CS0-002 CompTIA CySA+ Certification Exam (CS0-002) Questions and Answers

Use data-at-rest scans to locate and identify sensitive data. This option is the best DLP consideration for addressing the sensitive data on the file servers. Data-at-rest scans are performed on data that is stored on a device or a network, such as file servers, and can help identify and classify sensitive data based on predefined policies or rules. The other options are not relevant for this scenario, as they either deal with data in transit (network DLP appliances), data in use (endpoint DLP agents), or cloud-based data (CASB device).

The correct answer is C. Detection and monitoring. Detection and monitoring is a function that involves collecting, analyzing, and correlating data from various sources, such as threat feeds, logs, alerts, or events, to identify and respond to potential or ongoing threats. Detection and monitoring can help the organization to consume multiple threat feeds simultaneously and to provide actionable intelligence to various teams, such as security operations center (SOC) analysts, incident responders, or threat hunters. Detection and monitoring can also help the organization to leverage the intelligence to enrich security event data, such as adding context, severity, or priority to the events1.

A. Vulnerability management is not correct. Vulnerability management is a function that involves identifying, assessing, and mitigating the weaknesses or flaws in systems, applications, or networks that could be exploited by attackers. Vulnerability management can help the organization to reduce its attack surface and prevent potential breaches, but it does not directly involve consuming multiple threat feeds simultaneously or providing actionable intelligence to various teams.

B. Risk management is not correct. Risk management is a function that involves identifying, analyzing, and evaluating the risks that could affect the organization’s assets, operations, or objectives. Risk management can help the organization to prioritize and implement appropriate controls or mitigation strategies to reduce the likelihood or impact of the risks, but it does not directly involve consuming multiple threat feeds simultaneously or providing actionable intelligence to various teams.

D. Incident response is not correct. Incident response is a function that involves preparing for, detecting, containing, analyzing, and recovering from security incidents that compromise the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the organization’s assets or operations. Incident response can help the organization to minimize the damage and restore normal operations as quickly as possible, but it does not directly involve consuming multiple threat feeds simultaneously or providing actionable intelligence to various teams.

1: Cybersecurity Analyst+ - CompTIA

The DMARC record’s policy tag is incorrectly configured and explains why the company’s requirements are not being processed correctly by mailbox providers. The policy tag (p) specifies how mailbox providers should handle messages from the domain that fail DMARC checks. The possible values for the policy tag are none, quarantine, or reject1. None means that no action is taken on failed messages and only reports are sent. Quarantine means that failed messages are treated as suspicious and may be filtered or marked as spam. Reject means that failed messages are rejected and not delivered. In this case, the company’s DMARC record has a policy tag value of none, which means that mailbox providers will not ignore any email that fails DMARC as required by the company. Instead, mailbox providers will deliver all messages from the domain regardless of their DMARC status and only send reports to the company. To fix this issue, the company should change its policy tag value to reject, which means that mailbox providers will reject and ignore any email that fails DMARC as required by the company. The DMARC record’s DKIM alignment tag (A) is not incorrectly configured and does not explain why the company’s requirements are not being processed correctly by mailbox providers. The DKIM alignment tag (adkim) specifies how strictly mailbox providers should match DKIM identifiers with From domain identifiers2. The possible values for DKIM alignment tag are s or r. S means strict alignment, which means that DKIM identifiers must exactly match From domain identifiers. R means relaxed alignment, which means that DKIM identifiers must match From domain identifiers at an organizational level (e.g., subdomain.example.com and example.com are considered aligned). In this case, the company’s DMARC record has a DKIM alignment tag value of r, which means that mailbox providers will use relaxed alignment for DKIM verification. 

data exfiltration is the unauthorized transfer of data from an organization’s network to an external destination, usually for malicious purposes such as espionage, sabotage, or theft. The details given in the question suggest that data exfiltration is occurring from an endpoint device. The bursts of network utilization every seven days indicate periodic data transfers. The content being transferred appears to be encrypted or obfuscated to avoid detection or analysis. The persistent outbound TCP connection from the host to infrastructure in a third-party cloud indicates a possible command and control channel for an attacker. The HDD utilization on the device grows by 10GB to 12GB over the course of every seven days, and single file sizes are 10GB, indicating that large amounts of data are being collected and compressed before being exfiltrated.

The first action that should be taken to prevent a more serious compromise is to check the hash signatures, comparing them with malware databases to verify if the files are infected. This will help to determine if the changes to hash signatures were caused by malicious software or legitimate updates. If the files are infected, they should be quarantined and removed from the network. Checking the hash signatures will also help to identify the type and source of the malware, which can inform further actions such as blocking malicious domains or IPs, updating antivirus signatures, or notifying users3.

File carving is a technique that involves scanning the raw data bytes of a hard disk and rebuilding files by using information found in file headers and footers. File carving can help recover files that have been deleted or corrupted or that are not recognized by the file system. File carving does not rely on metadata or directory structures to locate files, but rather on file signatures or patterns that indicate the start and end of files. File carving can be performed manually or automatically using tools or software that support various file formats. Header analysis (A) is a technique that involves examining file headers to determine file types or formats. Header analysis can help identify files that have been renamed or disguised or that have unknown extensions. Header analysis does not involve reconstructing files by scanning raw data bytes. Metadata analysis © is a technique that involves examining metadata to extract information about files or file systems. Metadata analysis can help determine file attributes such as name, size, date, location, owner, etc. Metadata analysis does not involve reconstructing files by scanning raw data bytes

Potential data loss to external users is a threat that applies to this situation, where the accounting department is hosting an accounts receivable form on a public document service. Anyone with the link can access it. Data loss is an event that results in the destruction, corruption, or unauthorized disclosure of sensitive or confidential data. Data loss can occur due to various reasons, such as human error, hardware failure, malware infection, or cyberattack. In this case, hosting an accounts receivable form on a public document service exposes the data to potential data loss to external users who may access it without authorization or maliciously modify or delete it .

A compensating control, also called an alternative control, is a mechanism that is put in place to satisfy the requirement for a security measure that is deemed too difficult or impractical to implement at the present time.

"Compensating controls are additional security measures that you take to address a vulnerability without remediating the underlying issue."

A compensating control is a control that reduces the risk of an existing or potential control weakness2 In this case, the lack of segregation of duties in the accounting department is a control weakness that increases the risk of fraud or error. The quarterly reviews by a different officer are a compensating control that reduces this risk by providing an independent verification of the transactions recorded by the controller.

Lessons learned is a critical stage of incident response that involves evaluating the effectiveness of the response, identifying gaps and areas for improvement, and updating the incident response plan accordingly1. Company leadership should be involved in this process to ensure they are aware of the incident, its impact, and the actions taken to prevent or mitigate future incidents. Additionally, company leadership can provide support and guidance for implementing the recommendations from the lessons learned session2.

Role-based access control (RBAC) is a method of restricting access to resources based on the roles of users within an organization. RBAC assigns permissions and privileges to roles, rather than individual users, and grants access based on the principle of least privilege3 RBAC can help mitigate the risk of privilege escalation attacks on SCADA devices by ensuring that only authorized users have access to SCADA administration and management functions, and that they have the minimum level of access required to perform their tasks.

A false positive is a condition in which harmless traffic is classified as a potential network attack by a NIDS. A NIDS is a network intrusion detection system that monitors network traffic for any signs of malicious or anomalous activity. A false positive can result in unnecessary alerts or actions by the NIDS, such as blocking legitimate traffic or generating false alarms. False positives can be caused by various factors, such as misconfigured rules, outdated signatures, noisy network traffic or benign anomalies3 .

SOAR has a wider breadth of capability using orchestration and automation, while SCAP is more limited in scope. SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation and Response) is a technology that helps coordinate, execute and automate tasks between various people and tools within a single platform. SOAR can help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of security operations by reducing manual effort, enhancing collaboration, and accelerating incident response1. SCAP (Security Content Automation Protocol) is a standard that enables automated vulnerability management, measurement and policy compliance evaluation of systems deployed in an organization2. SCAP can help assess the security posture and compliance status of systems by using predefined specifications and checklists. However, SCAP does not provide orchestration or automation capabilities beyond vulnerability scanning and reporting.

