CompTIA SY0-601 - CompTIA Security+ Exam 2023

IPSec is a protocol suite that provides secure communication over IP networks. It uses encryption, authentication, and integrity mechanisms to protect data from unauthorized access or modification. IPSec can operate in two modes: transport mode and tunnel mode. In tunnel mode, IPSec can create a virtual private network (VPN) between two endpoints, such as external partners and internal networks. To establish a VPN connection, IPSec requires a pre-shared key (PSK) or other parameters to negotiate the security association. References: https://www.comptia.org/content/guides/what-is-vpn

The scenario describes preventive controls, which are designed to stop malicious actors from gaining access to the organization's servers. This includes using multiple access points, such as a lobby, an access control vestibule, and multiple doors leading to the server floor, as well as caging the organization's hardware. According to the CompTIA Security+ SY0-601 document, preventive controls are "designed to stop malicious actors from performing a malicious activity or gaining access to an asset." These controls can include technical solutions, such as authentication and access control systems, physical security solutions, such as locks and barriers, and administrative solutions such as policy enforcement.

Lessons learned is a process that would most likely help an organization that has conducted an incident response exercise to improve performance and identify challenges. Lessons learned is a process that involves reviewing and evaluating the incident response exercise to identify what went well, what went wrong, and what can be improved. Lessons learned can help an organization enhance its incident response capabilities, address any gaps or weaknesses, and update its incident response plan accordingly.

References: https://www.comptia.org/certifications/security#examdetails https://www.comptia.org/content/guides/comptia-security-sy0-601-exam-objectives https://www.sans.org/reading-room/whitepapers/incident/incident-handlers-handbook-33901

Round-robin is a type of load balancing algorithm that distributes traffic to a list of servers in rotation. It is a static algorithm that does not take into account the state of the system for the distribution of tasks. It assumes that all servers have equal capacity and can handle an equal amount of traffic.

Rainbow table is a type of attack that should concern a security administrator when reviewing the /etc/shadow file. The /etc/shadow file is a file that stores encrypted passwords of users in a Linux system. A rainbow table is a precomputed table of hashes and their corresponding plaintext values that can be used to crack hashed passwords. If an attacker obtains a copy of the /etc/shadow file, they can use a rainbow table to find the plaintext passwords of users.

References: https://www.comptia.org/certifications/security#examdetails https://www.comptia.org/content/guides/comptia-security-sy0-601-exam-objectives https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/rainbow-table-in-cryptography/

An on-path attack is a type of attack where an attacker places themselves between two devices (such as a workstation and a server) and intercepts or modifies the communications between them. An on-path attacker can collect sensitive information, impersonate either device, or disrupt the service. In this scenario, the attacker is likely using an on-path attack to capture and alter the network traffic between the workstation and the server, causing service disruptions and data leakage.

An effective asset management policy helps an organization understand and manage the systems, hardware, and software it uses, and how they are used, including their vulnerabilities and risks. This information is crucial for accurately identifying and assessing risks to the organization, and making informed decisions about how to mitigate those risks. This is the best reason to maintain an effective asset management policy.

Third-party applications are applications that are developed and provided by external vendors or sources, rather than by the organization itself. Third-party applications may introduce security risks if they are not properly vetted, configured, or updated. One of the most likely causes of vulnerability scanners flagging several hosts after the completion of the patch process is that third-party applications are not being patched. Patching is the process of applying updates or fixes to software to address bugs, vulnerabilities, or performance issues. Patching third-party applications is essential for maintaining their security and functionality, as well as preventing attackers from exploiting known flaws.

References: https://www.comptia.org/certifications/security#examdetails https://www.comptia.org/content/guides/comptia-security-sy0-601-exam-objectives https://www.csoonline.com/article/2124681/why-third-party-security-is-your-security.html

Provisioning is the process of creating and setting up IT infrastructure, and includes the steps required to manage user and system access to various resources . Provisioning can be done for servers, cloud environments, users, networks, services, and more .

In this case, the security administrator wants to ensure that all cloud servers will have software preinstalled for facilitating vulnerability scanning and continuous monitoring. This means that the administrator needs to provision the cloud servers with the necessary software and configuration before they are deployed or used by customers or end users. Provisioning can help automate and standardize the process of setting up cloud servers and reduce the risk of human errors or inconsistencies.

The best technique for the digital forensics team to use to obtain a sample of the malware binary is to image volatile memory. Volatile memory imaging is a process of collecting a snapshot of the contents of a computer's RAM, which can include active malware programs. According to the CompTIA Security+ SY0-601 Official Text Book, volatile memory imaging can be used to capture active malware programs that are running in memory, but have not yet been committed to disk. This technique is especially useful in cases where the malware is designed to self-destruct or erase itself from the disk after execution.

