating or minimizing exposure to risk by not engaging in an activity or process that may result in a negative outcome. Not installing new software to prevent compatibility errors is an example of risk avoidance, as it avoids the possibility of introducing new vulnerabilities or disrupting existing functionality.

Honey pots are decoy systems or resources that are designed to attract and deceive threat actors and to learn more about their motives, techniques, etc. They can be deployed alongside production systems to create an illusion of a vulnerable target and divert attacks away from the real systems. They can also collect valuable information and evidence about the attackers and their activities for further analysis or prosecution. 

A secure configuration guide is a document that provides an overview of the security features and best practices for a specific product, system, or application. A secure configuration guide helps to reduce unnecessary cyber vulnerabilities and enhance overall security by applying consistent and standardized settings and policies. A security analyst can create baselines for the server team to follow when hardening new devices for deployment based on a secure configuration guide.

A. Change management procedure. This is not the correct answer, because a change management procedure is a document that describes the steps and processes for implementing, reviewing, and approving changes to an IT system or environment. A change management procedure helps to minimize the risks and impacts of changes on the system performance, availability, and security.

B. Information security policy. This is not the correct answer, because an information security policy is a document that defines the rules and principles for protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information assets within an organization. An information security policy helps to establish the roles and responsibilities of employees, managers, and stakeholders regarding information security.

C. Cybersecurity framework. This is not the correct answer, because a cybersecurity framework is a document that provides a set of standards, guidelines, and best practices for managing cybersecurity risks and improving resilience. A cybersecurity framework helps to align the business objectives and priorities with the security requirements and capabilities.

D. Secure configuration guide. This is the correct answer, because a secure configuration guide is a document that provides an overview of the security features and best practices for a specific product, system, or application. A secure configuration guide helps to reduce unnecessary cyber vulnerabilities and enhance overall security by applying consistent and standardized settings and policies.

Visitor logs are records of who enters and exits a facility, when, and for what purpose. They can help hold staff accountable while escorting unauthorized personnel by providing evidence of their identity, authorization, and activities. Visitor logs can also help with auditing, incident response, and compliance.

Facial recognition is a type of biometric authentication that uses the unique features of a person’s face to verify their identity. Facial recognition is not something you know or have, but something you are, which is one of the three factors of authentication. Facial recognition can use various methods and technologies, such as 2D or 3D images, infrared sensors, machine learning and more, to capture, analyze and compare facial data. Facial recognition can provide a convenient and secure way to authenticate users on personal mobile devices, as it does not require any additional hardware or input from the user. Facial recognition can also be used in conjunction with other factors, such as passwords or tokens, to provide multi-factor authentication. Verified References:

• Biometrics - SY0-601 CompTIA Security+ : 2.4 - Professor Messer IT Certification Training Courses https://www.professormesser.com/security-plus/sy0-601/sy0-601-video/biometrics/ (See Facial Recognition)
• Security+ (Plus) Certification | CompTIA IT Certifications https://www.comptia.org/certifications/security (See Domain 2: Architecture and Design, Objective 2.4: Given a scenario, implement identity and access management controls.)
• Biometric and Facial Recognition - CompTIA Security+ Certification (SY0-501) https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/comptia-security-certification/9781789953091/video9_6.html (See Biometric and Facial Recognition)

Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) is used to validate a certificate when it is presented to a user. OCSP is a protocol that allows a client or browser to query the status of a certificate from an OCSP responder, which is a server that maintains and provides the revocation status of certificates issued by a certificate authority (CA). OCSP can help to verify the authenticity and validity of a certificate and prevent the use of revoked or expired certificates. References: https://www.comptia.org/blog/what-is-ocsp https://www.c ertblaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/CompTIA-Security-SY0-601-Exam-Objectives-1.0.pdf

Port 53 is the default port for DNS traffic. If the firewall is blocking port 53, then users will not be able to resolve domain names and will receive errors stating that the website could not be located.

The other options would not correct the issue. Setting an explicit deny to all traffic using port 80 instead of 443 would block all HTTP traffic, not just web traffic. Moving the implicit deny from the bottom of the rule set to the top would make the deny rule more restrictive, which would not solve the issue. Configuring the first line in the rule set to allow all traffic would allow all traffic, including malicious traffic, which is not a good security practice.

Therefore, the best way to correct the issue is to ensure that port 53 has been explicitly allowed in the rule set.

Here are some additional information about DNS traffic:

• DNS traffic is used to resolve domain names to IP addresses.
• DNS traffic is typically unencrypted, which makes it vulnerable to eavesdropping.
• There are a number of ways to secure DNS traffic, such as using DNS over HTTPS (DoH) or DNS over TLS (DoT).

Tailgating is a physical security threat that occurs when an unauthorized person follows an authorized person into a restricted area without proper identification or authorization. It can cause unauthorized individuals to roam the hallways after gaining access through badge readers installed for building access.

Tokenization is a privacy technique that replaces sensitive data elements, such as credit card numbers, with non-sensitive equivalents, called tokens, that have no intrinsic or exploitable value. Tokenization can be used to enable established customers to safely store credit card information without exposing their actual card numbers to potential theft or misuse. The tokens can be used to process payments without revealing the original data456 References: CompTIA Security+ SY0-601 Certification Study Guide, Chapter 8: Implementing Secure Protocols, page 362; What is tokenization? | McKinsey; What is Tokenization? Definition and Examples | OpenText - Micro Focus; Tokenization (data security) - Wikipedia

Containment is the next step according to the incident response process after identifying affected devices that are running a malicious application with a unique hash. Containment involves isolating the compromised devices or systems from the rest of the network to prevent the spread of the attack and limit its impact. Containment can be done by disconnecting the devices from the network, blocking network traffic to or from them, or applying firewall rules or access control lists. Containment is a critical step in incident response because it helps to preserve evidence for further analysis and remediation, and reduces the risk of data loss or exfiltration

https://www.fortinet.com/resources/cyberglossary/incident-response

https://www.ibm.com/topics/incident-response

A weekly, full backup with daily incremental backups would use the least amount of storage space for backups, as it would only store the changes made since the last backup, whether it is a full or incremental backup. Incremental backups are faster and use less storage space than full or differential backups, but they require more time and media to restore data. A full backup is a complete copy of all data, which requires more time and storage space to perform, but allows a faster and easier recovery. A differential backup is a copy of the data that changed since the last full backup, which requires less time and storage space than a full backup, but more than an incremental backup. A differential backup allows a faster recovery than an incremental backup, but slower than a full backup. References:

• https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatabackup/feature/Full-incremental-or-differential-How-to-choose-the-correct-backup-type
• https://www.nakivo.com/blog/backup-types-explained/

CIS benchmarks are best practices and standards for securing various operating systems, applications, cloud environments, etc. They are developed by a community of experts and updated regularly to reflect the latest threats and vulnerabilities. They can be used to update and reconfigure the OS-level security configurations to ensure compliance and reduce risks. 

Directory traversal is an attack that exploits a vulnerability in a web application or a file system to access files or directories that are outside the intended scope. The attacker can use special characters, such as …/ or …\ , to navigate through the directory structure and access restricted files or directories.

Using cable locks on the hardware can be an effective way to secure a desktop computer and deter future theft. Cable locks are physical security devices that attach to the computer case and to a nearby stationary object, such as a desk or wall. This makes it more difficult for a thief to remove the computer without damaging it or attracting attention.

Installing proximity card readers on all entryway doors can enhance physical security by limiting access to authorized individuals. Deploying motion sensor cameras in the lobby can also help deter theft by capturing images of any unauthorized individuals entering the premises or attempting to steal the computer. Encrypting the hard drive on the replacement desktop can also help protect sensitive data in the event of theft, but it does not provide physical security for the device itself.