This is the digital-forensics technique that the analyst is using by running the cat file01.bin | hexdump -c command. This command displays the contents of the binary file in hexadecimal and ASCII format, which can help identify the file type based on its header or signature. In this case, the output snippet shows that the file type is JPEG, as indicated by the ff d8 ff e0 bytes at the beginning and the JFIF string in ASCII.

The output shows an entry from a system log that indicates a user was trying to download a password file from a remote system using PsExec. PsExec is a command-line tool that allows users to execute processes on remote systems. The entry shows that the user “administrator” tried to run PsExec with the following parameters: \192.168.1.100 -u administrator -p P@ssw0rd -c cmd.exe /c type c:\windows\system32\config\SAM > \192.168.1.101\c$\temp\sam.txt This means that the user tried to connect to the remote system with IP address 192.168.1.100 using the username “administrator” and password “P@ssw0rd”, copy cmd.exe to the remote system, and execute it with the command “type c:\windows\system32\config\SAM > \192.168.1.101\c$\temp\sam.txt”. This command attempts to read the SAM file, which contains hashed passwords of local users, and write it to a file on another system with IP address 192.168.1.101. References: CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) Certification Exam Objectives (CS0-002), page 8; https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/psexec

The hosts file is a text file that maps hostnames to IP addresses, and it can be used to override DNS resolution. The hosts file entries that should be used for further investigation are the ones that point to external or suspicious IP addresses, such as 198.51.100.5, which is a reserved IP address for documentation purposes. The other entries are either loopback addresses (::1 and 127.0.0.1) or internal network addresses (192.168.3.249), which are less likely to be malicious.

This is the most effective way to improve performance, as it allows you to reduce the amount of domains in the blocklist and reduce the size of the ACLs. By reviewing the blocklist and removing domains that are no longer active or no longer pose a threat, the blocklist can be reduced and the ACLs updated accordingly. This will reduce the amount of traffic and processing power required to manage the blocklist, and can help improve overall performance.

A virtualized system is a system that runs on a software layer called a hypervisor that emulates the hardware resources of a physical machine. A virtualized system can have its own operating system, applications, and data that are isolated from other virtualized systems or the host machine3 A virtualized system can be a solution for a small organization that has proprietary software that is used internally but cannot be updated with the rest of the environment. By virtualizing the system and decommissioning the physical machine, the organization can achieve several benefits, such as:

• Reducing hardware costs and maintenance
• Improving performance and scalability
• Enhancing security and compliance
• Simplifying backup and recovery
• Enabling portability and compatibility

Understanding assets and categories of assets is most important when developing a threat hunting program. Assets are anything that have value to an organization, such as data, systems, networks, applications, devices, people, processes, or reputation. Categories of assets are groups of assets that share common characteristics or attributes, such as type, function, location, owner, or criticality. Understanding assets and categories of assets can help to identify and prioritize the potential targets and impact of threats in an organization. Understanding assets and categories of assets can also help to determine and apply appropriate security controls and measures for each asset or category. Understanding assets and categories of assets can also help to collect and analyze relevant data and indicators for each asset or category during threat hunting activities. Understanding penetration testing techniques (A) is not most important when developing a threat hunting program. Penetration testing techniques are methods or tools that are used to simulate attacks on a system or network to evaluate its security posture and identify vulnerabilities or weaknesses. Penetration testing techniques can help to validate and improve the security of an organization, but they are not directly related to threat hunting activities. Penetration testing techniques are reactive rather than proactive approaches to security. Understanding how to build correlation rules within a SIEM (B) is also not most important when developing a threat hunting program. Correlation rules are logic statements that define relationships or patterns between different events or data points in a system or network. A SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) is a software solution that collects, analyzes, and correlates data from various sources in an organization to provide security monitoring and alerting capabilities1. Correlation rules can help to detect and respond to known threats in an organization, but they are not sufficient for threat hunting activities. Correlation rules are based on predefined criteria rather than hypotheses or assumptions about unknown threats. Understanding security software technologies © is also not most important when developing a threat hunting program. Security software technologies are applications or programs that provide security functions or features for an organization, such as antivirus software, firewalls, encryption software, VPNs (Virtual Private Networks), etc2. Security software technologies can help to protect an organization from various threats, but they are not essential for threat hunting activities. Security software technologies are based on signatures or heuristics rather than indicators of compromise or behavioral analysis.

References: 1: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/24771/technical-controls  2: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/25888/security-development-lifecycle-sdl

CSRF tokens are random values that are generated by the server and included in requests that perform state-changing actions. They are used to prevent CSRF attacks by verifying that the request originates from a legitimate source. However, if the CSRF tokens are transmitted using cookies, they are vulnerable to being stolen or forged by an attacker who can exploit other vulnerabilities, such as cross-site scripting (XSS) or cookie injection. Therefore, a better option is to avoid the transmission of CSRF tokens using cookies and use other methods, such as hidden form fields or custom HTTP headers. References: CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) Certification Exam Objectives (CS0-002), page 11; https://owasp.org/www-community/attacks/csrf

Validating user input before execution and interpretation can help to prevent dynamic code evaluation script injection vulnerabilities by checking and filtering any malicious input from the user that may contain code or commands. Dynamic code evaluation script injection is a type of vulnerability that occurs when an application accepts user input and executes or interprets it as part of its own code without proper validation or sanitization. This can allow an attacker to inject arbitrary code or commands into the application and execute them with the same privileges as the application . Validating user input before execution and interpretation can help to ensure that the input conforms to the expected format, length and type, and does not contain any malicious characters or syntax that may alter the logic or behavior of the application .

If were referring to other devices, yes - Implement BIOS passwords before they are compromised. But the ones that were already compromised, they need to be removed from the system to avoid further exploitation. Plus, if you put a password on there, the attacker may now have your password.

Remove the assets from the production network for analysis. If the analyst receives an alert about unauthorized changes to the firmware versions on several field devices, the best action to recommend to the asset owners is to remove the assets from the production network for analysis. This would prevent further exploitation of the devices by isolating them from potential attackers and allow the analyst to investigate the source and nature of the unauthorized changes. Changing the passwords on the devices, implementing BIOS passwords, or reporting the findings to the threat intel community are other possible actions, but they are not as effective or urgent as removing the assets from the production network for analysis. Reference: https://www.sans.org/reading-room/whitepapers/incident/incident-handlers-handbook-33901

The grep command is a tool that searches for a pattern of characters in a file or input and prints the matching lines1 The egrep command is a variant of grep that supports extended regular expressions, which allow more complex and flexible pattern matching2 The more command is a filter that displays the contents of a file or input one screen at a time3 The pipe symbol (|) is used to redirect the output of one command to the input of another command. The redirection symbol (>) is used to redirect the output of a command to a file.

The command given in option C performs the following steps:

• It uses the more command to display the contents of the webserver.log file.
• It pipes the output of the more command to the grep command, which searches for lines that contain ‘*.xls’, which is a pattern that matches any file name ending with .xls (a spreadsheet file extension).
• It pipes the output of the grep command to the egrep command, which searches for lines that contain ‘return=200’, which is a pattern that matches any HTTP status code of 200 (which indicates a successful request).
• It redirects the output of the egrep command to a file named accessreport.txt, which contains the date, time, and IP address associated with any spreadsheet downloads.

The server violates the policy of no network access to the internet because it has an established connection to an external IP address (216.58.194.174) on port 443, which is used for HTTPS traffic. This indicates that the server is communicating with a web server on the internet, which is not allowed by the policy. The other policies are not violated because SSH is only used for management of the server (not for accessing other devices), users are utilizing their own accounts (not logging in as an administrator), and unnecessary services are not enabled (only SSH and HTTPS are running). References: CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) Certification Exam Objectives (CS0-002), page 9; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jump_server

According to the CompTIA CySA+ (CS0-002) best practices, the most useful information data points to provide to the security manager for communicating the risk factors to senior management are the impact and adversary capability. The impact refers to the potential consequences of a successful attack or exploitation of a vulnerability, such as data loss or system compromise. The adversary capability refers to the ability of an attacker to exploit a vulnerability, including their technical expertise and resources. Together, these data points help to provide a complete picture of the risk associated with a vulnerability, and allow senior management to make informed decisions regarding risk mitigation and remediation. The other data points, such as probability, attack vector, classification, and indicators of compromise, can also be valuable, but the impact and adversary capability are considered the most critical for prioritizing risk mitigation efforts.

