ECCouncil 212-89 - EC Council Certified Incident Handler (ECIH v3)

The root cause of this incident is unvalidated input poisoning the AI training process, resulting in malicious output. ECIH web application security principles emphasize that input validation is the primary control against injection and manipulation attacks.

Option B is correct because strict validation ensures that malicious or untrusted data cannot influence training or response generation. This addresses the vulnerability at its source.

Option A adds friction but does not stop poisoning. Option C is disruptive and not efficient. Option D limits functionality without fixing the underlying issue.

ECIH stresses fixing vulnerabilities at the root rather than applying superficial controls, making Option B correct.

Netcraft is a tool that provides internet security services, including the detection of phishing and spam emails. It offers a range of services that can help organizations identify fraudulent websites and phishing activities by analyzing web content and email messages for known phishing signatures and heuristics. This makes it a useful tool for incident handlers like Francis, who is tasked with detecting phishing and spam emails for client organizations. Other options listed, such as Nessus (a vulnerability scanner), BTCrack (a Bluetooth pin and link-key cracker), and Cain and Abel (a password recovery tool), do not specialize in detecting phishing or spam emails but serve different purposes in cybersecurity.

Phishing emails often share common characteristics designed to manipulate the recipient into taking immediate action. One of the hallmark features is the use of urgency, threatening language, or promising subject lines in the emails. These tactics are intended to create a sense of urgency or fear, compelling the recipient to respond quickly without giving due consideration to the legitimacy of the email. Phishing emails may claim that the recipient's account has been compromised, that they need to confirm personal information immediately, or that they have won a prize. The goal is to trick the recipient into clicking on malicious links, opening attachments, or providing sensitive information.

High Orbit Ion Cannon (HOIC) is a tool designed to perform stress testing on networks or servers. It can launch a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack by enabling an attacker to overwhelm a target with HTTP POST and GET requests. HOIC's distinctive feature is its ability to attack multiple targets (up to 256 URLs simultaneously) with configurable HTTP flood attacks. This capability makes it a preferred choice for attackers aiming to disrupt services on a large scale. Unlike tools designed for debugging or vulnerability scanning (e.g., IDA Pro, Ollydbg, OpenVAS), HOIC is specifically crafted for launching DoS/DDoS attacks, making it the correct answer for Dash's objective.

In the context of US Federal Agencies, incidents are categorized based on their impact on operations, assets, or individuals. A DoS attack that prevents or impairs the authorized functionality of networks and is still ongoing without successful mitigation efforts typically falls under Category 2 (CAT 2). This category is designated for incidents that have a significant impact, requiring immediate reporting and response. The reporting timeframe of within 2 hours as mentioned aligns with the urgency associated with CAT 2 incidents, emphasizing the need for swift action to address the attack and restore normal operations.

The primary indicator here is suspicious outbound connections, a key detection category in ECIH network incident analysis. Unexpected communications to known high-risk domains often indicate malware, misconfiguration, or compromise.

Option C is correct because outbound traffic patterns revealed the issue. ECIH highlights that IoT devices frequently lack visibility and controls, making outbound monitoring critical.

Options A, B, and D do not reflect the described behavior.

Monitoring outbound traffic is therefore essential for early detection of compromised or misconfigured devices.

Hex encoding (also known as hexadecimal encoding) involves converting binary data into hexadecimal representation. In the context described, when a user submits a request with potentially malicious input (such as a single quote and other characters in an attempt to perform SQL injection), the encoding technique converts this input into a string of hexadecimal digits (ranging from 0 to 9 and A to F). This prevents the direct interpretation of the input as SQL commands by the database, thereby mitigating the risk of SQL injection attacks. This method is a form of input sanitization that helps ensure that user input cannot be used to manipulate database queries directly.

Once malware is identified, ECIH guidance requires responders to analyze before eradication to understand scope, infection vectors, persistence mechanisms, and data impact. This ensures effective removal and prevents reinfection.

Option C is correct because forensic analysis allows investigators to determine how the malware entered the system, what data was accessed, and whether additional components are compromised. Without this understanding, containment and recovery efforts may be incomplete or ineffective.

Option A is a containment step but does not address root cause. Option B is a notification step that must be supported by verified facts. Option D protects future data but does not address the active malware.

Therefore, forensic analysis is the ideal primary action following detection, as emphasized in the ECIH malware handling process.

The ECIH Email Security Incident Handling module emphasizes email header analysis as a primary method for identifying spoofed or malicious emails. One of the most critical header elements is the originating IP address, which reveals where the email actually came from.

Option D is correct because tracing the originating IP and validating it through WHOIS provided definitive evidence that the email did not originate from a legitimate organizational source. This technique allows responders to distinguish between legitimate executive communications and impersonation attempts.

Option A is reactive and unreliable. Option B provides detection context but not attribution. Option C validates domain authentication but does not always reveal spoofing when credentials are compromised.

ECIH highlights that IP tracing combined with WHOIS analysis is a powerful verification method during executive impersonation investigations, making Option D correct.

Viruses are a type of malicious software program designed to infect legitimate software programs. Once a virus is executed, it can corrupt or delete data on a computer, replicate itself, and spread to other files and systems. Unlike worms, which can spread across networks on their own, viruses usually require some form of user interaction, such as opening an infected email attachment or downloading and executing a malicious file, to propagate. Trojans and spyware, while also malicious software, serve different malicious purposes, such as creating backdoors for attackers (Trojans) or spying on users' activities (Spyware).