A pass-the-hash attack is a type of replay attack that captures and uses the hash of a password. The attacker then attempts to log on as the user with the stolen hash. This type of attack is possible be-cause some authentication protocols send hashes over the network instead of plain text passwords. The packet capture shows that the attacker used NTLM authentication, which is vulnerable to pass-the-hash attacks

An evil twin is a type of wireless network attack that involves setting up a rogue access point that mimics a legitimate one. It can trick users into connecting to the rogue access point instead of the real one, and then intercept or modify their traffic, steal their credentials, launch phishing pages, etc. In this packet capture, the analyst can see that there are two access points with the same SSID (CoffeeShop) but different MAC addresses (00:0c:41:82:9c:4f and 00:0c:41:82:9c:4e). This indicates that one of them is an evil twin that is trying to impersonate the other one. 

A business continuity plan is a document or a process that outlines how an organization can continue its critical operations and functions in the event of a disruption or disaster. It can include strategies and procedures for recovering or relocating resources, personnel, data, etc., to ensure minimal downtime and impact. The organization will most likely consult the business continuity plan when setting up offices in a temporary work space after its corporate offices were destroyed due to a natural disaster.

Web serverBotnet Enable DDoS protectionUser RAT Implement a host-based IPSDatabase server Worm Change the default application passwordExecutive KeyloggerDisable vulnerable servicesApplication Backdoor Implement 2FA using push notification

A screenshot of a computer program Description automatically generated with low confidence

S/MIME stands for Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, which is a standard for encrypting and digitally signing email messages. S/MIME can provide confidentiality, integrity, authentication and non-repudiation for email communications. S/MIME can encrypt the emails at rest, which means that the email contents are protected even if they are stored on the mail servers or the user inboxes. S/MIME can prevent email contents from being released should another breach occur, as the attacker would not be able to decrypt or read the encrypted emails without the proper keys or certificates. Verified References:

• Cryptography Concepts – SY0-601 CompTIA Security+ : 2.8 https://www.professormesser.com/security-plus/sy0-601/sy0-601-video/cryptography-concepts-2/ (See S/MIME)
• Mail Encryption - CompTIA Security+ All-in-One Exam Guide (Exam SY0-301) https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/comptia-security-all-in-one/9780071771474/sec5_chap14.html (See S/MIME)
• Symmetric and Asymmetric Encryption – CompTIA Security+ SY0-501 – 6.1 https://www.professormesser.com/security-plus/sy0-501/symmetric-and-asymmetric-encryption/ (See S/MIME)

Wireshark is a tool that can analyze pcap files, which are files that capture network traffic. Wireshark can display the packets, protocols, and other details of the network traffic in a graphical user interface. Nmap is a tool that can scan networks and hosts for open ports and services. CURL is a tool that can transfer data from or to a server using various protocols. Neat is a tool that can test network performance and quality.

Isolating the infected attachment is the best course of action for the analyst to take to prevent further spread of the worm. A worm is a type of malware that can self-replicate and infect other devices without human interaction. By isolating the infected attachment, the analyst can prevent the worm from spreading to other devices or networks via email, file-sharing, or other means. Isolating the infected attachment can also help the analyst to analyze the worm and determine its source, behavior, and impact. References:

• https://www.security.org/antivirus/computer-worm/
• https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/resources/worm_mitigation_whitepaper.html

Push notifications are a type of technology that allows an application or a service to send messages or alerts to a user’s device without requiring the user to open the application or the service. They can be used for multi-factor authentication (MFA) by sending a prompt or a code to the user’s device that the user has to approve or enter to verify their identity. They can be non-disruptive and user friendly because they do not require the user to remember or type anything, and they can be delivered instantly and securely.

Based on the logs, it seems that the host that originated the infection is 192.168.10.22. This host has a suspicious process named svchost.exe running on port 443, which is unusual for a Windows service. It also has a large number of outbound connections to different IP addresses on port 443, indicating that it is part of a botnet.

The firewall log shows that this host has been communicating with 10.10.9.18, which is another infected host on the engineering network. This host also has a suspicious process named svchost.exe running on port 443, and a large number of outbound connections to different IP addresses on port 443.

The other hosts on the R&D network (192.168.10.37 and 192.168.10.41) are clean, as they do not have any suspicious processes or connections.

Data tokenization is a technique of replacing sensitive data with non-sensitive substitutes called tokens that have no intrinsic value or meaning. It can satisfy both the CPO’s and the development team’s requirements by removing personally identifiable information (PII) from the development environment of a critical application while preserving the functionality and format of the data for testing purposes.

NAT (Network Address Translation) is a technique that allows a router to translate private IP addresses into public IP addresses and vice versa. It can preserve the use of public IP addresses assigned to equipment on the core router by allowing multiple devices to share a single public IP address. TLSv2 (Transport Layer Security version 2) is a cryptographic protocol that provides secure communication over the internet. It can enable “in transport” encryption protection to the web server with the strongest ciphers by encrypting the data transmitted between the web server and the clients using advanced algorithms and key exchange methods.

A security information and event management (SIEM) system will best assist the analyst to review the correlated logs to find the source of the incident. A SIEM system is a type of software or service that collects, analyzes, and correlates logs and events from multiple sources, such as firewalls, EDR systems, servers, or applications. A SIEM system can help to detect and respond to security incidents, provide alerts and reports, support investigations and forensics, and comply with regulations. References: https://www.comptia.org/blog/what-is-a-siem https://www.certblaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/CompTIA-Security-SY0-601 -Exam-Objectives-1.0.pdf

MDM stands for mobile device management, which is a solution that allows organizations to manage and secure mobile devices used by employees. MDM can help prevent data loss and leakage by enforcing policies and restrictions on the devices, such as encryption, password, app installation, remote wipe, and so on. MDM can also monitor and audit the device activity and compliance status. MDM can be the best mitigation strategy to prevent data leakage from an employee’s COPE tablet via cloud storage, as it can block or limit the access to cloud services, or apply data protection measures such as containerization or encryption. References:

• https://www.blackberry.com/us/en/solutions/corporate-owned-personally-enabled
• https://www.professormesser.com/security-plus/sy0-601/sy0-601-video/mobile-device-management/

SIEM stands for Security Information and Event Management, which is a solution that can collect, correlate, and analyze security logs and events from various devices on a network. SIEM can provide better visibility into user activities by generating reports, alerts, dashboards, and metrics. SIEM can also help detect and respond to security incidents, comply with regulations, and improve security posture.

Federation is an access management concept that allows users to authenticate once and access multiple applications or services that trust the same identity provider. Open authentication is a standard protocol that enables federation by allowing users to use their existing credentials from one service to access another service. The company is most likely using federation and open authentication to safeguard intranet accounts and grant access to multiple sites based on a user’s intranet account. For example, the company could use an identity provider such as Azure AD or Keycloak to manage the user identities and credentials for the intranet account, and then use open authentication to allow the users to access other company-owned websites without having to log in again. References:

• https://www.keycloak.org/
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/hybrid/connect/whatis-fed

SPIM (Spam over Internet Messaging) is a type of VoIP-associated vulnerability that involves sending unsolicited or fraudulent messages over an internet messaging service, such as Skype or WhatsApp. It can trick users into clicking on malicious links, downloading malware, providing personal or financial information, etc., by impersonating a legitimate entity or creating a sense of urgency or curiosity. Vishing (Voice Phishing) is a type of VoIP-associated vulnerability that involves making unsolicited or fraudulent phone calls over an internet telephony service, such as Google Voice or Vonage. It can trick users into disclosing personal or financial information, following malicious instructions, transferring money, etc., by using voice spoofing, caller ID spoofing, or interactive voice response systems. 