Port triggering is a technique that allows inbound traffic to access certain ports on a device only after an outbound traffic request has been made from those ports. It can enhance the security and performance of a device by opening ports only when needed and closing them when not in use. The output from the network enumeration activities shows that port 21 (FTP) and port 22 (SSH) are open only after port 80 (HTTP) has been accessed, which indicates that port triggering is most likely being used. A web application firewall, an intrusion prevention system, port isolation, or port address translation are other techniques that can affect network traffic, but they do not match the description of the output from the network enumeration activities. Reference: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/3846/port-triggering

Generating hashes for each file from the hard drive is the next action that the analyst should perform to ensure the data integrity of the evidence. Hashing is a technique that produces a unique and fixed-length value for a given input, such as a file or a message. Hashing can help to verify the data integrity of the evidence by comparing the hash values of the original and copied files. If the hash values match, then the evidence has not been altered or corrupted. If the hash values differ, then the evidence may have been tampered with or damaged .

A script is a program that can automate tasks or perform actions on a computer system. A script can be used to attempt multiple login attempts with different credentials, either randomly or from a list of known or guessed usernames and passwords. This can be done to gain unauthorized access to a system or to test its security12.

Users 4 and 5 are not using their credentials to transfer files or run tasks, because the report shows that they have failed login attempts on multiple servers. If they were authorized users, they would not have failed login attempts. Also, transferring files or running tasks does not require multiple login attempts on different servers.

A bot is a software application that runs automated tasks over the Internet. A bot can also be used to perform brute-force attacks, which are repeated attempts to guess a password or other authentication information. However, a bot would not use login credentials in a script, but rather generate random or common passwords to try3.

A hypothesis is a statement that can be tested by threat hunters to establish a framework for threat assessment. A hypothesis is based on situational awareness and threat intelligence information, and describes a possible attack scenario that may affect the organization. A hypothesis can help to guide threat hunters in their investigation by providing a clear and specific question to answer, such as “Is there any evidence of lateral movement within our network?” or “Are there any signs of data exfiltration from our servers?”.

 The security analyst should implement a control that uses built-in functions from libraries to check and handle long numbers properly. This will help prevent integer overflow vulnerabilities, which occur when a value is moved into a variable type too small to hold it. For example, if an integer variable can only store values up to 255, and a value of 256 is assigned to it, the variable will overflow and wrap around to 0. This can cause unexpected program behavior or lead to buffer overflow vulnerabilities if the overflowed value is used as an index or size for memory allocation1. Built-in functions from libraries can help avoid integer overflow by performing checks on the input values and the resulting values, and throwing exceptions or errors if they exceed the limits of the variable type2.

Segmenting the network to include all legacy systems is a strategy that can prevent the propagation of the malware throughout the network, by isolating the systems that cannot be patched from the rest of the network. Segmenting the network can also reduce the exposure and impact of the malware, by limiting its access to other resources or systems.

A managerial control is a function of management that involves setting performance standards, measuring performance, and taking corrective actions when necessary. A managerial control helps to regulate the organizational activities and ensure that they are aligned with the organizational goals and objectives1. One of the functions of a managerial control is to help design and implement the security planning, program development, and maintenance of the security life cycle. The security life cycle is a process that defines the phases of security activities from initiation to disposal2. A managerial control can help to establish the security policies, procedures, roles, and responsibilities for each phase of the security life cycle. A managerial control can also help to monitor and evaluate the security performance and effectiveness of each phase and take corrective actions if needed.

A Diamond Model analysis of an incident is a framework that identifies the four essential features of an attack: adversary, capability, infrastructure, and victim1 By analyzing these features and their relationships, a security analyst can gain insights into the attack’s objectives, methods, sources, and targets. A potential benefit of this activity is that it can identify detection and prevention capabilities to improve, such as gaps in security controls, indicators of compromise, or mitigation strategies2

References: 1 What is the Diamond Model of Intrusion Analysis? 2 How to use the MITRE ATT&CK® framework and diamond model of intrusion analysis together

Threat intelligence is a collection and analysis of information about current and emerging threats and vulnerabilities that affect an organization’s assets and operations. Threat intelligence can help to guide risk evaluation activities by providing context, prioritization and recommendations for mitigating firmware vulnerabilities. For example, threat intelligence can help to identify which firmware vulnerabilities are actively exploited in the wild, which ones have high severity or impact, and which ones have available patches or workarounds. Implementing critical updates after proper testing can help to ensure that the firmware updates are trusted, compatible and effective. Testing can help to verify the integrity and authenticity of the firmware updates, as well as their compatibility with the existing system configuration and functionality. Testing can also help to identify any issues or conflicts that may arise from applying the firmware updates and resolve them before deployment12.

Static analysis is a method of analyzing software code without executing it, by using tools or techniques that check for syntax errors, logic errors, vulnerabilities, coding standards, and other quality issues. Static analysis can help software developers to correct the error-handling capabilities of an application before pushing it to production, as it can detect potential errors and bugs at an early stage of development. A web-application vulnerability scan (A) is a method of testing web applications for security flaws by simulating attacks and analyzing responses. It can be useful for finding vulnerabilities in web applications, but not for validating the error-handling capabilities of an application. A packet inspection © is a method of monitoring network traffic by examining the data packets that are sent and received over a network. It can be useful for detecting malicious or unauthorized activity on a network, but not for validating the error-handling capabilities of an application. A penetration test (D) is a method of evaluating the security of a system or network by simulating real-world attacks and exploiting vulnerabilities. It can be useful for assessing the overall security posture of a system or network, but not for validating the error-handling capabilities of an application.

References: : https://www.techopedia.com/definition/14436/static-analysis : https://www.techopedia.com/definition/4160/web-application-security-scanner-was : https://www.techopedia.com/definition/4010/packet-inspection : https://www.techopedia.com/definition/13493/penetration-testing

A jump box is a system that is connected to two networks and acts as a gateway or intermediary between them1. A jump box can help to isolate and secure a network by limiting the direct access to it from other networks. A jump box can also help to monitor and audit the traffic and activity on the network. A VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) is a technology that allows users to access virtual desktops that are hosted on a server2. A VDI can help to provide users with the necessary tools and applications for analysis without installing them on their own PCs. A VDI can also help to reduce the maintenance and management costs of the desktops. A VDI can operate in two modes: persistent and non-persistent. In persistent mode, each user has a dedicated virtual desktop that retains its settings and data across sessions. In non-persistent mode, each user has a temporary virtual desktop that is deleted or reset after each session3. In this scenario, deploying a jump box to allow access to the laboratory network and using VDI in non-persistent mode can meet the security objectives of the request. The jump box can prevent the partners’ PCs from connecting directly to the laboratory network and reduce the risk of unauthorized access or compromise. The VDI in non-persistent mode can provide the necessary tools for analysis without storing any data on the partners’ PCs or the virtual desktops. The VDI in non-persistent mode can also allow the partners to run long analyses without losing their progress or results. Deploying a firewall (B) may not be sufficient or effective, as a firewall only filters or blocks traffic based on rules and does not provide access or tools for analysis. Using VDI in persistent mode (A) © may not be secure or efficient, as persistent mode stores data on the virtual desktops that may be sensitive or confidential.

References: 1: https://www.techrepublic.com/article/jump-boxes-vs-firewalls/  2: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/26139/virtual-desktop-infrastructure-vdi  3: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/31686/resource-exhaustion

This line from the output most likely indicates that attackers could quickly use brute force and determine the negotiated secret session key, as it represents a weak cipher suite that uses an outdated encryption algorithm, a small key size, and no forward secrecy. A cipher suite is a combination of cryptographic algorithms and parameters that are used to establish a secure communication channel between two parties. The cipher suite in this line consists of four components: TLS_RSA_WITH_DES_CBC_SHA 56.

