Cisco 350-701 - Implementing and Operating Cisco Security Core Technologies (SCOR 350-701 v2.0)

A cloud access security broker (CASB) is designed to discover cloud services being used—including unsanctioned applications classified as Shadow IT—and then provide usage analytics, risk scoring, compliance information, and policy control. Cisco specifically lists cloud-application discovery, usage analytics, and risk scoring as CASB visibility capabilities. Cisco Secure Access documentation also describes reporting application details such as reputation, financial viability, and relevant compliance certifications, which directly matches the requirement. EDR concentrates on endpoint activity and response, Secure Firewall controls network traffic, and a cloud workload protection platform protects workloads such as virtual machines and containers. Those technologies are valuable controls, but they do not supply the requested organization-wide SaaS discovery and service-risk catalog. Therefore, CASB is the correct cross-environment visibility solution. Cisco CASB overview

The Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) posture module provides a service that allows you to check the compliance of endpoints with corporate security policies. This service consists of three main components: client provisioning, posture policy, and authorization policy. Client provisioning ensures that the endpoints receive the appropriate posture agent, such as the AnyConnect ISE Posture Agent or the Network Admission Control (NAC) Agent. Posture policy defines the conditions and requirements that the endpoints must meet to be considered compliant, such as having the latest antivirus updates or patches installed. Authorization policy determines the level of network access granted to the endpoints based on their posture assessment results, such as allowing full access, limited access, or quarantine.

The two actions that the Cisco ISE posture module provides that ensure endpoint security are:

The latest antivirus updates are applied before access is allowed. This action prevents malware infections and protects the network from potential threats. The posture policy can include predefined or custom conditions that check the antivirus status of the endpoints, such as the product name, version, definition date, and scan result. If the endpoint does not meet the antivirus requirement, the posture agent can trigger a remediation action, such as launching the antivirus update or scan, before allowing network access.

Patch management remediation is performed. This action ensures that the endpoints have the latest security patches installed and are not vulnerable to known exploits. The posture policy can include predefined or custom conditions that check the patch status of the endpoints, such as the operating system, service pack, hotfix, or update. If the endpoint does not meet the patch requirement, the posture agent can trigger a remediation action, such as redirecting the endpoint to a patch management server or launching the patch installation, before allowing network access.

References :=

Cisco Identity Services Engine Administrator Guide, Release 2.2 - Configure Client Posture Policies

Configuring posture services with the Cisco Identity Services Engine

Cisco Identity Services Engine Administrator Guide, Release 2.0 - Posture Policy

 Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is an authentication method that requires the user to provide two or more verification factors to gain access to a resource such as an application, online account, or a VPN. MFA is a core component of a strong identity and access management (IAM) policy1. MFA is important to implement inside of an organization because it can prevent brute force attacks from being successful. A brute force attack is a type of cyberattack that tries to guess the user’s password or PIN by trying different combinations until it finds the correct one. This can be done manually or with automated tools. MFA can stop brute force attacks by requiring an additional factor of authentication that the attacker does not have, such as a phone, a token, a biometric, or a location. MFA can also reduce the risk of other types of attacks that rely on stealing or compromising the user’s credentials, such as phishing, keylogging, or credential stuffing. References := 1: What is Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)? | OneLogin

Explanation

Cisco Cloudlock is a cloud-native cloud access security broker (CASB) that helps you move to the cloud safely.

It protects your cloud users, data, and apps. Cisco Cloudlock provides visibility and compliance checks,

protects data against misuse and exfiltration, and provides threat protections against malware like ransomware.