Industrial control systems (ICS) are devices that monitor and control physical processes, such as power generation, manufacturing, or transportation. Newer ICS devices may have voice and audio capabilities that can be exploited by attackers to eavesdrop on sensitive conversations or capture confidential information. This can result in the loss of intellectual property or trade secrets. References: https://www.comptia.org/content/guides/what-is-industrial-control-system-security

HSMaas stands for Hardware Security Module as a Service, which is a cloud-based service that provides secure and scalable key management and cryptographic operations for data encryption and decryption. HSMaas allows the organization to use its own keys or generate new ones, and to control and manage them centrally regardless of where the data is stored or processed. HSMaas also reduces the latency and complexity of managing multiple encryption keys across different cloud providers, as well as the cost and maintenance of deploying physical HSM devices.

A. Trusted Platform Module. This is not the correct answer, because a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is a hardware chip that provides secure storage and generation of cryptographic keys on a device, such as a laptop or a server. A TPM does not offer a cloud-based solution for key management and encryption across multiple cloud providers.

B. laaS. This is not the correct answer, because laaS stands for Infrastructure as a Service, which is a cloud computing model that provides virtualized computing resources, such as servers, storage, and networks, over the internet. laaS does not provide a specific solution for key management and encryption across multiple cloud providers.

C. HSMaas. This is the correct answer, because HSMaas stands for Hardware Security Module as a Service, which is a cloud-based service that provides secure and scalable key management and cryptographic operations for data encryption and decryption across multiple cloud providers.

D. PaaS. This is not the correct answer, because PaaS stands for Platform as a Service, which is a cloud computing model that provides a platform for developing and deploying applications over the internet. PaaS does not provide a specific solution for key management and encryption across multiple cloud providers.

A smart card is a physical device that contains an embedded integrated circuit chip that can store and process data. A smart card can be used as a second authentication factor, in addition to a password, to verify the identity of a user who wants to log in to company-owned devices. A smart card requires a smart card reader to access the data on the chip, which adds an extra layer of security. A smart card meets the requirements of the company because it does not involve a smartphone or any other device that is not allowed at the desks

PKI is a security technology that enables secure communication between two parties by using cryptographic functions. It consists of a set of components that are used to create, manage, distribute, store, and revoke digital certificates. PKI provides a secure way to exchange data between two parties, as well as a trust provider to ensure that the data is not tampered with. It also helps to create a highly scalable solution, as the same certificate can be used for multiple parties.

According to the CompTIA Security+ Study Guide, “PKI is a technology used to secure communications between two external parties. PKI is based on the concept of digital certificates, which are used to authenticate the sender and recipient of a message. PKI provides a trust provider to ensure that the digital certificate is valid and has not been tampered with. It also provides a scalable solution, as multiple parties can use the same certificate.”

Corrective controls are security measures that are implemented after an incident to repair the damage and restore normal operations. They can include actions such as patching systems, restoring backups, removing malware, etc. An organization that is repairing damage after an incident is implementing corrective controls. 

 VPN (Virtual Private Network) traffic is encrypted to protect its confidentiality and integrity over the internet. However, this also means that it cannot be inspected by security devices or tools when entering or leaving the network, unless it is decrypted first. This can create a blind spot or a vulnerability for the network security posture, as malicious traffic or data could bypass detection or prevention mechanisms by using VPN encryption

A legal hold is a process that requires an organization to preserve electronically stored information and paper documents that are relevant to a pending or anticipated litigation or investigation. It suspends the normal retention and destruction policies and procedures for such information and documents until the legal hold is lifted or released. 

Data entropy is a measure of the randomness or unpredictability of data. High data entropy means that the data has more variation and less repetition, making it harder to guess or crack. It can increase cryptographic security by making the encryption keys and ciphertext more complex and resistant to brute-force attacks, frequency analysis, etc

 A dump file is a file that contains the contents of memory at a specific point in time. It can be used for debugging or forensic analysis of a system or an application. It can reveal what was in the memory on the compromised server, such as processes, variables, passwords, encryption keys, etc.

Jailbreaking is a process of bypassing or removing the manufacturer-imposed restrictions on a mobile device’s operating system, allowing users to install unauthorized applications, modify settings, etc. It is a primary security concern for setting up a BYOD program because it can expose the device and its data to malware, vulnerabilities, unauthorized access, etc

Homomorphic encryption is a cryptographic technique that allows data to be stored, accessed and manipulated while encrypted. Homomorphic encryption enables computations to be performed on ciphertexts, generating an encrypted result that, when decrypted, matches the result of the operations as if they had been performed on the plaintext. Homomorphic encryption can prevent the cloud service provider from being able to decipher the data due to its sensitivity, as the data remains encrypted at all times. Homomorphic encryption is not concerned about computational overheads and slow speeds, as it trades off performance for security and privacy. References:

• https://www.professormesser.com/security-plus/sy0-601/sy0-601-video/cryptography-concepts-2/
• https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/security_homomorphic_encryption_white_paper.pdf
• https://www.professormesser.com/security-plus/sy0-601/sy0-601-video/symmetric-and-asymmetric-cryptography/

iptables is a command-line tool that allows an administrator to configure firewall rules for a Linux system. The -F option flushes or deletes all the existing rules in the selected chain or in all chains if none is given. It can be used to remove the rules that caused the network to be unresponsive and restore the default firewall behavior. 

An internet proxy is a server that acts as an intermediary between a client and a destination server on the internet. It can restrict web access and monitor the websites that employees visit by filtering the requests and responses based on predefined rules and policies, and logging the traffic and activities for auditing purposes

The security engineer is an example of a data custodian. A data custodian is a person who is responsible for implementing and maintaining the security controls for the data, such as encryption, backup, access control, etc. A data custodian acts on behalf of the data owner, who is the person who has the authority and accountability for the data. A data controller is a person who determines the purposes and means of processing the data, such as a company or an organization. A data processor is a person who processes the data on behalf of the data controller, such as a service provider or a vendor1.

A computer screen shot of a computer Description automatically generated with low confidence

Provisioning is the process of creating and setting up IT infrastructure, and includes the steps required to manage user and system access to various resources . Provisioning can be done for servers, cloud environments, users, networks, services, and more .

In this case, the security administrator wants to ensure that all cloud servers will have software preinstalled for facilitating vulnerability scanning and continuous monitoring. This means that the administrator needs to provision the cloud servers with the necessary software and configuration before they are deployed or used by customers or end users. Provisioning can help automate and standardize the process of setting up cloud servers and reduce the risk of human errors or inconsistencies.

The concept of connecting a user account across the systems of multiple enterprises is best known as federation. Federation is a process that allows users to authenticate once and access multiple resources or services across different domains or organizations. For example, a user can use their Google account to sign in to various websites or applications that support federation, without creating separate accounts or passwords for each one. Federation can improve user convenience and security, as well as reduce administrative overhead.

Impossible travel time is an anomaly detection that indicates a possible compromise of a user account. It occurs when the same user connects from two different countries and the time between those connections is shorter than the time it would take to travel from the first location to the second by conventional means. This suggests that a different user is using the same credentials or that a proxy or VPN is being used to mask the true location. The log activity shows that the user connected from two different IP addresses in different countries (US and Brazil) within a span of 37 minutes, which is impossible to achieve by normal travel. References: Detecting and Remediating Impossible Travel - Microsoft Community Hub; Anomaly detection policies - Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps; Understanding Microsoft 365 Impossible Travel Rules | Blumira

Establishing persistence for future use is the next step that a network penetration tester should do after gaining access to a target machine. Persistence means creating a backdoor or a covert channel that allows the penetration tester to maintain access to the target machine even if the initial exploit is patched or the connection is lost. Persistence can be achieved by installing malware, creating hidden user accounts, modifying registry keys, or setting up remote access tools. Establishing persistence can help the penetration tester to perform further reconnaissance, move laterally to other machines, or exfiltrate data from the target network.

Badges are physical security controls that provide a way to identify and authenticate authorized individuals who need to access a building or a restricted area. Badges can also be used to track the entry and exit times of people and monitor their movements within the premises. Badges can help deter unauthorized access by requiring people to present a valid credential before entering or leaving the office. Badges can also help prevent tailgating, which is when an unauthorized person follows an authorized person through a door or gate. Badges can be integrated with other security systems, such as locks, alarms, cameras, or biometrics, to enhance the level of protection.

