Cisco 350-201 - Performing CyberOps Using Core Security Technologies (CBRCOR)

The Wireshark traffic capture exhibits a pattern where a single source IP address is sending a series of SYN packets to a single destination IP address. This pattern is indicative of a SYN flood attack, which is a form of Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack. In a SYN flood attack, the attacker exploits the TCP handshake mechanism by sending a flood of SYN packets to the target’s IP address. Theattacker does not complete the handshake with an ACK after receiving a SYN-ACK from the server, leaving connections half-open and eventually exhausting the server’s resources, which can lead to denial of service.

References:

The Cisco CyberOps curriculum, particularly the courses on Performing CyberOps Using Cisco Security Technologies (CBRCOR), would cover the identification and analysis of network threats, including SYN flood attacks.

Cisco’s official certification resources for the CyberOps Associate level would provide detailed information on various network threats and how to mitigate them, including the mechanisms of a SYN flood attack.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is the compliance regulation that must be applied to a company that accepts credit card payments. PCI DSS is a set of security standards designed to ensure that all companies that accept, process, store, or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. Since the small business in question has acquired a POS terminal to handle credit card transactions, it falls under the purview of PCI DSS compliance.

Platform as a Service (PaaS) is the cloud environment type that allows cloud engineers to deploy applications without managing and controlling the server operating system. PaaS provides a platform with tools to test, develop, and host applications in the same environment

The combination of increased incoming spam emails and web scraping alerts suggests a phishing attempt. Phishing is a type of social engineering attack where attackers send fraudulent messages designed to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information or deploying malicious software. Web scraping can be used to gather email addresses for such campaigns

 When addressing detected vulnerabilities, it is crucial to first evaluate the potential service disruption and associated risks before prioritizing patches. This approach ensures that the most critical services remain operational and that the patches are applied in a manner that minimizes impact on business operations. It is important to consider the severity of the vulnerabilities, the importance of the affected systems, and the potential consequences of applying patches, which may require system reboots or could lead to compatibility issues with other applications123.

References:

Cisco’s Performing CyberOps Using Cisco Security Technologies (CBRCOR) course provides guidance on cybersecurity operations, including vulnerability management and mitigation strategies1.

The CBRCOR Exam Topics outline the importance of evaluating the security posture of an asset and determining patching recommendations based on scenarios, which aligns with the recommended mitigation step of evaluating service disruption and associated risk2.

Industry best practices for vulnerability management also emphasize the need to assess the impact of patches and to prioritize them based on the risk to the organization

The stage of the threat kill chain indicated by the URIs of inbound web requests from known malicious Internet scanners is reconnaissance. During this stage, attackers are gathering information about the target system, looking for vulnerabilities or weak points that can be exploited. The URIs provided in the exhibit suggest attempts to discover administrative interfaces, exploit known vulnerabilities, and test for common web application weaknesses such as cross-site scripting (XSS) and SQL injection. These activities are characteristic of the reconnaissance phase, where attackers are probing and mapping out the target environment to plan their subsequent moves.

 In this scenario, the employee’s installation of remote access software at the behest of a fraudulent “MS Support” technician and the subsequent suspicious request for payment in gift cards are strong indicators of a social engineering attack. The presence of unencrypted database files on the system, coupled with the technician’s remote access, raises legitimate concerns about data disclosure. While HTTPS encrypts the data in transit, it does not prevent the remote user from copying files. Without concrete evidence, such as network logs showing data transfer, it is challenging to confirm the disclosure. However, given the circumstances, it is prudent to operate under the assumption that the database files could have been accessed and potentially copied during the remote session. The organization should follow its incident response protocol, which includes conducting a thorough investigation, changing passwords, and monitoring for potential data misuse.

References:

Cisco’s CyberOps curriculum emphasizes the importance of understanding security procedures and incident handling, which would include responding to potential data disclosure incidents1.

The Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate Overview outlines knowledge areas such as security concepts and intrusion analysis, relevant to investigating and responding to security incidents