Cybersecurity Fundamentals: Security Controls, Cryptography & PKI

You have excellent technical acumen. Part of your responsibilities where you work include overlooking daily operations as well as analyzing and designing security solutions in a specific area. You encounter a situation that needs to be escalated. Which of the following are you most likely to approach with the situation?

Security manager

When analyzing a security breach, Acer determines the attacker was able to change the price of an item from $200 to $20. What security protection was compromised?

Integrity

visitor is trying to access a military base. The visitor needs to supply their license and enter other personal information via a kiosk. The visitor is eventually allowed to enter the base but is limited to certain areas only. What security principles are being employed? Select two.

Authorization

Authentication

Which of the following best describes what Della could do to prevent unauthorized parties from viewing sensitive customer information at her retail store?

Use software to encrypt data in a secure database.

vin thinks one of the computer systems where he works may have been compromised. He does not currently have a good way of determining if an unauthorized user logged in successfully. Which of the following can Evin implement that will, going forward, help him identify who logs in?

Accounting

A friend gets a virus and asks if you can help them fix the problem. You boot the computer with a bootable flash drive containing security-related tools and remove the virus. What type of control did you employ?

Corrective

Which of the following best describes the differences or similarities between cybersecurity and information security? Select three.

Information security falls under the cybersecurity umbrella

Information security protects using products, people, and procedures.,

Cybersecurity primarily protects devices.

What type of entity would a threat actor most likely attack to steal design documents for a relatively recently announced government-issued contract to design and build a missile defense system?

Enterprise

ELIMETERA criminal organization has decided to leave their traditional ways and pursue cyberattacks as their new mode of operation. Why would they do this?

E@DELIMETEREasier to hide their tracks

ELIMETERA work-study student works at the registrar's office and is given limited access to a student database. The student is very technologically savvy and figures out a way of gaining additional privileges. The student is not pleased with one of their grades and changes it. Which of the following best describes the type of scenario this activity characterizes?

E@DELIMETERInsider threat

ELIMETERWhich of the following best describes the possible impact of an attack where credit card data is stolen from a company and the breach is eventually reported in the news? Select two.

E@DELIMETERPossible prison time for IT personnel,Loss of reputation

ELIMETERAs a security professional Anvi works for an organization authoring documents that define policies and procedures outlining security controls. What type of resource does the organization provide?

E@DELIMETERFramework

ELIMETERWhich of the following best describes the similarities or differences between the NIST RMF and the NIST CSF? Select two.

E@DELIMETERComponents of the NIST CSF include protect and detect.,They define tiers based on how well vulnerabilities are addressed.

ELIMETERWhat are some of the challenges an organization may face when trying to be in regulatory compliance as it relates to information security?

of these choices.

ELIMETERDuante needs to research the behavior of attackers as well as how they coordinate their attacks. Where is Duante most likely to look for this type of information?

E@DELIMETERTTP database

ELIMETERAn individual who was recently fired goes to their former place of employment on a weekend. Since they are unable to enter, security goes to the front door to inquire. The fired employee says they forgot their access card and just needs to pick up their tablet in their office. What attack surface is the former employee trying to exploit?

E@DELIMETERHuman vector

ELIMETERThe CEO of a small retail chain is visiting a client. They call the help desk in a panic and request a password reset because it expired. The technician says they are not allowed to manually reset passwords but to kindly use the online password reset system. The CEO gets irate, says "You're fired," and hangs up. Which of the following best characterizes what happened, or what should have happened?

E@DELIMETERThe technician did the right thing.

ELIMETERA series of individuals (engineers and executives) from a large electronics firm are members of a professional organization. They visit the website of the organization, often to contribute papers, do research, and sign up for a variety of conferences. An attacker attempts to target the individuals by infecting the website. What type of attack is this?

E@DELIMETERWatering hole attack

ELIMETERA threat actor does research, including Google searches, and discovers the cleaning establishment used by the company they want to target. The threat actor gets a job with the cleaning establishment for the sole purpose of obtaining any information that will help in their malicious efforts. What type of attack is the threat actor most likely to engage in?

E@DELIMETERDumpster diving

ELIMETERKarlo installs an alarm system that is capable of emitting and detecting a signal in the light spectrum. The capability serves the purpose of detecting motion and how close an object is in a limited space. Which of the following best describes the type of signal the emitter can transmit?