A risk control self-assessment (RCSA) is a process that allows an organization to identify, evaluate, and mitigate the risks associated with its activities, processes, systems, and products. A RCSA involves asking relevant questions to assess the effectiveness of existing controls and identify any gaps or weaknesses that need improvement. A RCSA also helps to align the risk appetite and tolerance of the organization with its strategic objectives and performance.

The application development teams have been asked to answer questions related to their applications’ security posture, such as whether they receive patches from an external source, contain open-source code, are accessible by external users, or meet the corporate password standard. These questions are part of a RCSA process that aims to evaluate the potential risks and vulnerabilities associated with each application and determine how well they are managed and mitigated.

Thin clients are devices that have minimal hardware and software components and rely on a remote server to provide access to computing resources, an operating system, and centralized configuration and data. Thin clients can reduce the cost, complexity, and security risks of managing multiple devices.

Site-to-site VPN is a type of VPN solution that connects two or more networks or sites across the public internet in a secure and encrypted way. Site-to-site VPN can be implemented using VPN appliances, such as firewalls or routers, that can establish and maintain the VPN tunnel between the sites. Site-to-site VPN can support multiple users or devices that need to access resources on the other site without requiring individual VPN clients or software. Site-to-site VPN is the best solution to support the new remote office, as it can provide secure and seamless connectivity between the office network and the main network of the organization. Verified References:

• Virtual Private Networks – SY0-601 CompTIA Security+ : 3.3 https://www.professormesser.com/security-plus/sy0-601/sy0-601-video/virtual-private-networks-sy0-601-comptia-security-3-3/ (See Site-to-Site VPN)
• VPN Technologies – CompTIA Security+ SY0-501 – 3.2 https://www.professormesser.com/security-plus/sy0-501/vpn-technologies/ (See Site-to-Site VPN)
• Security+ (Plus) Certification | CompTIA IT Certifications https://www.comptia.org/certifications/security (See Domain 3: Architecture and Design, Objective 3.3: Given a scenario, implement secure network architecture concepts.)

A jump server is a system that is used to manage and access systems in a separate security zone. It acts as a bridge between two different security zones and provides a controlled and secure way of accessing systems between them12. A jump server can also be used for auditing traffic and user activity for real-time surveillance3. By deploying a jump server that is accessible via the internal network, the security analyst can securely meet the remote connectivity requirements for the servers and cameras without exposing them directly to the internet or allowing outgoing traffic from their subnet. The other options are not suitable because:

• A. Creating firewall rules that prevent outgoing traffic from the subnet the servers and cameras reside on would not allow remote maintenance via the company VPN.
• C. Disabling all unused ports on the switch that the cameras are plugged into and enabling MAC filtering would not prevent direct internet access to the cameras or servers.
• D. Implementing a WAF to allow traffic from the local NTP server to the camera server would not address the remote connectivity requirements or protect the servers from internet access.

References:

1: https://www.thesecuritybuddy.com/network-security/what-is-a-jump-server/  3: https://www.ssh.com/academy/iam/jump-server  2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jump_server

CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) is a framework and a metric that provides a standardized and consistent way of assessing and communicating the severity levels of vulnerabilities. It assigns a numerical score and a vector string to each vulnerability based on various factors, such as exploitability, impact, scope, etc. It can help communicate to the leadership team the severity levels of the organization’s vulnerabilities by providing a quantitative and qualitative measure of the risks and the potential impacts. 

Submitting the application to QA before releasing it would best help the team ensure the application is ready to be released to production. QA stands for quality assurance, which is a process of testing and verifying that a software product meets the specified requirements and standards. QA can help identify and fix any bugs, errors, vulnerabilities, or performance issues before the software is deployed to the end users. QA can also ensure that the software meets the security objectives and complies with the best practices and regulations.

An on-path attack is a type of attack where an attacker places themselves between two devices (such as a workstation and a server) and intercepts or modifies the communications between them. An on-path attacker can collect sensitive information, impersonate either device, or disrupt the service. In this scenario, the attacker is likely using an on-path attack to capture and alter the network traffic between the workstation and the server, causing service disruptions and data leakage.

A service level agreement (SLA) is a contract between a service provider and a customer that outlines the services that are to be provided and the expected levels of performance. It is used to define the requirements for the service, including any attestations and reports that must be generated, and the timescales in which these must be completed. It also outlines any penalties for failing to meet these requirements. SLAs are essential for ensuring that third-party services are meeting the agreed upon performance levels.

An insider threat is a threat to an organization that comes from negligent or malicious insiders, such as employees, former employees, contractors, third-party vendors, or business partners, who have inside information about cybersecurity practices, sensitive data, and computer systems. The action described in the question is an example of a malicious insider threat, where an employee intentionally misused their authorized access to harm the organization by stealing customer records and diverting funds to their personal bank account. References: What Is an Insider Threat? Definition, Types, and Prevention - Fortinet; What are insider threats? | IBM; What Is an Insider Threat? Definition, Examples, and Mitigations; Insider Threat Mitigation | Cybersecurity and Infrastructure … - CISA

A communication plan is a plan that would fulfill the requirement of keeping stakeholders at an organization aware of any incidents and receiving updates on status changes as they occur. A communication plan is a document that outlines the communication objectives, strategies, methods, channels, frequency, and audience for an incident response process. A communication plan can help an organization communicate effectively and efficiently with internal and external stakeholders during an incident and keep them informed of the incident’s impact, progress, resolution, and recovery.

References: https://www.comptia.org/certifications/security#examdetails https://www.comptia.org/content/guides/comptia-security-sy0-601-exam-objectives https://www.ready.gov/business-continuity-plan

Based on CompTIA SY0-601 Security+ guide, the answer to the question is A. Identify rogue access points.

To secure the wireless perimeter of its physical facilities, the corporate security team should focus on identifying rogue access points, which are unauthorized access points that have been set up by employees or outsiders to bypass security controls. By identifying and removing these rogue access points, the team can ensure that only authorized users can access corporate resources through the wireless network.

https://www.comptia.org/training/books/security-sy0-601-study-guide

SSO stands for Single Sign-On, which is a technology that allows users to log in to multiple websites using a single set of credentials, such as a username and password or a digital certificate. SSO eliminates the need for users to create and remember multiple accounts and passwords for different websites, and simplifies the authentication process. SSO also enhances security by reducing the risk of password reuse, phishing, and identity theft.

An internet company that has created a new collaboration application can implement SSO to allow users to log in to the application with the credentials of other popular websites, such as Google, Facebook, or Twitter. This way, users do not have to create a new account for the application, and can use their existing accounts from other websites that they trust and use frequently. This can increase the user base and the convenience of the application.

Some examples of SSO technologies are OpenID, OAuth, and SAML. These technologies provide different ways of establishing trust and exchanging information between the websites that act as identity providers (IDPs) and the websites that act as relying parties (RPs). The IDPs are the websites that authenticate the users and provide their credentials or attributes to the RPs. The RPs are the websites that accept the users’ credentials or attributes from the IDPs and grant them access to their services.

This is an attempt to redirect traffic to an attacking host by sending an ARP packet that contains the forged address of the next hop router. The attacker tricks the victim into believing that it is the legitimate router by sending a spoofed ARP reply with its own MAC address. This causes the victim to send all its traffic to the attacker instead of the router. The attacker can then intercept, modify, or drop the packets as they please.

