CompTIA CS0-002 - CompTIA CySA+ Certification Exam (CS0-002)

Data enrichment is the result that the security team hopes to accomplish by adding these sources to the SIEM. Data enrichment is a process that enhances, refines, or otherwise improves raw data by adding context, meaning, or value to it. Data enrichment can help security analysts gain more insights from the events processed by the SIEM, such as identifying the root cause, severity, or impact of an incident3. Data enrichment can also help security analysts correlate events from different sources and reduce false positives or negatives.

This type of analysis is performed before the application is installed and active on a system, and it involves examining the code without actually executing it in order to identify potential vulnerabilities or security risks.

As per CYSA+ 002 Study Guide: Static analysis is conducted by reviewing the code for an application. Static analysis does not run the program; instead, it focuses on understanding how the program is written and what the code is intended to do.

Static analysis refers to scanning the source code or the compiled code of an application without executing it, to identify potential vulnerabilities, errors, or bugs. Static analysis can help improve the quality and security of the code before it is deployed or run4

Creating a data minimization plan would be the most cost-effective solution to the current data privacy and protection gap found in the last security assessment. Data minimization is a principle that states that organizations should collect, store, process, and retain only the minimum amount of personal data that is necessary for their legitimate purposes. Data minimization can help reduce the risk of data breaches, data leaks, or data misuse by limiting the exposure and access to sensitive data. Data minimization can also help comply with data protection regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), that require organizations to justify their data collection and processing activities. Data minimization can be achieved by implementing various measures, such as deleting or anonymizing unnecessary data, applying retention policies, or using encryption or pseudonymization techniques.

A data governance program is a collection of practices, policies, and procedures that manage, leverage, and protect the data assets of an organization1. It requires changing the workplace culture and adding some software1. To survey sensitive data within the organization, the most accurate method is to perform an enterprise-wide discovery scan that can identify and classify data from various sources and systems2. This way, the analyst can have a comprehensive view of the data landscape and its quality, security, accessibility, and usage. Consulting with an internal data custodian (B) or reviewing enterprise-wide asset inventory © may provide some insights, but not as accurate or complete as a discovery scan. Creating a survey and distributing it to data owners (D) may be time-consuming and unreliable, as data owners may not have the full knowledge or awareness of their data.

References: 1: https://www.analytics8.com/blog/8-steps-to-start-your-data-governance-program/  2: https://solutionsreview.com/data-management/the-best-data-governance-tools-and-software/

EDR stands for endpoint detection and response, which is a type of security solution that monitors and protects all devices that are connected to a network, such as laptops and mobile phones. EDR can help to ensure that all devices are patched and running some sort of protection against malicious software by providing continuous visibility, threat detection, incident response, and remediation capabilities. EDR can also help to enforce security policies and compliance requirements across all devices .

 Indicator enrichment and research pivoting are steps in the threat intelligence process that involve gathering additional information and context about the indicators of compromise (IoCs) that are related to an incident, and using them to identify other potential sources of threat data or evidence. For example, an analyst can enrich an IoC such as an IP address by looking up its geolocation, reputation, or associated domains, and then pivot to other sources of threat intelligence that may have more information about the IP address or its activities.

Modbus is a communication protocol that is widely used in industrial control systems (ICS) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. However, Modbus was not designed to provide security and it is vulnerable to various cyberattacks. One of the main vulnerabilities of Modbus is the lack of authentication, which means that any device on the network can send or receive commands without verifying its identity or authority. This can lead to unauthorized access, data manipulation, or denial of service attacks on the ICS or SCADA system.

Some examples of attacks that exploit the lack of authentication in Modbus are:

Detection attack: An attacker can scan the network and discover the devices and their addresses, functions, and registers by sending Modbus requests and observing the responses. This can reveal sensitive information about the system configuration and operation1.

Command injection attack: An attacker can send malicious commands to the devices and modify their settings, values, or outputs. For example, an attacker can change the speed of a motor, open or close a valve, or turn off a switch23.

Response injection attack: An attacker can intercept and alter the responses from the devices and deceive the master or other devices about the true state of the system. For example, an attacker can fake a normal response when there is an error or an alarm23.

Denial of service attack: An attacker can flood the network with Modbus requests or commands and overload the devices or the communication channel. This can prevent legitimate requests or commands from being processed and disrupt the normal operation of the system14.

