C836 WGU

C836 WGU COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 5 steps of the operations security process – I. Identification of critical information II. Analysis of threats III. Analysis of vulnerabilities IV. Assessment of risks V. Application of countermeasures 6 main hardening categories – I. Removing unnecessary software II. Removing or turning off unessential services III. Making alterations to common accounts IV. Applying the principle of least privilege V. Applying software updates in a timely manner VI. Making use of logging and auditing functions ABAC (attribute-based access control) - access control model in which access is based on attributes (of a person, a resource, or an environment) Acceptability - A measure of how agreeable a particular characteristic is to the users of a system Accountability - this provides us with the means to trace activities in our environment back to their source ACL (Access Control List) - typically built to a certain resource, these contain the identifiers of the party allowed to access the resource and what that party is allowed to do Administrative controls - based on rules, laws, policies, procedures, guidelines, and other items that are "paper" in nature AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) - A set of symmetric block ciphers endorsed by the US government through NIST. Shares the same block modes that DES uses and also includes other modes such as XEX-based Tweaked CodeBook (TCB) mode Allowing access - An act that grants a particular party access to a given resource Analysis of threats - 2nd step in the OPSEC process: to look at the potential harm or financial impact that might be caused by critical information being exposed, and who might exploit that exposure Analysis of vulnerabilities - 3rd step in the OPSEC process: to look at the weaknesses that can be used to harm us Anomaly-based IDS - an IDS that takes a baseline of normal network traffic and activity and measures current traffic against this baseline to detect unusual events Anti-Malware tool - A type of tool that uses signature matching or anomaly detection (heuristics) to detect malware threats, either in real-time or by performing scans of files and processes Appliance of countermeasures - 5th step in the OPSEC process: to put measures in place to mitigate risks Arbitrary code execution - An attack that exploits an applications vulnerability into allowing the attacker to execute commands on a user's computer. * Arbitrary code execution in intrinsic or securable SQL elements ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization) - a security method that involves shifting the contents of memory around to make tampering difficult Assessment of risks - 4th step in the OPSEC process: to determine what issues we really need to be concerned about (areas with matching threats and vulnerabilities) Asymmetric key cryptography (public key cryptography) - this method uses 2 keys, a public key and a private key Attack surface - The total of the areas through which our operating system might be attacked Auditing - a methodical examination and review that ensures accountability through technical means; ensures compliance with applicable laws, policies, and other bodies of administrative control, and detects misuse Authentication - a set of methods we use to establish a claim of identity as being true corroborates the identity of an entity, whether it is the sender, the sender's computer, some device, or some information Authentication attack - A type of attack that can occur when we fail to use strong authentication mechanisms for our applications Authenticity - allows for attribution as to the owner or creator of the data in question Authorization - enables us to determine what users are allowed to do Authorization attack - A type of attack that can occur when we fail to use authorization best practices for our applications Availability - refers to the ability to access our data when we need its availability, residual data, backups - Name the 3 main considerations for protecting data BCP (Business Continuity Plan) - the plans we put in place to ensure that critical business functions can continue operations in the event of an emergency Bell-LaPadula Model - A combination of DAC and MAC, primarily concerned with the confidentiality of the resource. - 2 security properties define how information can flow to and from the resource: the simple security property and the * property Biba model - Primarily concerned with protecting the integrity of data, even at the expense of confidentiality. - 2 security rules: the simple integrity axiom and the * integrity axiom BinScope Binary Analyzer - A tool developed by Microsoft to examine source code for general good practices Biometrics - Unique physical characteristics of an individual, such as the color patterns in an iris, fingerprints, or handprints Block cipher - A type of cipher that takes a predetermined number of bits in the plaintext message (commonly 64 bits) and encrypts that block Bounds checking - to set a limit on the amount of data we expect to receive to set aside storage for that data *required in most programming languages * prevents buffer overflows Brewer and Nash model - - Designed to prevent conflicts of interest - commonly used in industries that handle sensitive data - 3 main resources classes are considered in this model: objects, company groups, and conflict classes Buffer overflow (overrun) - The act of inputting more data than an application is expecting from a particular input, creating the possibility of executing commands by specifically crafting the excess data Burp suite - A well-known GUI web analysis