Benchmarks are predefined sets of configuration standards or best practices for securing information systems and networks. Benchmarks can be used to assess system configurations against the minimum security baseline required by local guidelines or industry regulations. Benchmarks can also provide guidance on how to remediate any deviations or vulnerabilities found during the assessment123 References: CompTIA Security+ SY0-601 Certification Study Guide, Chapter 10: Summarizing Risk Management Concepts, page 454; What is a Security Benchmark? - Definition from Techopedia; Security Baselines and Benchmarks - SANS Institute; Security Configuration Benchmarks - CIS

The best option to describe where an attacker can purchase DDoS or ransomware services is the dark web. The dark web is an anonymous, untraceable part of the internet where a variety of illicit activities take place, including the purchase of DDoS and ransomware services. According to the CompTIA Security+ SY0-601 Official Text Book, attackers can purchase these services anonymously and without the risk of detection or attribution. Additionally, the text book recommends that organizations monitor the dark web to detect any possible threats or malicious activity.

PAM is a solution that enables organizations to securely manage users' accounts and access to sensitive systems. It allows administrators to create unique and complex passwords for each user, as well as assign each account to a single user for administrative duties. PAM also provides audit trails and logging capabilities, allowing administrators to monitor user activity and ensure that all systems are secure. According to the CompTIA Security+ SY0-601 Course Book, “PAM is the most comprehensive way to control and monitor privileged accounts”.

Firmware is software that allows your computer to communicate with hardware devices, such as network routers, switches, or firewalls. Firmware updates can fix bugs, improve performance, and enhance security features. Without firmware updates, the devices you connect to your network might not work properly or might be vulnerable to attacks1. You can have Windows automatically download recommended drivers and firmware updates for your hardware devices1, or you can use a network monitoring software to keep track of the firmware status of your devices2. You should also follow the best practices for keeping devices and software up to date, such as enforcing automatic updates, monitoring update status, and testing updates before deploying them

Round-robin is a type of load balancing algorithm that distributes traffic to a list of servers in rotation. It is a static algorithm that does not take into account the state of the system for the distribution of tasks. It assumes that all servers have equal capacity and can handle an equal amount of traffic.

Continuous validation is a process that involves performing regular and automated tests to verify the security and functionality of a system or an application. Continuous validation can help identify and remediate vulnerabilities, bugs, or misconfigurations before they cause any damage or disruption. The security administrator’s activities of performing weekly vulnerability scans on all cloud assets and providing a detailed report are examples of continuous validation.

Three-factor authentication combines three types of authentication methods: something you know (password), something you have (physical token), and something you are (fingerprint scan). Option C satisfies these requirements, as it uses a password (something you know), a physical token (something you have), and a fingerprint scan (something you are) for authentication.

According to Professor Messer’s video1, VDI stands for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and it is a deployment model where employees use their personal computers to access a virtual machine that runs the company’s operating system and applications.

In the scenario described, the company is implementing a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) deployment model [1]. This allows employees to access the cloud computing environment using their personal computers, while the company manages the operating system. The VDI model is suitable for remote work scenarios because it provides secure and centralized desktop management, while allowing employees to access desktops from any device.

Salting is a technique that adds random data to user credentials before hashing them. This makes the hashed credentials more secure and resistant to brute-force attacks or rainbow table attacks. Salting also ensures that two users with the same password will have different hashed credentials.

A company that has more computing power can consider using salting to ensure user credentials are being transmitted and stored more securely. Salting can increase the complexity and entropy of the hashed credentials, making them harder to crack or reverse.

MDM stands for Mobile Device Management, which is a solution that can be used to manage and secure personal devices that access company data. MDM can enforce policies and rules, such as password protection, encryption, remote wipe, device lock, application control, and more. MDM can help a company enable BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) while protecting sensitive organizational information.

Anonymizing the data is the process of removing personally identifiable information (PII) from data sets, so that the people whom the data describe remain anonymous12. Anonymizing the data can safeguard the PHI records without impeding the testing process, because it can protect the privacy of the patients while preserving the data integrity and statistical accuracy for the application development team12. Anonymizing the data can be done by using techniques such as data masking, pseudonymization, generalization, data swapping, or data perturbation12.

Implementing a content filter is not the best way to safeguard the information, because it is a technique that blocks or allows access to certain types of content based on predefined rules or policies3. A content filter does not remove or encrypt PII from data sets, and it may not prevent unauthorized access or leakage of PHI records.

Deploying DLP tools is not the best way to safeguard the information, because it is a technique that monitors and prevents data exfiltration or transfer to unauthorized destinations or users. DLP tools do not remove or encrypt PII from data sets, and they may not be sufficient to protect PHI records from internal misuse or negligence.

Installing a FIM on the application server is not the best way to safeguard the information, because it is a technique that detects and alerts changes to files or directories on a system. FIM does not remove or encrypt PII from data sets, and it may not prevent unauthorized access or modification of PHI records.

The total loss expected per year due to a threat targeting an asset can be calculated using the Single Loss Expectancy (SLE) multiplied by the Annualized Rate of Occurrence (ARO). SLE is the monetary loss expected from a single event, while ARO is the estimated frequency of that event occurring in a year. Reference: CompTIA Security+ Study Guide: Exam SY0-501, 7th Edition, by Emmett Dulaney and Chuck Easttom, Chapter 9: Risk Management, page 414.

False rejection Short Explanation: A false rejection occurs when a biometric system fails to recognize an authorized user and denies access. This can happen due to poor quality of the biometric sample, environmental factors, or system errors. References: https://www.comptia.org/blog/wh at-is-biometrics

This is the best course of action for the help desk technician because it can help prevent a potential social engineering attack. Social engineering is a technique that involves manipulating or deceiving people into revealing sensitive information or performing actions that compromise security. The caller may be impersonating a member of the organization’s cybersecurity incident response team to obtain the network’s internal firewall IP address, which could be used for further attacks. The help desk technician should not provide any information over the phone without verifying the caller’s identity and authorization. The help desk technician should also report the incident to the organization’s cybersecurity officer for investigation and response. References: https://www.comptia.org/blog/social-engineering-explained https://www.certblaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/CompTIA-Security-SY0-601-Exam-Objectives-1.0.pdf

SQL injection is a web application attack that involves inserting malicious SQL statements into an input field, such as a web form, to manipulate or access the database behind the application. SQL injection can be used to perform various actions, such as reading, modifying, or deleting data, executing commands on the database server, or bypassing authentication. In this scenario, the attacker is trying to use a SQL statement “SELECT * FROM customername” to retrieve all data from the customername table in the database.

A supply chain attack is a type of attack that involves compromising a trusted third-party provider or vendor and using their products or services to deliver malware or gain access to the target organization. The attacker can exploit the trust and dependency that the organization has on the provider or vendor and bypass their security controls. In this case, the attacker may have tampered with the patch for the security appliance and used it to exfiltrate data from the organization.

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies are used to identify and protect sensitive data, and often include a list of exceptions that allow certain types of data to be uploaded or shared. By modifying the exception list on the DLP, the security analyst can allow the tax document to be uploaded without compromising the security of the system. (Reference: CompTIA Security+ SY0-601 Official Textbook, page 479-480)

A host-based firewall is a software application that runs on each individual host and controls the incoming and outgoing network traffic based on a set of rules. A host-based firewall can be used to block or allow specific ports, protocols, IP addresses, or applications.

An engineer can use a host-based firewall to accomplish the task of disabling all web-server ports except 443 on a group of 100 web servers in a cloud environment. The engineer can configure the firewall rules on each web server to allow only HTTPS traffic on port 443 and deny any other traffic. Alternatively, the engineer can use a centralized management tool to deploy and enforce the firewall rules across all web servers.

The NIST Risk Management Framework (RMF) is a process for evaluating the security of a system and implementing controls to reduce potential risks associated with it. The RMF process involves categorizing the system, selecting the controls that apply to the system, implementing the controls, and then assessing the success of the controls before authorizing the system. For more information on the NIST Risk Management Framework and other security processes, refer to the CompTIA Security+ SY0-601 Official Text Book and Resources.

A server farm’s logs are records of events that occur on a group of servers that provide the same service or function. Logs can contain information such as date, time, source, destination, message, error code, and severity level. Logs can help administrators monitor the performance, security, and availability of the servers and troubleshoot any issues.