 On Cisco Firepower Management Center, a health policy is used to collect health modules alerts from managed devices. A health policy is a collection of tests, or health modules, that monitor the health status of the hardware and software in the system. You can apply a health policy to one or more appliances and configure the frequency and conditions for running the health modules and generating alerts. The health monitor on the Firepower Management Center tracks the health events based on the health policy settings and displays them on the Health Monitor page and the event views. You can also use external alerting mechanisms, such as SNMP traps or syslog messages, to notify you of health events. References :=

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/security/firepower/60/configuration/guide/fpmc-config-guide-v60/Health_Monitoring.html

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/security/secure-firewall/management-center/admin/710/management-center-admin-71/health-health.html

Time synchronization is one of the features that can be configured for managed devices in the device platform settings of the Firepower Management Center (FMC). Time synchronization ensures that the FMC and its managed devices have the same date and time settings, which is important for accurate event logging and reporting. The FMC can act as a Network Time Protocol (NTP) server for its managed devices, or it can use an external NTP server as a time source1. The FMC can also synchronize its time with the system clock of the device where it is installed2. References := 1: Firepower Management Center Device Configuration Guide, 7.1 - Platform Settings 2: Firepower Management Center Configuration Guide, Version 6.6 - Device Management Basics

Explanation

Explanation

The Cisco Application Visibility and Control (AVC) solution leverages multiple technologies to recognize,

analyze, and control over 1000 applications, including voice and video, email, file sharing, gaming, peer-to-peer

(P2P), and cloud-based applications. AVC combines several Cisco IOS/IOS XE components, as well as

communicating with external tools, to integrate the following functions into a powerful solution…

ISE posture assessment allows you to inspect the security “health” of your PC and MAC clients. This includes checking for the installation, running state, and last update for security software, such as anti-virus, anti-malware, personal firewall, and so on1. Windows service and Windows firewall are examples of such security software that can be checked by ISE posture assessment. Computer identity and user identity are not conditions that can be checked by ISE posture assessment, as they are related to authentication and authorization, not security posture. Default browser is also not a condition that can be checked by ISE posture assessment, as it is not a security software or a security risk. References: 1: Chapter 15. Device Posture Assessment - Cisco ISE for BYOD and Secure Unified Access, 3

Cisco XDR Incident Manager provides a structured response workflow that organizes and guides analysts through suggested incident-response tasks. These tasks cover identification, containment, eradication, and recovery. Recovery includes confirming that malicious activity has been removed and restoring affected systems safely. Therefore, D is the only option that matches Incident Manager’s guided and prioritized response functionality. The feature does not merely calculate the average time required to identify an incident or predict how long resolution will take. Backup activities following a false-positive determination are also not its defining purpose. Incident Manager combines correlated incident evidence, investigation context, and recommended tasks so analysts can focus on the appropriate response actions and move the incident systematically toward containment and recovery. Cisco XDR security automation guidance

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The debug shows that IKE_SA_INIT completed successfully and the peers agreed on AES-256, SHA-256, and DH Group 14. That proves a mutually acceptable Phase 1 proposal was selected, so changing the DH group or removing SHA-384 is unnecessary. The failure occurs later during IKE_AUTH, where the peer returns AUTHENTICATION_FAILED notification type 24. Because the displayed authentication method is a pre-shared key, the first corrective action is to verify that both peers use exactly the same key; capitalization, whitespace, or character differences change the calculated AUTH value. RFC 7296 defines the AUTH value as being derived from the shared secret and states that an AUTHENTICATION_FAILED notification prevents creation of the IKE SA. Replacing PSK authentication with certificates is not required to correct a PSK mismatch. IETF IKEv2 specification

Option B is the only offered configuration that combines network-location awareness, pre-logon operation, and device-based credentials. Trusted Network Detection identifies whether the endpoint is on the trusted corporate network and can initiate the VPN when the network is untrusted. Start Before Login makes Cisco Secure Client available before Windows logon, while machine-certificate authentication uses the computer identity rather than credentials belonging to a signed-in user. Cached domain credentials do not provide certificate-based device authentication. Options A and D specify user certificates, which are unavailable before a user context exists and therefore contradict the unattended device-authentication requirement. Although a Management VPN tunnel is designed for transparent pre-logon connectivity, Cisco documentation states that it supports only machine-store certificate authentication, so option A is invalid as written. Cisco Secure Client Administrator Guide