E@DELIMETERInfrared

ELIMETERYou are tasked with installing a system in a large warehouse that is capable of detecting levels of daylight to dim interior lights to conserve energy. In addition, if an intruder enters the warehouse an alarm should be triggered. The system you install will most likely support what type of signal/radio wave?

E@DELIMETERMicrowave

ELIMETERWhat type of security buffer are you most likely to encounter at a high-security data center that enforces restricted access and requires a security clearance to gain entry.

E@DELIMETERAccess control vestibule

ELIMETERWhich of the following best describes what could be considered a security buffer? Select two.

E@DELIMETERWaiting room at a doctor's office,Reception area of a company

ELIMETERWhich of the following statements best describes how a Faraday cage prevents data leakage?

E@DELIMETERIt is used to prevent EMI from escaping the enclosure.

ELIMETERA large complex is being constructed on a restricted site. They require a very high-speed, low maintenance (from a physical perspective) classified network. What type of PDS should they install?

E@DELIMETERAlarmed carrier PDS

ELIMETERWhich of the following lists the data type in order from the type that needs the highest level of protection to the lowest level?

E@DELIMETERConfidential, private, sensitive

ELIMETERZaiden is asked to classify data elements based on certain criteria. Which of the following best describes what Zaiden should take into consideration? Select two.

E@DELIMETERIntegrity,Confidentiality

ELIMETERA large medical records archiving company adopts the slogan "Health Information Protected Against Attackers" to try to convey medical records are secure. If the organization suffers a significant data breach, who must they notify?

E@DELIMETERDHHS

ELIMETERWhich of the following examples best describes the states in which data could reside? Select three.

E@DELIMETERData on a hard drive about to be accessed,Downloading an image from a website,Data sitting in RAM about to be transmitted

ELIMETERA company needs a lot of data to test an application. They want to make a copy of their production data and modify it in such a way that the original data cannot be recovered. Which of the following best describes the process the company should use to ensure the privacy of the original data? Select two.

E@DELIMETERData sanitation,Data masking

ELIMETERAdelli sends an image file containing a secret message to her sister as an attachment. Adelli gives her sister instructions over the phone on how to read the message. The sister follows the instructions and reads the message. Which of the following techniques did Adelli use?

E@DELIMETERSteganography

ELIMETERAlpha and Beta are having a conversation in English. Gamma, who is a gifted conversationalist and tends to monopolize conversations, approaches Alpha and Beta. As soon as Alpha and Beta see Gamma, they start speaking in Spanish, but Gamma does not understand. What did Alpha and Beta just do?

E@DELIMETERThey employed a form of encryption.

ELIMETERA fifth-grade teacher shows the class a message encrypted using ROT13. After explaining how it works, the teacher challenges them to decrypt the message, which they easily accomplish. The teacher then repeats the process with the XOR cipher. Which of the following statements is true? Select two.

E@DELIMETERXOR requires some type of key.,Both methods use substitution.

ELIMETERWhich of the following statements best describes the benefits of cryptography? Select two.

E@DELIMETERIt is a hardening technique.,It is a mitigation technique.

ELIMETERDaichi works on a project team that is designing a storage system with immutable archiving capabilities. Once data is archived, it uses cryptography to verify the data has not been changed. Which security protection is the system designed to enforce?

E@DELIMETERIntegrity

ELIMETERKalaki subscribes to an online computer digest. Kalaki notices a string of characters with a message next to a link that reads "... use to verify file integrity after downloading." What does the string of characters represent? Select four.

E@DELIMETERA message digest,The result of a one-way algorithm,A digital fingerprint,A hash

ELIMETERBodhi is leading a team responsible for writing the specifications of a new hashing algorithm. What factor does the team need to keep in mind to ensure it is secure? Select three.

E@DELIMETERThe output should always be of a fixed size.,The output should be original.,Every unique input should render unique output.

ELIMETERA company is exploring a variety of symmetric key algorithms to use in an app. Which of the following statements best describes a possible concern?

E@DELIMETERThe key must be kept private.

ELIMETERWhich of the following statements properly expresses the characteristics of AES and Blowfish? Select three.

E@DELIMETERAES is capable of using a 256-bit key.,Blowfish operates on 64-bit blocks.,AES and Blowfish use private key cryptography.