To determine the sequence of a server farm’s logs, the administrator should consider the following factors:

• Time stamps: Time stamps are indicators of when an event occurred on a server. Time stamps can help administrators sort and correlate events across different servers based on chronological order. However, time stamps alone may not be sufficient to determine the sequence of events if the servers have different time zones or clock settings.
• Time offset: Time offset is the difference between the local time of a server and a reference time, such as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Time offset can help administrators adjust and synchronize the time stamps of different servers to a common reference time and eliminate any discrepancies caused by time zones or clock settings.

References: https://www.comptia.org/certifications/security#examdetails https://www.comptia.org/content/guides/comptia-security-sy0-601-exam-objectives https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/server-manager/view-event-logs

Reputation damage Short Explanation: Reputation damage is the loss of trust or credibility that a company suffers when its customers’ personal data is exposed or breached. This can lead to customer dissatisfaction, loss of loyalty, and requests to delete user accounts. References: https://www.comptia.org/content/guides/what-is-cybersecuri ty

Privilege creep is the gradual accumulation of access rights beyond what an individual needs to do his or her job. In information technology, a privilege is an identified right that a particular end user has to a particular system resource, such as a file folder or virtual machine. Privilege creep often occurs when an employee changes job responsibilities within an organization and is granted new privileges. While employees may need to retain their former privileges during a period of transition, those privileges are rarely revoked and result in an unnecessary accumulation of access privileges. Privilege creep creates a security risk by increasing the attack surface and exposing sensitive data or systems to unauthorized or malicious users.

References: https://www.comptia.org/certifications/security#examdetails https://www.comptia.org/content/guides/comptia-security-sy0-601-exam-objectives https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/privilege-creep

Compensating controls are additional security measures that are implemented to reduce the risk of non-compliant controls. They do not fix the underlying issue, but they provide an alternative way of achieving the same security objective. For example, if a system does not have encryption, a compensating control could be to restrict access to the system or use a secure network connection.

A wildcard certificate is a type of digital certificate that can be used to secure multiple subdomains under a single domain name. For example, a wildcard certificate for *.example.com can be used to secure www.example.com, mail.example.com, blog.example.com, etc. A wildcard certificate can make administration easier by reducing the number of certificates that need to be i ssued, managed, and renewed. It can also save costs and simplify configuration.

A web application firewall (WAF) is a security solution that monitors and filters the traffic between a web application and the internet. It can prevent code injection attacks by blocking malicious requests that contain code snippets or commands that could compromise the web application. A WAF can also enforce input validation rules and sanitize user inputs to prevent code injection. References: CompTIA Security+ SY0-601 Certification Study Guide, Chapter 4: Implementing Secure Network Designs, page 194; 5 ways to prevent code injection in JavaScript and Node.js

An authorized hacker, also known as an ethical hacker or a white hat hacker, is someone who uses their skills and knowledge to find and report security issues in a system or application with the permission of the owner. An authorized hacker follows the rules and guidelines of the bug bounty program and does not cause any harm or damage to the system or its users.

ARP poisoning is a type of attack that exploits the ARP protocol to associate a malicious MAC address with a legitimate IP address on a network1. This allows the attacker to intercept, modify or drop traffic between the victim and other hosts on the same network. In this case, the ARP table of the access switch shows that the same MAC address (00-0c-29-58-35-3b) is associated with two different IP addresses (192.168.1.100 and 192.168.1.101) on port Fa0/12. This indicates that an attacker has poisoned the ARP table to redirect traffic intended for 192.168.1.100 to their own device with MAC address 00-0c-29-58-35-3b. The other options are not related to this scenario. DDoS is a type of attack that overwhelms a target with excessive traffic from multiple sources3. MAC flooding is a type of attack that floods a switch with fake MAC addresses to exhaust its MAC table and force it to operate as a hub4. DNS poisoning is a type of attack that corrupts the DNS cache with fake entries to redirect users to malicious websites.

References: 1: https://www.imperva.com/learn/application-security/arp-spoofing/  2: https://community.cisco.com/t5/networking-knowledge-base/network-tables-mac-routing-arp/ta- p/4184148 3: https://www.imperva.com/learn/application-security/ddos-att ack/ 4: https://www.imperva.com/learn/application-security/mac-flooding/ : https://www.imperva.com/learn/application-security/dns-spoofing-poisoning/

SQLi stands for SQL injection, which is a type of web security vulnerability that allows an attacker to execute malicious SQL statements on a database server. SQLi can result in data theft, data corruption, denial of service, or remote code execution.

The attacker in the web server log is trying to exploit a SQLi vulnerability by sending a malicious GET request that contains a UNION ALL SELECT statement. This statement is used to combine the results of two or more SELECT queries into a single result set. The attacker is attempting to retrieve user login, user pass, and user email from the wp users table, which is a WordPress database table that stores user information. The attacker may use this information to compromise the WordPress site or the users’ accounts.

A dump file is the first thing that a security analyst should review to determine more information about a compromised device that displayed an error screen and shut down. A dump file is a file that contains a snapshot of the memory contents of a device at the time of a system crash or error. A dump file can help a security analyst analyze the cause and source of the crash or error, as well as identify any malicious code or activity that may have triggered it.

References: https://www.comptia.org/certifications/security#examdetails https://www.comptia.org/content/guides/comptia-security-sy0-601-exam-objectives https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/debugger/introduction-to-crash-dump-files

Syslogs are log files that are generated by devices on the network and contain information about network activity, including user logins, device connections, and other events. By analyzing these logs, the IT security team can identify the source of the threatening voicemail messages and take the necessary steps to address the issue

An SLA or service level agreement is a type of third-party risk management policy that defines the expectations and obligations between a service provider and a customer. An SLA typically includes metrics and standards for measuring the quality and performance of the service, as well as penalties or remedies for non-compliance. An SLA can also specify the reporting requirements for data breaches or other incidents that may affect the customer’s security or privacy.

Boot attestation is a security feature that enables the computer to verify the integrity of its operating system before it boots. It does this by performing a hash of the operating system and comparing it to the expected hash of the operating system. If the hashes do not match, the computer will not boot and the rootkit will not be allowed to run. This process is also known as measured boot or secure boot.

According to the CompTIA Security+ Study Guide, “Secure Boot is a feature of Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) that ensures that code that is executed during the boot process has been authenticated by a cryptographic signature. Secure Boot prevents malicious code from running at boot time, thus providing assurance that the system is executing only code that is legitimate. This provides a measure of protection against rootkits and other malicious code that is designed to run at boot time.”

RADIUS and Kerberos are two protocols that can be used to integrate Active Directory accounts and groups with network and remote-access devices. RADIUS is a protocol that provides centralized authentication, authorization, and accounting for network access. It can use Active Directory as a backend database to store user credentials and group memberships. Kerberos is a protocol that provides secure authentication and encryption for network services. It is the default authentication protocol for Active Directory and can be used by remote-access devices that support it.

Staging is an environment in the software development lifecycle that is used to test a modified version of the actual data, current version configurations, and code. This environment compares user-story responses and workflow before the software is released to the production environment. References: CompTIA Security+ Study Guide, Sixth Edition, Sybex, pg. 496

an IDS (Intrusion Detection System) and a WAF (Web Application Firewall) are both used to monitor and protect web applications from common attacks such as cross-site scripting and SQL injection12. However, these attacks can also be hidden in encrypted HTTPS traffic, which uses the TLS (Transport Layer Security) protocol to provide cryptography and authentication between two communicating applications34. Therefore, in order for an IDS and a WAF to be effective on HTTPS traffic, they need to be able to decrypt and inspect the data that flows in the TLS tunnel. This is achieved by using a feature called TLS inspection345, which creates two dedicated TLS connections: one with the web server and another with the client. The firewall then uses a customer-provided CA (Certificate Authority) certificate to generate an on-the-fly certificate that replaces the web server certificate and shares it with the client. This way, the firewall can see the content of the HTTPS traffic and apply the IDS and WAF rules accordingly34.

