CompTIA Security+ Question D-30

Peter an application developer is building an external facing marketing site. There is an area on the page where clients may submit their feedback to articles that are posted. Peter filters client-side JAVA input. Which of the following is Peter attempting to prevent?

A. SQL injections
B. Watering holes
C. Cross site scripting
D. Pharming

Answer: C

CompTIA Security+ Question D-29

Ann, a security analyst, is preparing for an upcoming security audit. To ensure that she identifies unapplied security controls and patches without attacking or compromising the system, Ann would use which of the following?

A. Vulnerability scanning
B. SQL injection
C. Penetration testing
D. Antivirus update

Answer: A

Explanation:
A vulnerability scan is the process of scanning the network and/or I.T. infrastructure for threats and vulnerabilities. The threats and vulnerabilities are then evaluated in a risk assessment and the necessary actions taken to resolve and vulnerabilities. A vulnerability scan scans for known weaknesses such as missing patches or security updates.

A vulnerability scan is the automated process of proactively identifying security vulnerabilities of computing systems in a network in order to determine if and where a system can be exploited and/or threatened. While public servers are important for communication and data transfer over the Internet, they open the door to potential security breaches by threat agents, such as malicious hackers. Vulnerability scanning employs software that seeks out security flaws based on a database of known flaws, testing systems for the occurrence of these flaws and generating a report of the findings that an individual or an enterprise can use to tighten the network’s security.

CompTIA Security+ Question D-28

In order to use a two-way trust model the security administrator MUST implement which of the following?

A. DAC
B. PKI
C. HTTPS
D. TPM

Answer: B

Explanation:
PKI is a high level concept. Within a PKI you use a trust model to set up trust between Certification Authorities (CAs). A public key infrastructure (PKI) is a set of hardware, software, people, policies, and procedures needed to create, manage, distribute, use, store, and revoke digital certificates.

CompTIA Security+ Question D-27

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) receives a suspicious voice mail warning of credit card fraud. No one else received the voice mail. Which of the following BEST describes this attack?

A. Whaling
B. Vishing
C. Spear phishing
D. Impersonation

Answer: A

Explanation:
Whaling is a specific kind of malicious hacking within the more general category of phishing, which involves hunting for data that can be used by the hacker. In general, phishing efforts are focused on collecting personal data about users. In whaling, the targets are high-ranking bankers, executives or others in powerful positions or job titles. Hackers who engage in whaling often describe these efforts as “reeling in a big fish,” applying a familiar metaphor to the process of scouring technologies for loopholes and opportunities for data theft. Those who are engaged in whaling may, for example, hack into specific networks where these powerful individuals work or store sensitive data. They may also set up keylogging or other malware on a work station associated with one of these executives. There are many ways that hackers can pursue whaling, leading C-level or top-level executives in business and government to stay vigilant about the possibility of cyber threats.

CompTIA Security+ Question D-26

Which of the following is an authentication service that uses UDP as a transport medium?

A. TACACS+
B. LDAP
C. Kerberos
D. RADIUS

Answer: D

Explanation:
RADIUS runs in the application layer and makes use of UDP as transport.

CompTIA Security+ Question D-25

Ann, the network administrator, is receiving reports regarding a particular wireless network in the building. The network was implemented for specific machines issued to the developer department, but the developers are stating that they are having connection issues as well as slow bandwidth. Reviewing the wireless router’s logs, she sees that devices not belonging to the developers are connecting to the access point. Which of the following would BEST alleviate the developer’s reports?

A. Configure the router so that wireless access is based upon the connecting device’s hardware address.
B. Modify the connection’s encryption method so that it is using WEP instead of WPA2.
C. Implement connections via secure tunnel with additional software on the developer’s computers.
D. Configure the router so that its name is not visible to devices scanning for wireless networks.

Answer: A

Explanation:
MAC addresses are also known as an Ethernet hardware address (EHA), hardware address or physical address. Enabling MAC filtering would allow for a WAP to restrict or allow access based on the hardware address of the device.

CompTIA Security+ Question D-24

A database administrator receives a call on an outside telephone line from a person who states that they work for a well-known database vendor. The caller states there have been problems applying the newly released vulnerability patch for their database system, and asks what version is being used so that they can assist. Which of the following is the BEST action for the administrator to take?

A. Thank the caller, report the contact to the manager, and contact the vendor support line to verify any reported patch issues.
B. Obtain the vendor’s email and phone number and call them back after identifying the number of systems affected by the patch.
C. Give the caller the database version and patch level so that they can receive help applying the patch.
D. Call the police to report the contact about the database systems, and then check system logs for attack attempts.

Answer: A

Explanation:
Impersonation is where a person, computer, software application or service pretends to be someone or something it’s not. Impersonation is commonly non-maliciously used in client/server applications. However, it can also be used as a security threat.

In this question, the person making the call may be impersonating someone who works for a well-known database vendor. The actions described in this answer would mitigate the risk. By not divulging information about your database system and contacting the vendor directly, you can be sure that you are talking to the right people.

CompTIA Security+ Question D-23

An email client says a digital signature is invalid and the sender cannot be verified. The recipient is concerned with which of the following concepts?

A. Integrity
B. Availability
C. Confidentiality
D. Remediation

Answer: A

Explanation:
A digital signature is similar in function to a standard signature on a document. It validates the integrity of the message and the sender. The message is encrypted using the encryption system, and a second piece of information, the digital signature, is added to the message. Digital Signatures is used to validate the integrity of the message and the sender. Integrity means the message can’t be altered without detection.

CompTIA Security+ Question D-22

A security engineer is asked by the company’s development team to recommend the most secure method for password storage.
Which of the following provide the BEST protection against brute forcing stored passwords? (Select TWO).

A. PBKDF2
B. MD5
C. SHA2
D. Bcrypt
E. AES
F. CHAP

Answer: A,D

Explanation:
A: PBKDF2 (Password-Based Key Derivation Function 2) is part of PKCS #5 v. 2.01. It applies some function (like a hash or HMAC) to the password or passphrase along with Salt to produce a derived key.

D: bcrypt is a key derivation function for passwords based on the Blowfish cipher. Besides incorporating a salt to protect against rainbow table attacks, bcrypt is an adaptive function: over time, the iteration count can be increased to make it slower, so it remains resistant to brute-force search attacks even with increasing computation power. The bcrypt function is the default password hash algorithm for BSD and many other systems.

References: Dulaney, Emmett and Chuck Eastton, CompTIA Security+ Study Guide, 6th Edition, Sybex, Indianapolis, 2014, pp. 109-110, 139, 143, 250, 255-256, 256

CompTIA Security+ Question D-21

Several employees have been printing files that include personally identifiable information of customers. Auditors have raised concerns about the destruction of these hard copies after they are created, and management has decided the best way to address this concern is by preventing these files from being printed.
Which of the following would be the BEST control to implement?

A. File encryption
B. Printer hardening
C. Clean desk policies
D. Data loss prevention

Answer: D

Explanation:
Data loss prevention (DLP) systems monitor the contents of systems (workstations, servers, and networks) to make sure that key content is not deleted or removed. They also monitor who is using the data (looking for unauthorized access) and transmitting the data. This would address the concerns of the auditors.