tool that offers a free and professional version; the pro version includes advanced tools for conducting more in-depth attacks BYOD (bring your own device) - a phrase that refers to an organization's strategy and policies regarding the use of personal vs. corporate devices CA (certificate authority) - a trusted entity that handles digital certificates Caesar cipher - an ancient cryptographic technique based on transposition; involves shifting each letter of a plaintext message by a certain number of letters (historically 3) Capability-based security - in this method of security, a person's capabilities are oriented around the use of a token that controls their access (e.g. a personal badge) Certificate - created to link a public key to a particular individual; used as a form of electronic identification for that person Chain of custody - a record of where evidence was and how it was passed and protected; required by courts for admissibility of records Choke points - certain points in the network, such as routers, firewalls, or proxies, where we can inspect, filter, and control network traffic Ciphertext - encrypted data Circumvention - Describes the ease with which a system can be tricked by a falsified biometric identifier Clean desk policy - a security awareness issue that requires users to protect sensitive information at all times, even when away from one's desk Clickjacking - An attack that takes advantage of the graphical display capabilities of our browser to trick us into clicking on something we might not otherwise clickjacking (user interface redressing) - client-side attack that involves the attacker placing an invisible layer over something on a website that the user would normally click on in order to execute a command differing from what a user thinks they are performing - takes advantage of some of the page rendering features that are available in newer browsers Client-side attack - A type of attack that takes advantage of weaknesses in the software loaded on client machines or one that uses social engineering techniques to trick us into going along with the attack Cloud computing - services that are hosted, often over the Internet, for the purposes of delivering easily scaled computing services or resources Collectability - How easy it is to acquire a characteristic that we can later use to authenticate a user Competitive intelligence - the process of intelligence gathering and analysis in order to support business decisions Compliance - relating to an organization's adherence to laws, regulations, and standards Confidentiality - the act of holding information in confidence, not to be released to unauthorized individuals -a necessary component of privacy Confused deputy problem - A type of attack that is more common in systems that use ACLs rather than capabilities; - when software has greater permissions than user, the user can trick the software into misusing authority Containment - taking steps to ensure that the situation does not cause any more damage than it already has, or at the very least, lessen any ongoing harm CRL (Certificate Revocation List) - a public list that holds all the revoked certifications for a certain period of time Cryptanalysis - The science of breaking through the encryption used to create ciphertext Cryptographic algorithm (cipher) - The specifics of the process used to encrypt plaintext or decrypt ciphertext Cryptographic attack - A type of attack that can occur when we fail to properly design our security mechanisms when implementing cryptographic controls in our applications Cryptography - the science of keeping information secure Cryptology - The overarching field of study that covers cryptography and cryptanalysis CSRF (Cross Site Request Forgery) - a type of attack that misuses the authority of the browser on the user's computer DAC (Discretionary Access Control) - access control model in which access is determined by the owner of the resource in question- E.g. network share permissions Data at rest - Data that is on a storage device of some kind and is not moving Data at rest - This type of data is protected using data security (encryption) and physical security Data in motion - Data that is moving over a WAN or LAN, a wireless network, over the internet, or in other ways Data in motion - This type of data is best protected by protecting the data itself (using SSL, TLS) and protecting the connection (using IPsec VPN, SSL VPN) Data in use - This type of data is the hardest to protect Decryption - The process of recovering the plaintext message from the ciphertext Defense in depth - A multilayered defense that will allow us to achieve a successful defense should one or more of our defensive measures fail Denying access - an act that prevents a party from accessing something, such as logging on to a machine or entering the lobby of our building after hours Detection and analysis phase - The risk management phase where we detect the occurrence of an issue and decide whether it is actually an incident so that we can respond to it appropriately Detective controls - controls designed to detect and report undesirable events that are taking place Deterrence - refers to elements that discourage or prevent misbehavior in our environments Deterrent controls - Controls designed to discourage those who might seek to violate our security controls Deterrent, detective, preventive - name the 3 main types of physical controls Digital signature - a method of securing a message that involves generating a hash and encrypting it using a private key DMZ (demilitarized zone) - a combination of a network design feature and a protective device such as a firewall. Often used