• TLS stands for Transport Layer Security, and it is a protocol that provides security and privacy for network communications.
• RSA stands for Rivest-Shamir-Adleman, and it is an algorithm that uses public-key cryptography for key exchange and authentication.
• DES stands for Data Encryption Standard, and it is an algorithm that uses symmetric-key cryptography for data encryption.
• CBC stands for Cipher Block Chaining, and it is a mode of operation that encrypts each block of data by XORing it with the previous ciphertext block.
• SHA stands for Secure Hash Algorithm, and it is an algorithm that produces a fixed-length hash value from any input data.
• 56 stands for the key size in bits, which indicates how strong or secure the encryption is.

The cipher suite in this line is weak because:

• DES is an outdated encryption algorithm that has been broken by brute force attacks, as it has a small key size of 56 bits, which can be easily guessed by modern computers.
• RSA does not provide forward secrecy, which means that if the RSA private key is compromised, all past and future communications encrypted with that key can be decrypted by an attacker.
• SHA is also an outdated hash algorithm that has been replaced by newer versions such as SHA-2 or SHA-3, as it has some vulnerabilities and weaknesses.

 UEFI, or Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, is a specification that defines the software interface between an operating system and platform firmware. UEFI replaces the legacy BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) interface that was used to boot and configure computers. UEFI provides several advantages over BIOS, such as faster boot times, better security features, larger disk support, graphical user interface, etc. One of the security features that UEFI supports is Secure Boot, which is a mechanism that ensures that only authorized software can run during the boot process. Secure Boot prevents unauthorized or malicious code from loading or executing before the operating system starts. Secure Boot works by verifying the digital signature of each piece of boot software against a database of trusted keys stored in UEFI firmware. If the signature is valid, the software is allowed to run; otherwise, it is blocked or rejected.

Requests sent from the same IP address using different user agents are likely to be malicious or suspicious, as they indicate that an attacker is trying to evade detection or bypass security controls by changing their browser or device identification. These requests may indicate that an attacker is using automated tools or scripts to scan or attack the web server.

Requests identified by a threat intelligence service with a bad reputation are also likely to be malicious or suspicious, but they are not the source of the activity, as they originate from different IP addresses. These requests may indicate that an attacker is trying to exploit a vulnerability or perform reconnaissance on the web server.

Requests blocked by the web server per the input sanitization are not likely to be the source of the activity, as they indicate that the web server has successfully prevented an attack by validating and filtering any malicious input from the requests. These requests may indicate that an attacker is trying to inject malicious code or commands into the web server.

Failed log-in attempts against the web application are not likely to be the source of the activity, as they indicate that the web application has successfully prevented unauthorized access by verifying and rejecting any invalid credentials from the requests. These requests may indicate that an attacker is trying to guess or brute-force passwords or usernames for the web application.

Requests sent by NICs with outdated firmware are not likely to be the source of the activity, as they indicate that some devices on the network have not been updated with the latest security patches or features for their network interface cards (NICs). These requests may indicate that some devices are vulnerable to network attacks or have performance issues.

Existence of HTTP/501 status codes generated to the same IP address are not likely to be the source of the activity, as they indicate that the web server has encountered an error or does not support a request method from the client. These requests may indicate that an attacker is trying to use an invalid or unsupported method to access the web server.

The suspicious event was able to accomplish establishing persistence by creating a registry change that runs a command shell process every time a user logs on. The registry change modifies the Userinit value under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon key, which specifies what programs should run when a user logs on to Windows. By appending “cmd.exe,” to the existing value, the event ensures that a command shell process will be launched every time a user logs on, which can allow the attacker to maintain access to the system or execute malicious commands. The other options are not related to the registry change. References: CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) Certification Exam Objectives (CS0-002), page 10; https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/sysinfo/userinit-entry

Disabling unused modules is a proactive control that can reduce the attack surface of a web server, by minimizing the number of potential entry points or vulnerabilities that an attacker can exploit. Disabling unused modules can also improve the performance and stability of the web server, by freeing up resources and reducing complexity.

The vulnerability scan report shows that the workstation has a high-risk vulnerability (CVE-2019-0708) that affects Remote Desktop Services on Windows systems. This vulnerability allows remote code execution without authentication or user interaction, and can be exploited by sending specially crafted requests to the target system1 As part of the detection and analysis procedures, the analyst should confirm the workstation’s signatures against the most current signatures. This can help verify if the workstation has been patched or updated to address the vulnerability, or if it is still vulnerable and needs remediation. The analyst can use tools such as Windows Update or Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer to check the workstation’s patch level and compare it with the latest available signatures.

A cybersecurity analyst is researching operational data to develop a script that will detect the presence of a threat on corporate assets. The most useful information to produce this script is MITRE ATT&CK reports. MITRE ATT&CK is a knowledge base of adversary tactics and techniques based on real-world observations. MITRE ATT&CK reports provide detailed information on how different threat actors operate, what tools they use, what indicators they leave behind, and how to detect or mitigate their attacks. The other options are not as useful or relevant for this purpose. References: CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) Certification Exam Objectives (CS0-002), page 9; https://attack.mitre.org/

Output encoding is a technique that converts user-generated input in a web form before it is displayed by the browser. Output encoding is a form of data sanitization that prevents cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks, which occur when malicious scripts are injected into web pages and executed by unsuspecting users4. Output encoding works by replacing special characters in user input, such as <, >, ", ', &, etc., with their HTML-encoded equivalents, such as <, >, ", ', &, etc. This prevents the browser from interpreting the user input as HTML or JavaScript code and executing it.

Supervised and unsupervised machine-learning algorithms are two types of machine-learning methods that are used in cybersecurity applications. Machine learning is a branch of artificial intelligence that enables systems to learn from data and improve their performance without explicit programming.

Supervised machine-learning algorithms are trained on labeled data, which means that each data point has a known outcome or class. Supervised algorithms learn to map input data to output data by finding patterns or rules from the training data. Supervised algorithms require security analyst feedback to provide labels for the data and evaluate the accuracy of the algorithm’s predictions. Examples of supervised machine-learning algorithms are classification and regression.

Unsupervised machine-learning algorithms are trained on unlabeled data, which means that each data point has no known outcome or class. Unsupervised algorithms learn to discover hidden structures or patterns from the data without any guidance or feedback. Unsupervised algorithms do not require security analyst feedback, as they do not rely on predefined labels or outcomes. Examples of unsupervised machine-learning algorithms are clustering and anomaly detection.

An eFuse, or electronic fuse, is a microscopic fuse put into a computer chip that can be blown by applying a high voltage or current. Once blown, an eFuse cannot be reset or repaired, and its state can be read by software or hardware2 An eFuse can be used by a hardware manufacturer to prevent firmware downgrades on a system-on-chip (SoC) that will be used by mobile devices. An eFuse can store information such as the firmware version, security level, or device configuration on the chip. When a newer firmware is installed, an eFuse can be blown to indicate the update and prevent reverting to an older firmware. This can help protect the device from security vulnerabilities, compatibility issues, or unauthorized modifications.

SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response) reduces the amount of human intervention required, which is an advantage over SIEM (Security Information and Event Management). SIEM is a tool that collects, analyzes, and correlates data from various sources, such as logs, alerts, and events, to provide security monitoring and incident detection. SIEM can help security teams identify and prioritize potential threats, but it still requires manual intervention to investigate and respond to incidents2. SOAR is a tool that builds on SIEM by automating and orchestrating various security tasks and workflows, such as incident response, threat hunting, and threat intelligence. SOAR can help security teams reduce manual effort, improve efficiency, and accelerate incident resolution3.

Anti-tamper is a process that protects a system or device from unauthorized changes or modifications. It can also log and report any attempts to alter the system or device. The company is using anti-tamper to ensure the appliance is not altered from its original configured state. CI/CD, software assurance, and change management are not processes that specifically deal with unauthorized changes. Reference: https://www.acq.osd.mil/se/briefs/16943-DoD-AT-Overview-Brief.pdf

Authentication is a method of verifying a user’s identity by requiring some piece of evidence, such as something the user knows (e.g., password), something the user has (e.g., token), or something the user is (e.g., fingerprint). Authentication is the best method to prevent unauthorized use of an API, because it ensures that only legitimate users can access or use the API functions or data. HTTPS, geofencing, or rate limiting are other methods that can enhance the security or performance of an API, but they do not prevent unauthorized use of an API. Reference: https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/api/what-is-api-security

https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/data-masking

Masking is a technique that involves replacing or hiding some parts of sensitive information with symbols or characters, such as asterisks (*) or Xs. Masking can help safeguard the confidentiality of sensitive information while allowing limited access to authorized individuals, because it obscures the original data without altering its format or structure. For example, masking can be used to hide some digits of a credit card number or a social security number. Deidentification, hashing, or salting are other techniques that involve transforming or modifying sensitive information, but they do not allow limited access to authorized individuals. Reference: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/ims/14.1?topic=masking-data

Reporting this activity as a false positive, as the activity is legitimate, is the best way for the security analyst to respond. A false positive is a condition in which harmless traffic is classified as a potential network attack by a security monitoring tool. Ping requests are a common network diagnostic tool that can be used to test network connectivity issues. The technician who responded to potential network connectivity issues was performing a legitimate task and did not pose any threat to the accounting and human resources servers .