ELIMETERYou need to explain to the CEO of a company the differences between symmetric and asymmetric cryptographic algorithms. Which one of the following statements are you most likely to convey?

E@DELIMETERECC is among the better asymmetric cryptographic algorithms.

ELIMETERRico sends a message to Lola. However, based on how the message was sent, Lola cannot verify it was sent from Rico, but she can verify it has not been altered. What could Rico have done that would have enabled Lola to verify the sender? Select two.

E@DELIMETERGenerate a digital signature and attach it to the message.,Generate a digest and encrypt it with his private key.

Which of the following statements is true regarding hashing?

E@DELIMETERHashing can be used to help verify the integrity of a message.

Which key combination would the recipient of a message use to confirm the integrity of the message as well as the authenticity of the sender?

sender's public key and the recipient's private key

ELIMETERWhich of the following is a true statement regarding key exchange solutions?

E@DELIMETERPerfect forward secrecy uses random and different keys for each session.

ELIMETERWeymouth works at a computer repair shop. A customer brings a hard drive claiming their computer crashed and they would like to restore the information on the drive. Weymouth installs the drive in a computer case as a secondary drive but is not able to access the data. Which of the following is a probable cause? Select two.

E@DELIMETERBitLocker,FDE

ELIMETERAmir uses an asymmetric algorithm to send a message along with a digital signature to a recipient. Based on this information, what conclusion can you draw?

E@DELIMETERAmir may not own the key used to create the digital signature.

ELIMETERA digital certificate needs to be added to a CRL. If there is too much delay in adding it to the CRL, what is a potential consequence, if any?

E@DELIMETERSecurity may be compromised.

ELIMETERWhich of the following represents valid methods of establishing whether a certificate has been revoked? Select two.

E@DELIMETERHarvesting revoked certificates and pushing them to the user's browser,Using the OCSP

ELIMETERA web server is establishing a secure cryptographic connection in response to a client request. In the process, session keys will be created. Which of the following statements is true regarding session keys?

E@DELIMETERThey are symmetric keys used to encrypt and decrypt traffic between a browser and web server.

Onjolee wants to ensure she can use one digital certificate for www.mysite.com, www.mysite.org, and www.mysite.info. Which of the following best describes the type of digital certificate she should use?

SAN

PKI is the underlying infrastructure used for controlling which of the following entities? Select two.

Public keys,Digital certificates

ELIMETERThree entities know and trust each other completely. In a public key infrastructure setting, which of the following could be used to describe this type of trust? Select two.

E@DELIMETERWeb of trust,Direct trust

ELIMETERAn employee was expected to return to work after a three-month leave due to personal issues. However, because of additional issues, the leave has been extended by nine months. What is a possible action the company could take regarding the employee's digital certificate? Select two.

E@DELIMETERRevoke it,Suspend it

ELIMETERVladimiro adopted a key storage policy at his company that includes both a hardware and a software solution. Which of the following statements represents issues he may need to consider? Select two.

E@DELIMETERStore keys in folders that are password protected.,Store keys in folders that are themselves encrypted.

A user retrieves the two halves of a key from two different parties and combines them to create a copy of the key. Which of the following terms best describes the process being used to manage the keys?

Key escrow

Yandelli is responsible for protecting data in transit. However, the scheme he is attempting to adopt will encapsulate encrypted information with unencrypted information. What is a potential consequence of this behavior?

will be transmitted securely.

Which of the following represents an improvement made to the current version of TLS outlined in this module? Select two.

Uses Perfect Forward Secrecy for public key-based key exchange.

Encrypts handshake messages after the ServerHello exchange.

IPSec is considered a transparent protocol. Which of the following statements best describes what this means? Select two.

Users do not need to be trained on specific security procedures.,Programs do not need to be modified to run under IPSec.

ELIMETERWhich of the following is a characteristic that helps determine the strength of a key? Select three.

E@DELIMETERKey space,Randomness,Cryptoperiod

ELIMETERWhich of the following is a true statement regarding the indicated block cipher mode? Select two.

E@DELIMETERGCM computes a MAC to ensure the message was not tampered with during transmission.,CBC uses the output of a round of encryption as input for the next round.

ELIMETERA user is browsing a website when they get a popup from what appears to be a government agency. The message says the computer is involved in an illegal activity and they need to pay a fine online by entering their credit card number. The user tries to close the message, but they cannot. What category of action did the user most likely experience?