The scenario describes a Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack where the attacker intercepts traffic and downgrades the secure SSL/TLS connection to an insecure HTTP connection. This type of attack is commonly known as SSL/TLS downgrade attack or a stripping attack. The attacker is able to see and modify the communication between the client and server.

EAP-FAST (Extensible Authentication Protocol-Flexible Authentication via Secure Tunneling) supports mutual authentication and is designed to simplify the deployment of strong, password-based authentication. EAP-FAST includes a mechanism for detecting rogue access points. References:

• CompTIA Security+ Study Guide Exam SY0-601, Chapter 4

The best option that will help to protect the PC from malicious files on the storage device would be A. Change the default settings on the PC. Changing the default settings on the PC can include disabling the autorun or autoplay feature, which can prevent malicious files from executing automatically when the storage device is plugged in. Changing the default settings can also include enabling antivirus software, updating the operating system and applications, and configuring user account control and permissions.

A Web Application Firewall (WAF) is a security solution that protects web applications from various types of attacks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and others. It is typically deployed in front of web servers to inspect incoming traffic and filter out malicious requests.

To protect the company’s website from malicious web requests over SSL, a decryption certificate is needed to decrypt the SSL traffic before it reaches the WAF. This allows the WAF to inspect the traffic and filter out malicious requests.

Explanation: ARP poisoning (also known as ARP spoofing) is a type of attack where an attacker sends falsified ARP messages over a local area network to link the attacker's MAC address with the IP address of another host on the network. References: CompTIA Security+ Certification Exam Objectives - 2.5 Given a scenario, analyze potential indicators to determine the type of attack. Study Guide: Chapter 6, page 271.

A simulation exercise is designed to create an experience that is as close as possible to a real-world incident response scenario. It involves simulating an attack or other security incident and then having security personnel respond to the situation as they would in a real incident. References: CompTIA Security+ SY0-601 Exam Objectives: 1.1 Explain the importance of implementing security concepts, methodologies, and practices.

To observe the continued network-based transaction between a callback domain and the malware running on an enterprise PC while reducing the risk of lateral spread and the risk that the adversary would notice any changes, the best technique to use is to emulate the malware in a heavily monitored DMZ segment. This is a secure environment that is isolated from the rest of the network and can be heavily monitored to detect any suspicious activity. By emulating the malware in this environment, the activity can be observed without the risk of lateral spread or detection by the adversary. References: https://www.sans.org/blog/incident-response-fundamentals-why-is-the-dmz-so-important/

Geofencing is a technology used in mobile device management (MDM) to allow administrators to define geographical boundaries within which mobile devices can operate. This can be used to enforce location-based policies, such as ensuring that devices can be tracked and wiped if lost or stolen. Additionally, encryption can be enforced on the devices to ensure the protection of sensitive data in the event of theft or loss. References:

• CompTIA Security+ Study Guide, Exam SY0-601, 4th Edition, Chapter 7

An uncredentialed scan would miss missing patches for third-party software on Windows workstations and servers. A credentialed scan, however, can scan the registry and file system to determine the patch level of third-party applications. References: CompTIA Security+ Study Guide by Emmett Dulaney, Chapter 4: Identity and Access Management, The Importance of Credentialing Scans

Ann received an annual privacy notice from her mortgage company. An annual privacy notice is a statement from a financial institution or creditor that outlines the institution's privacy policy and explains how the institution collects, uses, and shares customers' personal information. It informs the customer about their rights under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) and the institution's practices for protecting their personal information. References:

• CompTIA Security+ Certification Exam Objectives - Exam SY0-601

An incident response plan is a set of procedures and guidelines that defines how an organization should respond to a security incident. An incident response plan typically includes the following phases: preparation, identification, containment, eradication, recovery, and lessons learned.

If the help desk has received calls from users in multiple locations who are unable to access core network services, it could indicate that a network outage or a denial-of-service attack has occurred. The network team has identified and turned off the network switches using remote commands, which could be a containment measure to isolate the affected devices and prevent further damage.

The next action that the network team should take is to initiate the organization’s incident response plan, which would involve notifying the appropriate stakeholders, such as management, security team, legal team, etc., and following the predefined steps to investigate, analyze, document, and resolve the incident.

The other options are not correct because:

• A. Disconnect all external network connections from the firewall. This could be another containment measure to prevent external attackers from accessing the network, but it would also disrupt legitimate network traffic and services. This action should be taken only if it is part of the incident response plan and after notifying the relevant parties.
• B. Send response teams to the network switch locations to perform updates. This could be a recovery measure to restore normal network operations and apply patches or updates to prevent future incidents, but it should be done only after the incident has been properly identified, contained, and eradicated.
• C. Turn on all the network switches by using the centralized management software. This could be a recovery measure to restore normal network operations, but it should be done only after the incident has been properly identified, contained, and eradicated.

According to CompTIA Security+ SY0-601 Exam Objectives 1.5 Given a scenario, analyze indicators of compromise and determine the type of malware:

“An incident response plan is a set of procedures and guidelines that defines how an organization should respond to a security incident. An incident response plan typically includes the following phases: preparation, identification, containment, eradication, recovery, and lessons learned.”

References: https://www.comptia.org/certifications/security#examdetails https://www.comptia.org/content/guides/comptia-security-sy0-601-exam-objectives

Based on the given information, the most likely type of malware infecting the hosts is a RAT (Remote Access Trojan). RATs are often used for stealthy unauthorized access to a victim's computer, and they can evade traditional antivirus software through various sophisticated techniques. In particular, the fact that the malware is communicating with external IP addresses during specific hours suggests that it may be under the control of an attacker who is issuing commands from a remote location. Ransomware, polymorphic malware, and worms are also possible culprits, but the context of the question suggests that a RAT is the most likely answer. 

laaS (Infrastructure as a Service) allows the creation of virtual networks, automation, and scripting to reduce the area utilized in a datacenter. References: CompTIA Security+ Study Guide, Exam SY0-601, Chapter 4

A firewall is a network security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules. The systems analyst can use firewall rules to block connections from the ten IP addresses in question, or from the entire network block in the specific country. This would be a quick and effective way to address the issue of high connections to the web server initiated by these IP addresses.

Based on these definitions, the best security solution to mitigate the risk of future data disclosures from a laptop would be FDE123. FDE would prevent unauthorized access to the data stored on the laptop even if it is stolen or lost. FDE can also use TPM to store the encryption key and ensure that only trusted software can decrypt the data3. HIDS and VPN are not directly related to data encryption, but they can provide additional security benefits by detecting intrusions and protecting network traffic respectively.

Hashing is a cryptographic function that produces a unique fixed-size output (i.e., hash value) from an input (i.e., data). The hash value is a digital fingerprint of the data, which means that if the data changes, so too does the hash value. By comparing the hash value of the downloaded file with the hash value provided by the security website, the security analyst can verify that the file has not been altered in transit or corrupted.

To improve the security of the WiFi network and prevent unauthorized devices from accessing the network, the configuration options of RADIUS and WPA2-PSK should be enabled. RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) is an authentication protocol that can be used to control access to the WiFi network. It can provide stronger authentication and authorization than WEP and WPA. WPA2-PSK (WiFi Protected Access 2 with Pre-Shared Key) is a security protocol that uses stronger encryption than WEP and WPA. It requires a pre-shared key (PSK) to be entered on each device that wants to access the network. This helps prevent unauthorized devices from accessing the network.

The attendee is experiencing delays in the connection, and the HIIPS site requests are reverting to HTTP, indicating that the DNS resolution is redirecting the connection to another server. DNS hijacking is a technique that involves redirecting a user’s requests for a domain name to a different IP address. Attackers use DNS hijacking to redirect users to malicious websites and steal sensitive information, such as login credentials and credit card details.