Enforcing geofencing to limit data accessibility is the best option to ensure the privacy of the data that is on its systems. Geofencing is a technique that uses GPS or RFID technology to create a virtual geographic boundary around a specific location or area. Geofencing can be used to restrict data accessibility based on the location of the device or user that tries to access it. For example, geofencing can prevent employees from accessing sensitive data when they are outside the office premises or in a different country3. Geofencing can help protect data privacy and comply with data protection regulations that may vary across regions or jurisdictions.

Server-side input validation is a solution that can prevent cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities by checking and filtering any user input that is sent to the server before rendering it on a web page. Server-side input validation can help to ensure that the user input conforms to the expected format, length and type, and does not contain any malicious characters or syntax that may alter the logic or behavior of the web page. Server-side input validation can also reject or sanitize any input that does not meet the validation criteria .

"Technical controls enforce confidentiality, integrity, and availability in the digital space. Examples of technical security controls include firewall rules, access control lists, intrusion prevention systems, and encryption."

A technical control is a type of control that uses technology or software to protect data and systems from unauthorized access or misuse3. A technical control can include encryption, authentication, firewalls, antivirus software, and other mechanisms that rely on hardware or software. Placing an ACL (access control list) on a file folder is an example of a technical control. An ACL is a list of permissions that specifies who can access or modify a file or folder4. An ACL can help to enforce confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data by restricting access to authorized users only.

A firewall is a device or software that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predefined rules or policies. A firewall can help prevent unauthorized or malicious traffic from entering or leaving a network, and protect network resources from external threats. Placing a firewall in between the corporate network and the guest network can help prevent a guest device from infecting machines on the corporate network or taking down the company’s single internet connection, as it can block or filter any unwanted or harmful traffic from the guest network.

A data minimization plan is a strategy that aims to reduce the amount and type of data that an organization collects, stores, and processes. It can help improve data privacy and protection by limiting the exposure and impact of a data breach or loss. Creating a data minimization plan is the best recommendation for a security officer who needs to find the most cost-effective solution to the current data privacy and protection gap. Requiring users to sign NDAs, adding access control requirements, or implementing a data loss prevention solution are other possible solutions, but they are not as cost-effective as creating a data minimization plan. Reference: https://www.csoonline.com/article/3603898/data-minimization-what-is-it-and-how-to-implement-it.html

Data masking is a technique that replaces sensitive data with fictitious but realistic data, thus preventing unauthorized access to the original data. Reencrypting the data sets using AES-256 would provide a stronger level of encryption than Triple DES, which has been deprecated by NIST due to its vulnerability to attacks12

References: 1 What Is AES-256 Encryption? How Does It Work? - MUO 2 Archived NIST Technical Series Publication

The analyst should request a configuration change on the company’s public DNS as the next step, as this can help resolve the issue of marketing campaigns being filtered by the customer’s email servers. The issue is caused by SPF validation failures, which indicate that the marketing partner’s email address is not authorized to send emails on behalf of the company’s domain. SPF stands for Sender Policy Framework, and it is a mechanism that allows domain owners to specify which IP addresses or hosts are allowed to send emails using their domain name. SPF validation is done by checking the SPF record of the sender’s domain in the public DNS, and comparing it with the IP address or host name of the sender’s email server. To fix this issue, the analyst should request a configuration change on the company’s public DNS to add or update the SPF record to include the marketing partner’s email address or IP address as a valid sender.

The software development life cycle (SDLC) is a process that consists of several phases that guide the development of software applications or systems. Security should be involved in every phase of the SDLC, but especially in the planning phase, which is the first phase where the scope, objectives, requirements, and resources of the project are defined. By involving security in the planning phase, potential risks and threats can be identified and mitigated early in the process, which can save time, money, and effort later on. Design, maintenance, implementation, analysis, and testing are other phases of the SDLC, but they are not the first phase where security should be involved. Reference: https://www.bmc.com/blogs/software-development-life-cycle-phases/

Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts the files or disks of a victim’s device and demands a ransom for the decryption key. Ransomware can cause significant damage, disruption, and data loss for individuals and organizations. To prevent this type of incident in the future, the best strategy is to combine user education and data protection. A ransomware awareness program can help users recognize and avoid potential ransomware attacks, such as phishing emails, malicious attachments, or compromised websites. A secure and verifiable backup system can help users recover their data in case of a ransomware infection, without paying the ransom or relying on the attackers. A backup system should be regularly tested and updated, and stored offline or in a separate location from the original data.

Kitten and Jackal are two APT (Advanced Persistent Threat) adversary archetypes that represent non-nation-state threat actors. APT adversary archetypes are categories of threat actors that share common characteristics, such as motivation, objectives, capabilities, or tactics. APT adversary archetypes can help security analysts understand and prioritize the threats they face2. Kitten is a term used to describe Iranian-based threat actors that are typically not backed by the Iranian government. They are motivated by ideological or religious beliefs and target political or regional adversaries3. Jackal is a term used to describe cybercriminal groups that operate as mercenaries or proxies for other threat actors. They are motivated by financial gain and target various sectors and regions.

Documenting the chain of custody is an important step in the forensic analysis of any device, as it helps to ensure that all evidence is collected and preserved correctly. A memory dump is also essential, as it can provide information about the state of the device when the attack occurred and can be used for further analysis.

Documenting the respective chain of custody can help to preserve the integrity and admissibility of the evidence collected from the mobile device during the forensic analysis. Chain of custody is a record of who handled, accessed or modified the evidence, when, where, how and why . Performing a memory dump of the mobile device for analysis can help to extract volatile data from the mobile device that may contain valuable information about the ransomware attack, such as processes, network connections or encryption keys. Memory dump is a process of copying the contents of the memory (RAM) to a file or storage device .

References: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/23371/chain-of-custody https://www.techopedia.com/definition/10339/memory-dump

APTs utilize methods and technologies differently than other threats. APTs stand for Advanced Persistent Threats, and they are sophisticated and stealthy attacks that target specific organizations or networks over a long period of time, often with political or financial motives. APTs utilize methods and technologies differently than other threats, such as using custom-made malware, exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities, leveraging social engineering techniques, or employing multiple vectors of attack. APTs can also evade detection by existing security tools or controls, by using encryption, obfuscation, proxy servers, or other techniques to hide their activities or communications.

An example of API is google weather app, using the weather channel's API to collect accurate weather data and broadcast it on goggle weather app, so google doesn't have to do it their selves

API stands for application programming interface, which is a set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications or components to communicate and exchange data. Using an API would be the best way to acquire data from a cloud-based vulnerability assessment solution for both the configuration management database and the governance risk and compliance tool, because it would allow automated and standardized data transfer between different systems. CSV export, SOAR, or machine learning are not methods of data acquisition, but rather formats or tools that can be used for data analysis or processing. Reference: https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/api/what-are-application-programming-interfaces

User acceptance testing is a process of verifying that a software application meets the requirements and expectations of the end users before it is released to production. User acceptance testing can help to validate the functionality, usability, performance and compatibility of the software application with real-world scenarios and feedback . User acceptance testing can involve various teams, such as developers, testers, customers and stakeholders.