E@DELIMETERKidnap

ELIMETERJennifer's computer is infected due to a phishing scam. Based on the message presented, she is willing to pay in Bitcoin to regain access to her computer because she does not want to lose her video productions. However, she is having a difficult time launching a browser to pay the ransom. What type of malware was most likely installed?

E@DELIMETERBlocking ransomware

ELIMETERWhich of the following represents a disadvantage of a hardware keylogger?

E@DELIMETERIt needs to be installed and retrieved without the threat actor being detected.

ELIMETERFlorentina is analyzing a network and notices an unusual amount of traffic is being generated by some computers. Additional investigation reveals that most of the traffic is in the form of images being transmitted to an unfamiliar site. What specific type of malware was most likely installed on the compromised systems?

E@DELIMETERSoftware keylogger

ELIMETERJefferson downloads a version of PowerShell that is purported to have capabilities that exceed those of the native version. Shortly thereafter his computer starts to exhibit unusual behavior. The installed anti-malware tool does not reveal anything he does not already know. What type of malware is most likely to be installed on the system?

E@DELIMETERFileless virus

ELIMETERHow does a worm deliver its malicious payload?

E@DELIMETERIt replicates itself over the network.

ELIMETERA company determines that some of their computers are using specially coded attack commands that have been posted on certain social media sites. Every single one of the infected computers is considered a ________.

E@DELIMETERzombie

ELIMETEROn December 15, a small company starts transitioning to a new accounting package during their holiday break. Suddenly, on January 2, when employees return to work at 9:00 a.m., all computers in the accounting department repeatedly shut down within 15 minutes of being powered up. What type of malware is likely to have infected the computers?

E@DELIMETERLogic bomb

ELIMETERA malicious actor manages to install a backdoor on a system. What are some of the most likely reasons why they would do this? Select two.

E@DELIMETERTo circumvent security protections,For privilege escalation purposes

ELIMETERWhich of the following statements are true regarding an IoA or can be an example of an IoA? Select three.

E@DELIMETERA user is not able to log into their account a day before their password expires.,A user checks email while in Europe and downloads a file as if in Australia within 6 minutes.,An IoA is a sign an attack is currently in progress.

ELIMETERWhy has there been a heightened interest by threat actors toward attacking mobile devices?

E@DELIMETERThey have access to sensitive data.

ELIMETERA parent, who is a small business owner, takes their child on a business trip. The child uses the parent's phone during the flight. Unfortunately, the child leaves the phone on the plane, but the parent realizes it after it is too late to retrieve it. What kind of security could have prevented this type of vulnerability?

E@DELIMETERPhysical security

ELIMETERGuang buys a mobile device at an Apple store. He wants to harden the device using two strong methods of authentication. Which of the following would you advise Guang to use? Select two.

E@DELIMETERFacial recognition,Password

ELIMETERA company uses the COPE enterprise deployment model. Every six months they delete outdated sales data from the mobile devices. However, sometimes users submit a help desk ticket to restore personal data that was accidentally deleted. How could this problem be prevented?

E@DELIMETERUse containerization.

ELIMETERAnita is visiting a client when she discovers an app that was internally developed is missing from her mobile device. She contacts the home office, and they install the app remotely. What tool most likely provided this capability?

E@DELIMETERMAM

ELIMETERA firm is developing a new generation of a complex app for mobile devices. They expect the digital user's guide to contain at least 300 pages. It will be created in a collaborative effort authored by six individuals who work remotely. What tool can they use to help them keep track of editing history and version control regarding the user's guide?

E@DELIMETERMCM

ELIMETERWhich of the following represents capabilities that UEM provides? Select all that apply.

E@DELIMETERApply default device settings.,Install applications remotely.,Record changes to digital documents.,Enforce encryption settings.,Push notification services.

ELIMETERFor security reasons, an app has the restriction that it can only be used within a one-kilometer radius of a secure facility. What is being used to enforce this restriction?

E@DELIMETERGeofencing

ELIMETERHoracio is on a space team developing a RTOS for a mission-critical device that may be exposed to radiation. Which of the following best describes ways in which the team can improve the functionality and security of the RTOS? Select two.

E@DELIMETERImplement OS self-inspection.,Implement hardware monitoring.

ELIMETERYou work at a very large water treatment facility. Which of the following best describes systems you should secure and harden to help minimize any potential downtime? Select two.