for systems that need to be exposed to external networks but are connected to our own network (such as a web server) DPI (Deep Packet Inspection) - a firewall technology that can analyze the actual content of the traffic that is flowing through DRP (Disaster Recovery Plan) - the plans we put in place in preparation for a potential disaster, and what exactly we will do during and after ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography) - An asymmetric encryption algorithm that uses smaller key sizes and requires less processing power than many other encryption methods commonly used in smaller wireless devices Elements of a complex password - a password that is a combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols, such as punctuation marks Encryption - a subset of cryptography that refers specifically to the transformation of unencrypted data into its encrypted form Environmental attributes - Attributes that relate to environmental conditions, such as time of day or length of time Equipment, facility repair/replacement - Name the considerations for protecting equipment Eradication - to completely remove the effects of the issue from our environment EU Directive 95/46/EC - EU regulation that safeguards personally identifiable information Executable space protection - A hardware and software-based technology that prevents certain portions of the memory used by the operating system and applications from being used to execute code Exploit framework - A group of tools that can include network mapping tools, sniffers, and exploits Exploits - small bits of software that take advantage of flaws in software/applications in order to cause them to behave in ways that were not intended by their creators Fabrication attack - An attack that involves generating data, processes, communications, or other similar activities with a system; - affects primarily integrity and availability Falsifying Identification - Authentication requirements help prevent this crime FAR (false acceptance rate) - the rate at which we accept users whom we should actually have rejected FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) - this law protects the privacy of students and their parents Firewall - a mechanism for maintaining control over the traffic that flows into and out of our networks FISMA (Federal Information Security Modernization Act) - this law provides a framework for ensuring the effectiveness of information security controls in federal government - changed from Management (2002) to Modernization in 2014 Flash media - storage media that is least sensitive to temperature, humidity, magnetic fields, and impacts Format string attack - a type of input validation attacks in which certain print functions within a programming language can be used to manipulate or view the internal memory of an application FRR (false rejection rate) - the rate at which we reject legitimate users when we should have accepted them Fuzzer - A type of tool that works by bombarding our applications with all manner of data and inputs from a wide variety of sources, in the hope that we can cause the application to fail or to perform in unexpected ways GLBA (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act) - this law protects the customers of financial institutions Good sources of secure coding guidelines - CERT, NIST 800, BSI, an organization's internal coding guidelines Hash - used to determine whether the message has changed; provides integrity (but not confidentiality) Hash function (message digest) - keyless cryptography that creates a largely unique and fixed-length hash value based on the original mesage Heuristics - the process of anomaly detection used by anti-malware tools to detect malware without signatures HIDS (host-based intrusion detection system) - a system used to analyze the activities on or directed at the network interface of a particular host. * may communicate with management device by sending regular beacons HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) - this law improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the health care system and protects patient privacy Honeypot - A type of tool that deliberately displays vulnerabilities or attractive data so it can detect, monitor, and sometimes tamper with the activities of an attacker Hping3 - A tool used to test the security of firewalls and map network topology. - constructs specially crafted ICMP packets to evade measures to hide devices behind firewall - scripting functionality to test firewall/IDS identification - the claim of what someone or something is Identification of critical information - 1st step in the OPSEC process, arguably the most important: to identify the assets that most need protection and will cause us the most harm if exposed Identify assets - One of the first and most important steps of the risk management process Identity verification - Something that supports our claim to identity, either in our personal interactions or in computer systems, e.g. social security cards IDS (intrusion detection system) - a monitoring tool that alerts when an attack or other undesirable activity is taking place If you are not protecting it, the dragon wins! - The 3rd Law of Haas' Laws of Operations Security If you don't know the threat, how do you know what to protect? - The 1st Law of Haas' Laws of Operations Security If you don't know what to protect, how do you know you are protecting it? - The 2nd Law of Haas' Laws of Operations Security Impact - involves considering the value of the asset being threatened to assess risk -sometimes added to the threat/vulnerability/risk equation Industry compliance - Regulations or standards