An authorized hacker, also known as an ethical hacker or a white hat hacker, is someone who uses their skills and knowledge to find and report security issues in a system or application with the permission of the owner. An authorized hacker follows the rules and guidelines of the bug bounty program and does not cause any harm or damage to the system or its users.

Privilege creep is the gradual accumulation of access rights beyond what an individual needs to do his or her job. In information technology, a privilege is an identified right that a particular end user has to a particular system resource, such as a file folder or virtual machine. Privilege creep often occurs when an employee changes job responsibilities within an organization and is granted new privileges. While employees may need to retain their former privileges during a period of transition, those privileges are rarely revoked and result in an unnecessary accumulation of access privileges. Privilege creep creates a security risk by increasing the attack surface and exposing sensitive data or systems to unauthorized or malicious users.

References: https://www.comptia.org/certifications/security#examdetails https://www.comptia.org/content/guides/comptia-security-sy0-601-exam-objectives https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/privilege-creep

Vishing is a form of phishing that uses voice calls or voice messages to trick victims into revealing personal information, such as credit card numbers, bank details, or passwords. Vishing often uses spoofed phone numbers, voice-altering software, or social engineering techniques to impersonate legitimate organizations or authorities. In this scenario, the caller pretended to be someone who could change the flight plan of an aircraft, which could have caused a serious incident.

SQLi stands for SQL injection, which is a type of web security vulnerability that allows an attacker to execute malicious SQL statements on a database server. SQLi can result in data theft, data corruption, denial of service, or remote code execution.

The attacker in the web server log is trying to exploit a SQLi vulnerability by sending a malicious GET request that contains a UNION ALL SELECT statement. This statement is used to combine the results of two or more SELECT queries into a single result set. The attacker is attempting to retrieve user login, user pass, and user email from the wp users table, which is a WordPress database table that stores user information. The attacker may use this information to compromise the WordPress site or the users’ accounts.

NIC Teaming is a feature that allows a server to be connected to multiple network switches, providing redundancy and increased network availability. If one of the switches goes down, the server will still be able to send and receive data through one of the other switches. To configure NIC Teaming in Windows Server, see Microsoft's documentation: https://docs.microso ft.com/en-us/windows-server/networking/technologies/nic-teaming. For more information on NIC Teaming and other network redundancy features, refer to the CompTIA Security+ SY0-601 Official Text Book and Resources.

Typosquatting is a type of cyberattack that involves registering domains with deliberately misspelled names of well-known websites. The attackers do this to lure unsuspecting visitors to alternative websites, typically for malicious purposes. Visitors may end up at these alternative websites by inadvertently mistyping the name of popular websites into their web browser or by being lured by a phishing scam. The attackers may emulate the look and feel of the legitimate websites and trick users into entering sensitive information or downloading malware.

References: https://www.comptia.org/certifications/security#examdetails https://www.comptia.org/content/guides/comptia-security-sy0-601-exam-objectives https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/definitions/what-is-typosquatting

A dump file is the first thing that a security analyst should review to determine more information about a compromised device that displayed an error screen and shut down. A dump file is a file that contains a snapshot of the memory contents of a device at the time of a system crash or error. A dump file can help a security analyst analyze the cause and source of the crash or error, as well as identify any malicious code or activity that may have triggered it.

References: https://www.comptia.org/certifications/security#examdetails https://www.comptia.org/content/guides/comptia-security-sy0-601-exam-objectives https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/debugger/introduction-to-crash-dump-files

Posture checking and remote wipe are two controls that the security engineer should configure to comply with the corporate mobile device policy. Posture checking is a process that verifies if a mobile device meets certain security requirements before allowing it to access corporate resources. For example, posture checking can check if the device OS is patched up to the latest release and if a screen lock is enabled. Remote wipe is a feature that allows the administrator to erase all data from a mobile device remotely, in case it is lost or stolen. This can prevent unauthorized access to corporate data on the device.

Approved list is a list of applications or programs that are allowed to run on a system or network. An approved list can prevent unauthorized or malicious software from running and compromising the security of the system or network. An approved list can also help with patch management and compatibility issues. If the security engineer updated an application on the company workstations, the application may need to be added or updated on the approved list to be able to launch successfully. References: 1 CompTIA Security+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 10, Domain 2.0: Architecture and Design, Objective 2.4: Explain the importance of embedded and specialized systems security 2 CompTIA Security+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 12, Domain 3.0: Implementation, Objective 3.1: Implement secure network architecture concepts 3 https://www.comptia.org/blog/what-is-application-whitelisting