A forensic analyst is conducting an investigation on a compromised server. The first step that the analyst should do to preserve evidence is to back up all log files and audit trails. This will ensure that the analyst has a copy of the original data that can be used for analysis and verification. Backing up the log files and audit trails will also prevent any tampering or modification of the evidence by the attacker or other parties. The other options are not the first steps or may alter or destroy the evidence. References: CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) Certification Exam Objectives (CS0-002), page 16; https://www.nist.gov/publications/guide-collection-and-preservation-digital-evidence

A risk assessment is a process of identifying, analyzing, and evaluating the potential threats and vulnerabilities that may affect an organization’s assets, operations, or objectives. A risk assessment matrix is a tool that can help prioritize the risks based on their likelihood and impact1.

The CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) is a standard framework for rating the severity of vulnerabilities in software systems. The CVSS provides a numerical score from 0 to 10, as well as a qualitative rating from Low to Critical, based on the characteristics and consequences of the vulnerability2.

However, the CVSS score alone may not be sufficient to determine the priority of mitigation and remediation actions for each vulnerability. Other factors that may influence the decision include:

• Patch availability: This metric indicates whether there is a fix or update available for the vulnerability from the vendor or developer. Patch availability can affect the urgency and feasibility of remediation, as well as the risk exposure and potential damage of exploitation. For example, a vulnerability with a high CVSS score but with a readily available patch may be less critical than a vulnerability with a lower CVSS score but with no patch available3.
• Mission criticality: This metric reflects the importance and value of the asset or system affected by the vulnerability to the organization’s mission, goals, or functions. Mission criticality can affect the impact and priority of remediation, as well as the risk tolerance and acceptance level of the organization. For example, a vulnerability with a high CVSS score but affecting a non-essential system may be less critical than a vulnerability with a lower CVSS score but affecting a core system4.
• OS type: This metric indicates the operating system (OS) of the asset or system affected by the vulnerability. OS type can affect the likelihood and complexity of exploitation, as well as the availability and compatibility of patches or mitigations. For example, a vulnerability with a high CVSS score but affecting an uncommon or unsupported OS may be less critical than a vulnerability with a lower CVSS score but affecting a widely used or supported OS3.
• OS or application versions: This metric indicates the specific version of the OS or application affected by the vulnerability. OS or application versions can affect the applicability and relevance of the vulnerability, as well as the availability and compatibility of patches or mitigations. For example, a vulnerability with a high CVSS score but affecting an outdated or obsolete version may be less critical than a vulnerability with a lower CVSS score but affecting a current or popular version3.
• System architecture: This metric indicates the design and configuration of the asset or system affected by the vulnerability. System architecture can affect the exposure and accessibility of the vulnerability, as well as the effectiveness and efficiency of patches or mitigations. For example, a vulnerability with a high CVSS score but affecting an isolated or segmented system may be less critical than a vulnerability with a lower CVSS score but affecting an interconnected or integrated system3.

Therefore, to best enable the organization to prioritize its efforts based on impact, patch availability is one of the most important metrics to consider in addition to the CVSS score for each CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures). Patch availability can directly influence the risk level and remediation strategy for each vulnerability.

A vulnerability scan is a process of identifying and assessing known vulnerabilities in a system or network using automated tools or software1 A vulnerability scan can help improve the security posture of a vulnerability management program by detecting and prioritizing potential weaknesses that could be exploited by attackers. To increase the security posture of a vulnerability scan, the following actions can be taken:

• Expand the ports being scanned to include all ports: This means scanning all possible ports on a system or network, not just the well-known or commonly used ones. This can help discover more vulnerabilities that may be hidden or overlooked on less frequently used ports.
• Increase the scan interval to a number the business will accept without causing service interruption: This means scanning more frequently or regularly, but not so often that it causes performance issues or downtime for the system or network. This can help keep up with new vulnerabilities that may emerge over time and reduce the window of opportunity for attackers.
• Enable authentication and perform credentialed scans: This means using login credentials or SSH keys on an asset to get deeper access to its data, processes, configurations, and vulnerabilities2 This can help discover more vulnerabilities that cannot be seen from the network, such as insecure versions of software or poor security permissions.

A breach notification is a communication to affected individuals or entities that informs them of a security incident involving their personal or sensitive information. A breach notification may include details such as what information was compromised, when and how the incident occurred, what actions are being taken to mitigate the impact, and what steps the recipients should take to protect themselves3 A breach notification may be required by law or regulation, depending on the type and location of the information involved and the jurisdiction of the affected parties. Different countries or regions may have different breach notification requirements, such as who must be notified, when, how, and what information must be disclosed4 Therefore, the best role to determine the breach notification requirements for a company that experienced a breach of sensitive information affecting customers across multiple geographical regions is legal counsel. Legal counsel can advise the company on its legal obligations and liabilities, as well as help draft and deliver appropriate breach notifications.

SaaS stands for Software as a Service, which is a cloud model that allows users to access software applications over the internet without installing or maintaining them on their own devices. SaaS will allow all data to be kept on the third-party network, because the software applications and the data they generate or process are stored on the cloud provider’s servers. VDI, CASB, and FaaS are other terms related to cloud computing or security, but they do not match the description of keeping all data on the third-party network. Reference: https://www.ibm.com/cloud/learn/software-as-a-service

TPM (Trusted Platform Module) is a hardware chip that provides security features using unique keys2. TPM can store cryptographic keys that are used for encryption, authentication, digital signatures, and other security functions. TPM can also generate random keys that are unique to each device and never leave the chip. TPM can protect these keys from unauthorized access or tampering by using hardware isolation and encryption3. TPM can also measure and verify the integrity of the operating system and firmware on a device by using a process called attestation. TPM does not ensure platform confidentiality by storing security measurements (B), as security measurements are used for attestation, not confidentiality. TPM does not improve management of OS installation ©, as OS installation is not directly related to TPM functionality. TPM does not implement encryption algorithms for hard drives (D), as encryption algorithms are implemented by software such as BitLocker, which can use TPM keys for encryption.

References: 2: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/what-is-tpm-705f241d-025d-4470-80c5-4feeb24fa1ee  3: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/24771/technical-controls : https://www.techopedia.com/definition/25888/security-development-lifecycle-sdl

SIEM software is a tool that provides a single centralized platform for the collection, monitoring, and management of security-related events and log data from across the enterprise1. SIEM software can help security analysts detect, investigate, and respond to threats, as well as comply with regulations and standards.

IPS stands for Intrusion Prevention System. It is a device or software that monitors network traffic and blocks or modifies malicious packets before they reach their destination2. IPS can help security analysts prevent attacks, protect sensitive data, and reduce network downtime.

A security analyst working for a biotechnology lab that is planning to release details about a new cancer treatment would most likely be monitoring for A. Intellectual property loss. Intellectual property (IP) refers to the creations of the mind, such as inventions, designs, artistic works, or trade secrets3. IP loss occurs when someone steals, leaks, or misuses the IP of an organization without authorization.

The biotechnology lab’s new cancer treatment is an example of IP that has high value and potential impact on the market and society. Therefore, the security analyst would want to protect it from competitors, hackers, or other malicious actors who might try to access it illegally or sabotage it. The security analyst would use SIEM software and IPS to monitor for any signs of unauthorized access, data exfiltration, or tampering with the lab’s network or systems.

The email message that was quarantined and requires further review is an example of a phishing attempt that tries to trick the recipient into buying gift cards for a fake urgent request from a senior executive. The security analyst should delete the email and block the sender to prevent further attempts from reaching other users in the organization. Releasing the email for delivery, contacting a purchasing agent to expedite, or purchasing the gift cards and submitting an expense report are actions that would fall for the phishing attempt and result in financial loss or reputation damage for the organization. Reference: https://www.csoonline.com/article/3444488/what-is-phishing-how-this-cyber-attack-works-and-how-to-prevent-it.html

Threat feeds are sources of information that provide timely and relevant data about current or emerging cyber threats, such as indicators of compromise (IOCs), tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), or threat actors. An IDS, or intrusion detection system, is a tool that monitors network traffic and detects malicious or anomalous activities based on predefined or custom rules. Using an automated subscription to select threat feeds for IDS can help to improve security monitoring capabilities by providing the security team with up-to-date and actionable intelligence that can enhance the detection and response to cyberattacks

Live forensics is a technique that involves investigating an active threat on a system without shutting it down or altering its state, by using tools such as memory dumpers, process explorers, registry editors, or network analyzers. Live forensics can help preserve volatile data that may be lost if the system is powered off or rebooted, such as system memory, network connections, running processes, etc. Live forensics can also help identify and stop malicious activities in real time.