designed for specific industries that may impact ability to conduct business (e.g. PCI DSS) Information Security - protects information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction Input validation - a type of attack that can occur when we fail to validate the input to our applications or take steps to filter out unexpected or undesirable content Integrity - refers to the ability to prevent our data from being changed in an unauthorized or undesirable manner Interception - a type of attack, primarily against confidentiality Interruption attack - An attack that causes our assets to become unusable or unavailable for our use, on a temporary or permanent basis -primarily affects availability -can affect integrity IPS (Intrusion Prevention System) - a tool that alarms and takes actions when malicious events occur Kismet - a well-known Linux sniffing tool used to detect wireless access points Limiting access - An act that allows some access to a given resource, but only up to a certain point Logging - A process that provides a history of the activities that have taken place in the environment Logical controls (technical controls) - controls that protect the systems, networks, and environments that process, transmit, and store our data MAC (Mandatory Access Control) - Access control model in which access is decided by a group or individual who has the authority to set access on resources Major categories of physical threats - extreme temperature, gases, living organisms, projectiles, movement, energy anomalies, people, toxins, smoke, and fire Malware - a security awareness issue that involves educating users about malicious software and how to avoid it MDM (mobile device management) - a solution that manages security elements for mobile devices in the workplace Metasploit, Immunity CANVAS, Core Impact - Name 3 examples of exploit frameworks MiniFuzz File Fuzzer - A tool developed by Microsoft to find flaws in file-handling source code Mitigating risk - Involves putting measures in place to help ensure that a given type of threat is accounted for Modification attack - An attack that involves tampering with our assets -primarily affects integrity -can affect availability Monitoring - a subset of auditing that focuses on observing information about the environment in order to discover undesirable conditions such as failures, resource shortages, security issues, and trends Most common security awareness issues - protecting data, passwords, social engineering, network usage, malware, the use of personal equipment, clean desk, policy knowledge Multifactor authentication - Uses one or more authentication methods for access Multilevel access control model - An access control model that includes many tiers of security and is used extensively by military and government organizations and those that handle data of a very sensitive nature Mutual authentication - An authentication mechanism in which both parties authenticate each other -can prevent a man-in-the-middle attack Nessus - A well-known vulnerability assessment tool that includes a port scanner NetStumbler - A Windows tool used to detect wireless access points Network segmentation - The act of dividing a network into multiple smaller networks, each acting as its own small network (subnet) Network usage - a security awareness issue that involves educating users about security issues around connecting devices to networks, such as connecting outside devices to the corporate network, and connecting corporate resources to a public network NIDS (Network intrusion detection system) - A system that monitors network traffic and alerts for unauthorized activity Nikto (and Wikto) - A web server analysis tool that performs checks for many common server-side vulnerabilities & creates an index of all the files and directories it can see on the target web server (a process known as spidering) Nmap - A well-known port scanner that can also search for hosts on a network, identify the operating systems those hosts are running, detect the version of the services running on any open ports, and more Nonrepudiation - Refers to a situation in which sufficient evidence exists as to prevent an individual from successfully denying that he or she has made a statement, or taken an action OPSEC (Operations Security) - the process we use to protect our information OS hardening - the process of reducing the number of available avenues through which our OS might be attacked Packet filtering - A firewall technology that inspects the contents of each packet in network traffic individually and makes a gross determination (based on source and destination IP address, port number, and the protocol being used) of whether the traffic should be allowed to pass Packet sniffer (aka network or protocol analyzer) - this type of tool can intercept traffic on a network; listens for any traffic that the network interface of our computer or device can see Parkerian hexad - A model that adds three more principles to the CIA triad: possession or control, utility, and authenticity Passwords - a security awareness issue that involves educating users of the importance of strong passwords and password handling best practices PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) - companies that process credit card payments must comply with this set of standards Penetration testing - A more active method of finding security holes that includes using the kinds of tools attackers use to mimic an attack on our environment Performance measurement - A set of metrics that judge how well a given system functions Permanence - how well a particular characteristic resists change over time and with advancing