To mitigate these attacks, some security measures that can be applied to Modbus are:

Encryption: Encrypting the Modbus messages can prevent eavesdropping and tampering by unauthorized parties. However, encryption can also introduce additional overhead and latency to the communication56.

Authentication: Adding authentication mechanisms to Modbus can ensure that only authorized devices can send or receive commands. Authentication can be based on passwords, certificates, tokens, or other methods56.

Firewall: Installing a firewall between the Modbus network and other networks can filter out unwanted traffic and block unauthorized access. A firewall can also enforce rules and policies for Modbus communication24.

Intrusion detection system: Deploying an intrusion detection system (IDS) on the Modbus network can monitor the traffic and detect anomalous or malicious activities. An IDS can also alert the operators or trigger countermeasures when an attack is detected24.

The attack is a SQL injection attack. SQL injection is a type of attack that exploits a security vulnerability in an application’s software that allows user input to be executed as SQL commands by the underlying database3. SQL injection can enable an attacker to perform various malicious actions on the database, such as reading, modifying, deleting or creating data; executing commands; or bypassing authentication. The request shows that the attacker has entered a malicious SQL statement in the username parameter that attempts to drop (delete) all tables in the database.

These servers should be patched first because they have vulnerabilities with CVSS scores of 9.0 and 8.9 respectively, which fall under the policy of remediating within 48 hours and 96 hours for production environment servers. The other servers either have lower CVSS scores, are in lower environments, or do not contain highly sensitive information.

The CySA+ exam outline calls out “trusted firmware updates,” but trusted firmware itself is more commonly described as part of trusted execution environments (TEEs). Trusted firmware is signed by a chip vendor or other trusted party, and then used to access keys to help control access to hardware. TEEs like those used by ARM processors leverage these technologies to protect the hardware by preventing unsigned code from using privileged features."

Trusted firmware updates provide organizations with secure code signing, distribution, installation, and attestation for embedded devices. Embedded devices are devices that have a dedicated function and are part of a larger system or network, such as routers, cameras, sensors, etc. Embedded devices often run on firmware, which is a type of software that controls the device’s hardware and functionality. Firmware updates are essential for improving the performance, security, and reliability of embedded devices. However, firmware updates also pose risks of introducing vulnerabilities or malware into the devices if they are not properly secured. Trusted firmware updates are firmware updates that use cryptographic techniques to ensure the integrity, authenticity, and confidentiality of the firmware code and data. Trusted firmware updates typically involve four steps1:

Code signing: The firmware code is digitally signed by the firmware developer or provider using a private key. The digital signature proves that the firmware code is from a trusted source and has not been tampered with.

Distribution: The signed firmware code is securely transmitted to the embedded device or a trusted intermediary (such as a cloud service or a gateway) using encryption or other methods. The transmission ensures that the firmware code is not intercepted or modified by unauthorized parties.

Installation: The embedded device verifies the digital signature of the firmware code using a public key that is stored in a secure location (such as a trusted platform module or TPM). The verification ensures that the firmware code is from a trusted source and has not been tampered with. The embedded device then installs the firmware code and reboots to apply the update.

Attestation: The embedded device reports its firmware status and configuration to a trusted verifier (such as a cloud service or a gateway) using a cryptographic proof. The proof ensures that the embedded device has installed the correct firmware update and has not been compromised.

Trusted firmware updates provide organizations with several benefits for hardware assurance, such as2:

Preventing unauthorized or malicious firmware updates that could compromise the security or functionality of embedded devices

Detecting and mitigating firmware attacks or incidents that could affect the availability or performance of embedded devices

Complying with regulatory or industry standards or best practices for firmware security

Enhancing customer trust and satisfaction with embedded devices

Trusted firmware updates do not provide organizations with development, compilation, remote access, or customization for embedded devices (A), as these are software engineering tasks that are not directly related to firmware security. Trusted firmware updates do not provide organizations with security specifications, open-source libraries, or custom tools for embedded devices (B), as these are software resources that are not directly related to firmware security. Trusted firmware updates do not provide organizations with remote code execution, distribution, maintenance, or extended warranties for embedded devices ©, as these are software features or services that are not directly related to firmware security.

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