The tcpdump command is a network packet analyzer tool that can capture and display network traffic. The -w option specifies a file name to write the captured packets to, in a binary format that can be read by tcpdump or other tools later. This option is useful for capturing large amounts of network data that will be analyzed at a later time, as the question requires. The packet capture does not need to be in a format that is readable by humans, since it will be put into a binary file called “packetCapture”. The capture must be as efficient as possible, and the -w option minimizes the processing and output overhead of tcpdump, reducing the likelihood that packets will be missed.

Dynamic analysis is a method for end-to-end vulnerability assessment that involves testing an application while it is running, by simulating user inputs, network traffic, or environmental conditions. Dynamic analysis can help identify security issues that may arise from the interaction between different components of the application, such as logic flaws, input validation errors, or session management weaknesses.

Resource exhaustion is most likely occurring on the server. Resource exhaustion is a condition where a system runs out of resources, such as CPU, memory, disk space, or network bandwidth, due to excessive demand or consumption by one or more processes. Resource exhaustion can cause performance degradation, system instability, or denial-of-service. The server statistics show that the CPU usage is 100%, the memory usage is 99%, and the disk usage is 98%. These indicate that the server is under heavy load and has little or no resources available to handle incoming requests or perform other tasks.

Processing and exploitation is the step in the intelligence cycle that involves converting raw data into a format that can be used for analysis and producing intelligence products that can be disseminated to consumers. The security analyst is performing this step by correlating, ranking, and enriching raw data into a report. Analysis and production, dissemination and evaluation, data collection, and planning and direction are other steps in the intelligence cycle, but they do not match the description of the security analyst’s task. Reference: https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2010-featured-story-archive/intelligence-cycle.html

According to the CompTIA CySA+ Study Guide Exam CS0-002, 2nd Edition1, reporting is an essential part of the incident response process. It helps communicate the details and impact of the incident to various stakeholders, such as management, customers, regulators, law enforcement, and the public. Reporting also provides valuable feedback and lessons learned that can improve the security posture and readiness of the organization.

Based on this information, the most likely reasons to include reporting processes when updating an incident response plan after a breach are:

• B. To meet regulatory requirements for timely reporting: Many industries and jurisdictions have laws and regulations that mandate reporting of security breaches within a certain time frame. Failing to comply with these requirements can result in fines, penalties, lawsuits, and loss of trust. Therefore, it is important to have a clear and consistent reporting process that ensures timely and accurate disclosure of the breach to the relevant authorities.
• C. To limit reputation damage caused by the breach: A security breach can have a negative impact on the reputation and credibility of the organization. Customers, partners, investors, and the public may lose confidence in the organization’s ability to protect their data and interests. Therefore, it is important to have a transparent and honest reporting process that informs the affected parties about the nature, scope, and consequences of the breach, as well as the actions taken to mitigate and prevent future incidents. This can help restore trust and goodwill among the stakeholders.

TAXII stands for Trusted Automated eXchange of Indicator Information, and it is a server component of a threat management system that can facilitate the exchange of threat intelligence data between different sources and consumers, using a standard protocol and format. TAXII can help deploy a threat management system with minimal human interaction, by automating the collection, processing, and dissemination of threat intelligence data.

Data auditing is the most essential and effective method to protect PII from an insider threat. Data auditing is the process of monitoring and recording the activities and events related to data access and usage. Data auditing can help detect and prevent any suspicious or anomalous behavior by an insider threat who tries to access or manipulate PII.

Data auditing can provide several benefits for data protection, such as:

• It can provide accountability and transparency for data access and usage, which can deter potential insider threats from abusing their privileges or violating policies.
• It can provide evidence and traceability for data incidents, which can help investigate and respond to data breaches or leaks by insider threats.
• It can provide feedback and insights for data security improvement, which can help identify and address any gaps or weaknesses in data protection measures.

Data auditing can be done by using tools such as logs, alerts, reports, or dashboards. These tools can help security analysts track and analyze data activity and identify any patterns or anomalies that indicate a possible insider threat.

A mobile device wiping solution is a security feature that allows an organization to remotely erase or delete all data on a mobile device if it is lost or stolen2 A mobile device wiping solution can help protect the privacy of the data on a device and prevent unauthorized access or disclosure of sensitive information. A mobile device wiping solution can be implemented using built-in features of some mobile operating systems, third-party applications, or mobile device management (MDM) software.

RBAC helps organizations manage access to critical infrastructure networks by assigning access based on roles. This allows organizations to control who can access specific resources and helps eliminate weak credentials that attackers could exploit. Manual reviews and endpoint detection and response can also help to mitigate risk, but role based access control is the best solution for this scenario.

The difference between intentional and unintentional insider threats is their behavior. Intentional insider threats are malicious actors who deliberately misuse their access to harm the organization or its assets. Unintentional insider threats are careless or negligent users who accidentally compromise the security of the organization or its assets. Their access levels, risk factors, and rates of occurrence may vary depending on various factors, but their behavior is the main distinction. References: CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) Certification Exam Objectives (CS0-002), page 12; https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Insider_Threat_Mitigation_Guide_508.pdf

Wireshark is a tool that can capture and analyze network traffic, including Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Voice over IP (VoIP) packets. The security analyst can use Wireshark to extract the audio data from the VoIP call that originated from the suspicious IP address and provide it to law enforcement. iptables, tcpdump, and Netflow are other tools that can manipulate or monitor network traffic, but they cannot extract audio data from VoIP packets. Reference: https://www.wireshark.org/docs/wsug_html_chunked/ChVoIPAnalysis.html

These steps are the best to confirm and respond to the incident because they preserve the state of the compromised server for further analysis and evidence collection. Pausing the virtual machine prevents any further changes or damage by the attacker, while taking a snapshot creates a copy of the virtual machine’s memory and disk contents.

Stack counting is the best threat-hunting method for the analyst to use to observe and assess the number of times a specific activity occurs and aggregate the results. Stack counting is a technique that involves collecting data from multiple sources, such as logs, events, or alerts, and grouping them by a common attribute, such as an IP address, a user name, or a process name. Stack counting can help identify patterns, trends, outliers, or anomalies in the data that may indicate malicious activity or compromise.

In this scenario, the issue is related to manipulation of the public-facing web form, indicating that attackers might be altering the prices before submitting the form. One of the best ways to prevent such attacks is to implement input validation, which can help ensure that the data submitted to the web form is correct, complete, and in the expected format. Input validation can also help prevent SQL injection and other types of web-based attacks.

"CASB solutions generally offer their own DLP policy engine, allowing you to configure DLP policies in a CASB and apply them to cloud services." https://www.mcafee.com/blogs/enterprise/cloud-security/how-a-casb-int egrates-with-an-on-premises-dlp-solution/

CASB stands for Cloud Access Security Broker, which is a solution that monitors and controls the access and usage of cloud services by an organization’s users. DLP stands for Data Loss Prevention, which is a solution that prevents unauthorized disclosure or leakage of sensitive data. Utilizing the CASB to enforce DLP data-in-motion protection for financial information moving to the cloud is the best recommendation for a security analyst to mitigate the threat of financial data leakage into the cloud, because it would prevent users from uploading or transferring financial information to cloud services that are not authorized or secure. Utilizing the CASB to enforce DLP data-at-rest protection for financial information that is stored on premises, not utilizing the CASB solution for this purpose but adding DLP on premises for data in motion or data at rest are other possible recommendations, but they are not as effective or relevant as utilizing the CASB to enforce DLP data-in-motion protection for financial information moving to the cloud. Reference: https://www.csoonline.com/article/3200344/what-is-a-casb-and-why-do-you-need-one.html

UEBA stands for User and Entity Behavior Analytics, which is a category of security products that use machine learning and statistical analysis to identify malicious actions by users or entities on a network. UEBA products can detect anomalous or suspicious behaviors that deviate from normal patterns or baselines, such as data exfiltration, privilege escalation, unauthorized access, insider threats, or compromised accounts. UEBA products can also provide alerts, reports, or recommendations for response actions based on the detected behaviors.