Crosscut shredders are used to destroy paper documents and reduce the risk of data leakage through dumpster diving. Dumpster diving is a method of retrieving sensitive information from paper waste by searching through discarded documents.

References:

• CompTIA Security+ Study Guide, Exam SY0-601, 4th Edition, Chapter 2

Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) are designed to provide advanced threat protection by combining traditional firewall capabilities with intrusion prevention, application control, and other security features. NGFWs can detect and block unauthorized access attempts, malware infections, and other suspicious activity. They can also be used to monitor file access and detect unauthorized copying or distribution of copyrighted material.

A next-generation firewall (NGFW) can be used to detect and prevent copyright infringement by analyzing network traffic and blocking unauthorized transfers of copyrighted material. Additionally, NGFWs can be configured to enforce access control policies that prevent unauthorized access to sensitive resources. References:

• CompTIA Security+ Study Guide, Exam SY0-601, 4th Edition, Chapter 6

Differential backup is a type of backup that backs up all data that has changed since the last full backup. This backup method offers faster recovery than a full backup, as it only needs to restore the full backup and the differential backup, reducing the amount of data that needs to be restored. It also uses less storage than a full backup as it only stores the changes made from the last full backup. 

The solution that the CISO should choose is Next-generation Secure Web Gateway (SWG), which provides URL filtering and categorization to prevent users from accessing malicious sites, even when they are away from the office. NGFWs are typically cloud-based and offer multiple security layers, including malware detection, intrusion prevention, and data loss prevention. References:

• https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cyberpedia/what-is-a-next-generation-secure-web-gateway-ng-swg
• CompTIA Security+ Study Guide Exam SY0-601, Chapter 4

"Privilege escalation is the act of exploiting a bug, design flaw, or configuration oversight in an operating system or software application to gain elevated access to resources that are normally protected from an application or user." In this scenario, the red team was able to install malicious software, which would require elevated privileges to access and install. Therefore, the type of attack that occurred is privilege escalation. References: CompTIA Security+ Study Guide, pages 111-112

To determine the total risk an organization can bear, a technician should review the organization's risk tolerance, which is the amount of risk the organization is willing to accept. This information will help determine the organization's "cloud-first" adoption strategy. References: CompTIA Security+ Certification Exam Objectives (SY0-601)

User behavior analytics (UBA) would be the best data source to assess the accounts impacted by the attack, as it can identify abnormal activity, such as repeated brute-force attacks and logins from unfamiliar geographic locations, and provide insights into the behavior of the impacted accounts. References: CompTIA Security+ Study Guide, Exam SY0-601, 4th Edition, Chapter 7: Incident Response, pp. 338-341

The test environment is used to assess the execution of component parts of a system at both the hardware and software levels and to measure performance characteristics. References: CompTIA Security+ Study Guide 601, Chapter 2

In a forensic investigation, volatile data should be collected first, based on the order of volatility. RAM and Cache are examples of volatile data. References: CompTIA Security+ Study Guide 601, Chapter 11

The network analyst should enable Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) to allow users to connect to the wireless access point securely without having to remember passwords. WPS allows users to connect to a wireless network by pressing a button or entering a PIN instead of entering a password.

If the systems are running unsecure protocols and the company that developed them is no longer in business, it is likely that there are no patches available to remediate the issue. References:

• CompTIA Security+ Certification Exam Objectives 1.6: Given a scenario, implement secure protocols.
• CompTIA Security+ Study Guide, Sixth Edition, pages 35-36

Multifactor authentication (MFA) would be the best control to require from a third-party identity provider to help mitigate attacks such as credential theft and brute-force attacks. References: CompTIA Security+ Study Guide, Exam SY0-601, Chapter 2

A phishing campaign is a simulated attack that tests a user's ability to recognize attacks over the organization's email system. Phishing campaigns can be used to train users on how to identify and report suspicious emails.

References: CompTIA Security+ Study Guide, Exam SY0-601, 4th Edition, Chapter 2: Technologies and Tools, pp. 85-86.

The Diamond Model is a framework for analyzing cyber threats that focuses on four key elements: adversary, capability, infrastructure, and victim. By analyzing these elements, security researchers can gain a better understanding of the threat landscape and develop more effective security strategies.

The company is implementing privileged access management, which provides just-in-time permissions for administrative functions.

The issue is DNS spoofing, where the DNS resolution has been compromised and is pointing to a malicious IP address. References: CompTIA Security+ Study Guide: Exam SY0-601, Chapter 7

Hardware Security Module (HSM) is a network appliance designed to securely store cryptographic keys and perform cryptographic operations. HSMs provide a secure environment for key management and can be used to keep cryptographic keys safe from theft, loss, or unauthorized access. Therefore, an enterprise can achieve the goal of keeping cryptographic keys in a safe manner by using an HSM appliance. References: CompTIA Security+ Certification Exam Objectives, Exam Domain 2.0: Technologies and Tools, 2.4 Given a scenario, use appropriate tools and techniques to troubleshoot security issues, p. 21

Identification is the first step in the incident response process, which involves recognizing that an incident has occurred. Containment is the second step, followed by eradication, recovery, and lessons learned.

References: CompTIA Security+ Study Guide, Exam SY0-601, 4th Edition, Chapter 10: Incident Response and Recovery, pp. 437-441.

During a penetration testing exercise, the white team is responsible for acting as a referee and providing oversight and support to ensure that the testing is conducted safely and effectively. They may also be responsible for determining the rules and guidelines of the exercise, monitoring the progress of the teams, and providing feedback and insights on the strengths and weaknesses of the organization's security measures.

Shredding may be the most secure and cost-effective way to destroy electronic data in any media that contain hard drives or solid-state drives and have reached their end-of-life1. Shredding reduces electronic devices to pieces no larger than 2 millimeters2. Therefore, shredding is the most secure but least expensive data destruction method for data that is stored on hard drives.

A Web Application Firewall (WAF) is a security solution that protects web applications from various types of attacks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and others. It is typically deployed in front of web servers to inspect incoming traffic and filter out malicious requests.

To protect the company’s website from malicious web requests over SSL, a decryption certificate is needed to decrypt the SSL traffic before it reaches the WAF. This allows the WAF to inspect the traffic and filter out malicious requests.

When allowing mobile BYOD devices to access network resources, using a captive portal for user authentication and authenticating users using OAuth are both best practices for authentication and infrastructure security. A captive portal requires users to authenticate before accessing the network and can be used to enforce policies and restrictions. OAuth allows users to authenticate using third-party providers, reducing the risk of password reuse and credential theft. References: CompTIA Security+ Study Guide, pages 217-218, 225-226

The attack being conducted is an Evil twin attack. An Evil twin attack involves creating a rogue wireless access point (WAP) with the same Service Set Identifier (SSID) as a legitimate WAP to trick users into connecting to it. Once connected, the attacker can intercept traffic or steal login credentials. The successful login attempts with impossible travel times suggest that an attacker is using a stolen or compromised credential to access the external site to which the sensitive data is being downloaded. The non-standard DHCP configurations and overlapping channels of the WAPs suggest that the attacker is using a rogue WAP to intercept traffic. References: CompTIA Security+ Certification Exam Objectives, Exam Domain 1.0: Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities, 1.4 Compare and contrast types of attacks, p. 8

Detailed Explanation: Password spraying is an attack where an attacker tries a small number of commonly used passwords against a large number of usernames. The goal of password spraying is to avoid detection by avoiding too many failed login attempts for any one user account. The fact that different usernames are being attacked from the same IP address is a strong indication that a password spraying attack is underway.

Trusted Automated Exchange of Intelligence Information (TAXII) is a standard protocol that enables the sharing of cyber threat intelligence between organizations. It allows organizations to automate the exchange of information in a secure and timely manner. References: CompTIA Security+ Certification Exam Objectives - 3.6 Given a scenario, implement secure network architecture concepts. Study Guide: Chapter 4, page 167.