E@DELIMETERICS systems,SCADA systems

ELIMETERWhich statement best describes why devices and systems that are optimized to draw very low levels of power lack the ability to perform strong security measures?

E@DELIMETERTo preserve battery life.

ELIMETERWhich of the following statements represents steps that can be taken to harden SCADA systems? Select two.

E@DELIMETERIdentify all connections to SCADA networks.,Disconnect unnecessary connections to the SCADA network.

ELIMETERWhich of the following describes true statements regarding the process of uncovering passwords using a high-outcome password cracker?

E@DELIMETERIt compares an existing database of hashes with hashes in the stolen password file.

ELIMETERA threat actor is building a computer for use in brute-force attacks. Which of the following is the attacker most likely to consider highly desirable?

E@DELIMETERA system with multiple powerful GPUs.

ELIMETERWhich of the following statements accurately describes the differences or similarities between a brute-force attack and a dictionary attack? Select two.

E@DELIMETERDictionary attacks are successful due to poor password policies.,A dictionary attack is a variation of an offline brute-force attack.

ELIMETERA security team at a research company determines they are going to use the following mask because it provides the highest probability of success: u?l?l?l?l?d?d?d? Which of the following is the research team most likely trying to achieve?

E@DELIMETERTo determine the most common password(s) based on the mask.

ELIMETERShivo's login credentials to log into work have been stolen. As a result, he is continuously receiving SMS text messages from the MFA app on his phone. Shivo thinks it might be an MFA fatigue attack but is not sure. What should he do?

E@DELIMETERContact the help desk.

ELIMETERNavana is responsible for implementing a cognitive biometric system to authenticate users at her company. Which one of the following elements will employees need to possess to log in successfully?

E@DELIMETERSomething you are

ELIMETERAn experienced threat actor manages to steal a password digest with 4 million entries. Their plan is to use a methodical series of password attack tools to try to crack as many passwords as possible but none of the passwords are available in plaintext. Which of the following will most likely be the next attack tool they will use?

E@DELIMETERDictionary attack

ELIMETERPooma is researching the viability of implementing keystroke dynamics to authenticate users. She writes a report highlighting some of the benefits. Which of the following statements is she most likely to include in the report as well as consider in the implementation plan? Select two.

E@DELIMETERIt requires no specialized hardware.,No additional steps are required beyond entering the username and password.

ELIMETERA security engineer needs to implement password authentication on a highly specialized system. A requirement is that if two different users specify the same password, the stored digests will not be the same. How can this be accomplished?

E@DELIMETERImplement salting to make dictionary and brute-force attacks more difficult.

ELIMETERA security audit firm recommends using a technology that will help protect password digests at a corporation. Their recommendation will dramatically reduce the efficiency of password cracking endeavors should the password digest ever be stolen. Which of the following reflects what the security audit firm may have recommended? Select two.

E@DELIMETERArgon2,Key stretching

ELIMETERA large company wants to manage passwords in such a way to, among other things, require users to log a valid reason for accessing specific resources. In addition, they want to revoke access to those resources after a user session to safeguard privileged accounts. Which of the following should the company implement?

Password vaulting

ELIMETERAn organization has been using a password management system/vault for their employees. However, they are concerned because they believe it is susceptible to malware. Which of the following is a possible solution to help minimize the concern?

Use a hardware password key.

ELIMETERWhich of the following areas should Jochebed's company address to ensure they are following sound practices relative to passwords? Select all that apply.

Length,Age,Reuse

ELIMETERA threat actor manages to spoof the MAC address in the cache of a computer with the goal of redirecting traffic. What type of attack is the threat actor launching?

poisoning

ELIMETERA MAC cloning attack is most likely to affect what type of device and how?

switch with the purpose of redirecting traffic.

ELIMETERIn a credential relay attack, which of the following best describes how the credentials are compromised? Select two?

E@DELIMETERAttackers try to intercept digests of user passwords as they are being transmitted.,Attackers use their own device to set up a MITM attack to intercept credentials.

ELIMETERA company has adopted anomaly-based monitoring and establishes a secure baseline. If the company does not maintain baselines on a timely basis, what is a potential consequence?

E@DELIMETERToo many false positives

ELIMETERWhich of the following represents a disadvantage of signature-based monitoring?

E@DELIMETERThe corresponding database must be constantly updated.