A blacklist is a list of domains, IP addresses, email addresses, or other identifiers that are known or suspected to be malicious or harmful. A blacklist can be used to block or filter unwanted or dangerous traffic from reaching a network or system2 Updating the blacklist can help prevent phishing campaigns by adding the domains or email addresses of the phishing sources to the list and preventing them from sending emails to the company’s employees.

Adding TXT @ “v=spfl mx include:_spf.comptia. org -all” to the DNS record can help to prevent outside entities from spoofing the company’s email domain, which is comptia.org. This is an example of a Sender Policy Framework (SPF) record, which is a type of DNS record that specifies which mail servers are authorized to send email on behalf of a domain. SPF records can help to prevent spoofing by allowing the recipient mail servers to check the validity of the sender’s domain against the SPF record. The “-all” at the end of the SPF record indicates that any mail server that is not listed in the SPF record is not authorized to send email for comptia.org .

The security analyst needs to investigate further the source IP address 10.50.180.49. This IP address belongs to a private network that is not routable on the internet. However, the firewall usage report shows that this IP address has sent traffic to an external destination on port 443 (HTTPS). This could indicate that the IP address is spoofed or compromised by an attacker who is using it to exfiltrate data or communicate with a command-and-control server.

DLP (Data Loss Prevention) is what the CISO wants to purchase. DLP is a solution that prevents unauthorized or accidental disclosure of sensitive data by monitoring, detecting, and blocking data transfers or downloads that violate predefined policies or rules3. DLP can also track and classify data assets based on various criteria, such as name, type, content, or data profile4. DLP can help protect data from insider threats, external attackers, or human errors.

 According to the CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) Certification Exam Objectives1, one of the skills required for the exam is to “apply incident response procedures and analyze potential indicators of compromise (IOCs)”. The document also states that “the first step in incident response is to contain the incident and prevent further damage” (page 14).

Based on this information, the best answer to your question is C. Remove the malware from the host. This would prevent the malware from spreading to other machines or exfiltrating data from the infected host.

DMARC stands for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance. It is an email authentication protocol that helps prevent spoofing and phishing attacks by verifying that the sender’s domain matches the domain in the email header. DMARC also provides a way for domain owners to specify how receivers should handle unauthenticated messages from their domain1

A security information and event management (SIEM) system is a tool that collects and analyzes log data from various sources and provides alerts and reports on security incidents and events. A SIEM system can help the IT team to determine which devices are USB enabled by querying the log data for events related to USB device insertion, removal, or usage. The other options are not relevant or effective for this purpose. References: CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) Certification Exam Objectives (CS0-002), page 15; https://www.sans.org/reading-room/whitepapers/analyst/security-information-event-management-siem-implementation-33969

Port 22 is the default port for Secure Shell (SSH), which is a protocol that allows remote access and administration of a server. If the server is dedicated to one function (web server) and unneeded services are disabled, then port 22 should be closed, because SSH is not necessary for a web server and could pose a security risk if exploited. Port 80, port 443, and port 1433 are ports that are needed for a web server, because they are used for HTTP, HTTPS, and SQL Server respectively. Reference: https://www.ssh.com/ssh/port

The analyst decided to include a custom lookup for these files on the endpoint’s log-in script as a mechanism to improve existing detection capabilities, by checking if any of these files are present on the endpoints during log-in. This can help identify any compromised endpoints that may have been infected by the zero-day vulnerability, and alert the analyst for further investigation or response.

A vulnerability scan is a process of identifying and assessing known vulnerabilities in a system or network using automated tools or software1 A vulnerability scan can help improve the security posture of a vulnerability management program by detecting and prioritizing potential weaknesses that could be exploited by attackers. To increase the security posture of a vulnerability scan, the following actions can be taken:

• Expand the ports being scanned to include all ports: This means scanning all possible ports on a system or network, not just the well-known or commonly used ones. This can help discover more vulnerabilities that may be hidden or overlooked on less frequently used ports.
• Increase the scan interval to a number the business will accept without causing service interruption: This means scanning more frequently or regularly, but not so often that it causes performance issues or downtime for the system or network. This can help keep up with new vulnerabilities that may emerge over time and reduce the window of opportunity for attackers.
• Enable authentication and perform credentialed scans: This means using login credentials or SSH keys on an asset to get deeper access to its data, processes, configurations, and vulnerabilities2 This can help discover more vulnerabilities that cannot be seen from the network, such as insecure versions of software or poor security permissions.

Change Management

o The process through which changes to the configuration of information systems are

monitored and controlled, as part of the organization's overall configuration

management efforts

o Each individual component should have a separate document or database record that

describes its initial state and subsequent changes

▪ Configuration information

▪ Patches installed

▪ Backup records

▪ Incident reports/issues

o Change management ensures all changes are planned and controlled to minimize risk of

a service disruption

Change management is a process that ensures changes to systems or processes are introduced in a controlled and coordinated manner. Change management helps to minimize the impact of changes on the business operations and avoid unintended consequences or errors3 Change management can help prevent the issue of utility installation affecting the web server cluster by ensuring that the utility is properly planned, tested, approved, documented, communicated, and monitored.

Automating the use of a hashing algorithm after verified users make changes to their data is an appropriate course of action to verify that a user’s data is not altered without the user’s consent. Hashing is a technique that produces a unique and fixed-length value for a given input, such as a file or a message. Hashing can help to verify the data integrity by comparing the hash values of the original and modified data. If the hash values match, then the data has not been altered without the user’s consent. If the hash values differ, then the data may have been tampered with or corrupted .

HSM (Hardware Security Module) is a computing device that manages digital keys, performs encryption/decryption functions, and maintains other cryptographic functions2. HSM is a dedicated crypto processor that is specifically designed for the protection of the crypto key lifecycle. HSM can store cryptographic keys that are used for encryption, authentication, digital signatures, and other security functions. HSM can also generate random keys that are unique to each device and never leave the chip. HSM can protect these keys from unauthorized access or tampering by using hardware isolation and encryption3. HSM can also measure and verify the integrity of the operating system and firmware on a device by using a process called attestation. HSM does not manage cryptography (A), as cryptography is the science or art of creating and using secret codes. HSM does not manage physical keys ©, as physical keys are tangible objects that are used to lock or unlock something. HSM does not manage algorithms (D), as algorithms are sets of rules or instructions that are used to solve problems or perform tasks.

References: 2: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/24771/technical-controls  3: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/25888/security-development-lifecycle-sdl

A hacktivist is a type of actor who uses hacking techniques to promote a political or social cause or agenda. Hacktivists often target websites or systems of organizations or governments that they oppose or disagree with, and deface them with messages or propaganda related to their cause. In this case, the hacktivist defaced the corporate websites with political propaganda.

This control would best help to reduce the number of software vulnerabilities introduced by this situation because it ensures that code quality and security standards are met before deploying to production. Senior-level developers can provide feedback, guidance, and corrections to junior-level developers and catch any errors or flaws in their code.

The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) is a standard for measuring the severity of vulnerabilities in software systems. One of the factors that affects the CVSS score is the attack vector, which describes how the vulnerability can be exploited. The possible values for the attack vector are network, adjacent network, local, or physical. In this case, the analyst should choose local as the value for the attack vector, because the Tomcat configuration file must be modified for the attack to be successful, which implies that the attacker needs local access to the system. Network, adjacent network, or physical are not appropriate values for the attack vector in this scenario. Reference: https://www.first.org/cvss/v3.1/specification-document#Vector-String

https://owasp.org/www-community/attacks/Password_Spraying_Attack

A credential stuffing attack would be using the full credentials and most likely being used across many common platforms. A credential stuffing attack depends on the reuse of passwords. With so many people reusing their passwords for multiple accounts, just one set of credentials is enough to expose most or all of their accounts.

Disabling the Telnet service would harden the server by removing an insecure protocol that transmits data in cleartext and could allow unauthorized access to the server. Changing the SSH port to a non-standard port would harden the server by reducing the exposure to brute-force attacks or port scans that target the default SSH port (22). Uninstalling the DNS service, performing a vulnerability scan, changing the server’s IP to a private IP address, or blocking port 80 with the host-based firewall would not harden the server or could affect its functionality as a web server. Reference: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/ip/access-lists/13608-21.html