age Phishing - a social engineering technique that uses electronic communications (email, text, phone calls) to convince a potential victim to give out sensitive information or perform some action Physical access controls - Access controls that regulate movement into and out of building or facilities Physical controls - Controls that protect the physical environment in which our systems sit, or where our data is stored Physical security - A type of security that is concerned with the protection of people, equipment, and data Physical security controls - The devices, systems, people, and other methods we put in place to ensure our security in a physical sense PII (Personally Identifiable Information) - Information that can be used to identify an individual, and should be protected as sensitive data and monitored for compliance PKI (public key infrastructure) - infrastructure that includes the CAs that issue and verify certificates and the RAs that verify the identity of the individuals associated with the certificates Plaintext (cleartext) - unencrypted data Policy and regulatory knowledge - a security awareness issue that is necessary to maintain compliance throughout the organization Possession/control - the physical disposition of the media on which the data is stored Post-incident activity phase - The risk management phase where we determine specifically what happened, why it happened, and what we can do to keep it from happening again Preparation phase - The risk management phase that consists of all of the activities that we can perform in advance of the incident itself, in order to better enable us to handle it Pretexting - A technique involving a fake identity & a believable scenario that elicits the target to give out sensitive information or perform some action which they would not normally do for a stranger Preventive controls - Controls designed to physically prevent unauthorized entities from breaching our physical security Principle of least privilege - States that we should allow only the bare minimum access required in order for a given party (person, user account, or process) to perform a needed functionality Principle of Least Privilege - states we should only allow a party the absolute minimum permission needed for it to carry out its function Privacy - the state or condition of being free from being observed or disturbed by other people Privacy rights - Rights relating to the protection of an individual's personal information Privilege Escalation - An attack that exploits a vulnerability in software to gain access to resources that the user normally would be restricted from accessing. * via SQL injection or local issues Protecting data - a security awareness issue that is concerned with the criticality of carefully handling data from the perspectives of compliance, as well as reputation and customer retention Protocol issues - unauthenticated flaws in network protocols, authenticated flaws in network protocols, flaws in authentication protocols Protocol issues, unauthenticated access, arbitrary code execution, and privilege escalation - Name the 4 main categories of database security issues proxy server - a specialized type of firewall that can serve as a choke point, log traffic for later inspection, and provides a layer of security by serving as a single source of requests for the devices behind it Purple Dragon - The codename of a study conducted to discover the cause of an information leak during the Vietnam War; is now a symbol of OPSEC RA (registration authority) - An authority in a PKI that verifies the identity of the individual associated with the certificate Race conditions - A type of software development vulnerability that occurs when multiple processes or multiple threads within a process control or share access to a particular resource, and the correct handling of that resource depends on the proper ordering or timing of transactions RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) - a data storage virtualization technology that combines multiple physical disk drive components into a single logical unit for the purposes of data redundancy, performance improvement, or both. RBAC (Role Based Access Control) - access is based on the role the individual is performing - similar to MAC in that access controls are set by an authority responsible for doing so, rather than by the owner of the resource Recovery - restore to a better state (either the state prior to the incident, or if we did not detect the problem immediately, prior to when the issue started) Redundancy - a method of security that involves designing a network to always have another route if something fails or loses connection Regulatory compliance - Regulations mandated by law usually requiring regular audits and assessments Residual data - Data that is unintentionally left behind on a storage device Resource attributes - Attributes that relate to a particular resource, such as operating system or application Revocation - the ability to remove access from a resource at any point in time Risk - the likelihood that something bad will happen ROT13 cipher - a more recent cipher that uses the same mechanism as the Caesar cipher but moves each letter 13 places forward Safety, evacuation plans, administrative controls - Name the 3 main considerations for protecting people Sandbox - A set of resources devoted to a program, process, or similar entity, outside of which the entity cannot operate SATE (Security Awareness, Training and Education) - a program that seeks to make users aware of the risk they are accepting through their current actions and attempts to change their behavior through targeted efforts Scanner - a type of tool that can detect various security flaws when examining hosts SDL Regex Fuzzer - A tool developed by Microsoft for testing certain pattern-matching expressions for potential vulnerabilities Security in network design - This method of security involves a well-configured and patched network, and incorporating elements such as network segmentation, choke points, and redundancy Server-side attack - A type of attack on the web server that can target vulnerabilities such as lack of input validation, improper or inadequate permissions, or extraneous files left on the server from the development process Signature-based IDS - An IDS that maintains a database of signatures that might signal a particular type of attack and compares incoming traffic to those signatures Social engineering - techniques used by an attacker that rely on the willingness of people to help others Software firewall - This type of firewall generally contains a subset of the features on a large firewall appliance but is often capable of similar packet filtering and stateful packet inspection activities Something you are - An iris scan is an example of this type of factor Something you do - The time delay between your keystrokes is an example of this type of factor Something you have - A swipe card is an example of this type of factor Something you know - A password is an example of this type of factor SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act) - this law regulates the financial practice and governance of corporations spearphishing - a social engineering techniqe that targets a specific company, organization, or person, and involves knowing specifics about the target to appear valid SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection) - a firewall that can watch packets and monitor the traffic from a given connection SSH (Secure Shell) - protocol used to secure traffic in a variety of ways, including file transfers and terminal access. uses RSA encryption (asymmetric encryption) SSL (secure sockets layer) - a protocol that uses the RSA algorithm (an asymmetric algorithm) to secure web and email traffic Stream cipher - A type of cipher that encrypts each bit in the plaintext message, 1 bit at a time Stuxnet - A particularly complex and impactful item of malware that targeted the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems that run various industrial processes; this piece of malware raised the bar for malware from largely being a virtual-based attack to actually being physically destructive Subject attributes - Attributes of a particular individual, such as height Sun Tzu - A Chinese military general from 6th century BC who wrote The Art of War, a text that shows early examples of operations security principles Symmetric key cryptography (private key cryptography) - uses a single key for both encryption of the plaintext and decryption of the ciphertext Tailgating - A method by which a person follows directly behind another person who authenticates to the physical access control measure, thus allowing the follower to gain access without authenticating Tailgating (piggybacking) - a method by which a person follows directly behind another person who authenticates to the physical access control measure, thus allowing the follower to gain access without authenticating Tcpdump (WinDump for Windows) - classic, command-line sniffing tool that monitors network activities, filters traffic, and moreruns on UNIX systems The Federal Privacy Act of 1974 - This act safeguards privacy through the establishment of procedural and substantive rights in personal data Threat - something that has the potential to cause harm to our assets Uniqueness - a measure of the differences of a particular characteristic among a group of individuals Universality - a stipulation that our chosen biometric characteristic should be present in the majority of people we expect to enroll in the system Use of personal equipment - security awareness issue that is concerned with protecting a company's assets Utility - refers to how useful the data is to us Validating user inputs - a security best practice for all software * the most effective way of mitigating SQL injection attacks Violation - the act of doing something that is prohibited by law or rule VPN (Virtual Private Network) - an encrypted connection between two points Vulnerability - a weakness that can be used to harm us Vulnerability assessment - An activity involving the careful examination of our environment using vulnerability scanning tools in order to discover vulnerabilities Vulnerability assessment tool - A tool that is aimed specifically at the task of finding and reporting network services on hosts that have known vulnerabilities web application analysis tool - A type of tool that analyzes web pages or web-based applications and searches for common flaws such as XSS or SQL injection flaws, and improperly set permissions, extraneous files, outdated software versions, and many more such items Where you are - Being at a specific terminal is an example of this type of factor Wireshark - a graphical interface protocol sniffing tool that is capable of filtering, sorting, & analyzing both wired and wireless traffic - popular troubleshooting tool XSRF (cross-site request forgery) - an attack in which the attacker places a link on a web page in such a way that it will be automatically executed to initiate a particular activity on another web page or application where the user is currently authenticated XSS (Cross Site Scripting) - an attack carried out by placing code in the form of a scripting language into a web page or other media that is interpreted by a client browser