CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP) Question 40

A security engineer must establish a method to assess compliance with company security policies as they apply to the unique configuration of individual endpoints, as well as to the shared configuration policies of common devices.

Which of the following tools is the security engineer using to produce the above output?

A. Vulnerability scanner
B. SIEM
C. Port scanner
D. SCAP scanner

Correct Answer: B

CompTIA Security+ Question K-94

Which of the following tools would allow Ann, the security administrator, to be able to BEST quantify all traffic on her network?

A. Honeypot
B. Port scanner
C. Protocol analyzer
D. Vulnerability scanner

Answer: C

Explanation:
A Protocol Analyzer is a hardware device or more commonly a software program used to capture network data communications sent between devices on a network. By capturing and analyzing the packets sent between the systems on the network, Ann would be able to quantify the amount of traffic on the network. Well known software protocol analyzers include Message Analyzer (formerly Network Monitor) from Microsoft and Wireshark (formerly Ethereal).

CompTIA Security+ Question J-72

Which of the following types of technologies is used by security and research personnel for identification and analysis of new security threats in a networked environment by using false data/hosts for information collection?

A. Honeynet
B. Vulnerability scanner
C. Port scanner
D. Protocol analyzer

Answer: A

Explanation:
A honeynet is a network set up with intentional vulnerabilities; its purpose is to invite attack, so that an attacker’s activities and methods can be studied and that information used to increase network security. A honeynet contains one or more honey pots, which are computer systems on the Internet expressly set up to attract and “trap” people who attempt to penetrate other people’s computer systems. Although the primary purpose of a honeynet is to gather information about attackers’ methods and motives, the decoy network can benefit its operator in other ways, for example by diverting attackers from a real network and its resources. The Honeynet Project, a non-profit research organization dedicated to computer security and information sharing, actively promotes the deployment of honeynets. In addition to the honey pots, a honeynet usually has real applications and services so that it seems like a normal network and a worthwhile target. However, because the honeynet doesn’t actually serve any authorized users, any attempt to contact the network from without is likely an illicit attempt to breach its security, and any outbound activity is likely evidence that a system has been compromised. For this reason, the suspect information is much more apparent than it would be in an actual network, where it would have to be found amidst all the legitimate network data. Applications within a honeynet are often given names such as “Finances” or “Human Services” to make them sound appealing to the attacker.

CompTIA Security+ Question J-24

Which of the following should an administrator implement to research current attack methodologies?

A. Design reviews
B. Honeypot
C. Vulnerability scanner
D. Code reviews

Answer: B

Explanation:
A honeypot is a system whose purpose it is to be attacked. An administrator can watch and study the attack to research current attack methodologies.

According to the Wepopedia.com, a Honeypot luring a hacker into a system has several main purposes:

The administrator can watch the hacker exploit the vulnerabilities of the system, thereby learning where the system has weaknesses that need to be redesigned. The hacker can be caught and stopped while trying to obtain root access to the system. By studying the activities of hackers, designers can better create more secure systems that are potentially invulnerable to future hackers.

There are two main types of honeypots: Production – A production honeypot is one used within an organization’s environment to help mitigate risk. Research – A research honeypot add value to research in computer security by providing a platform to study the threat.

CompTIA Security+ Question H-19

Peter a company’s new security specialist is assigned a role to conduct monthly vulnerability scans across the network. He notices that the scanner is returning a large amount of false positives or failed audits. Which of the following should Peter recommend to remediate these issues?

A. Ensure the vulnerability scanner is located in a segmented VLAN that has access to the company’s servers
B. Ensure the vulnerability scanner is configured to authenticate with a privileged account
C. Ensure the vulnerability scanner is attempting to exploit the weaknesses it discovers
D. Ensure the vulnerability scanner is conducting antivirus scanning

Answer: A

Explanation:
The vulnerability scanner is returning false positives because it is trying to scan servers that it doesn’t have access to; for example, servers on the Internet. We need to ensure that the local network servers only are scanned. We can do this by locating the vulnerability scanner in a segmented VLAN that has access to the company’s servers.

A false positive is an error in some evaluation process in which a condition tested for is mistakenly found to have been detected. In spam filters, for example, a false positive is a legitimate message mistakenly marked as UBE -­unsolicited bulk email, as junk email is more formally known. Messages that are determined to be spam — whether correctly or incorrectly — may be rejected by a server or client-side spam filter and returned to the sender as bounce e-mail. One problem with many spam filtering tools is that if they are configured stringently enough to be effective, there is a fairly high chance of getting false positives. The risk of accidentally blocking an important message has been enough to deter many companies from implementing any anti-spam measures at all. False positives are also common in security systems. A host intrusion prevention system (HIPS), for example, looks for anomalies, such as deviations in bandwidth, protocols and ports. When activity varies outside of an acceptable range – for example, a remote application attempting to open a normally closed port — an intrusion may be in progress. However, an anomaly, such as a sudden spike in bandwidth use, does not guarantee an actual attack, so this approach amounts to an educated guess and the chance for false positives can be high. False positives contrast with false negatives, which are results indicating mistakenly that some condition tested for is absent.

CompTIA Security+ Question G-62

Jane, a security analyst, is reviewing logs from hosts across the Internet which her company uses to gather data on new malware. Which of the following is being implemented by Jane’s company?

A. Vulnerability scanner
B. Honeynet
C. Protocol analyzer
D. Port scanner

Answer: B

Explanation:
The Internet hosts used to gather data on new malware are known as honeypots. A collection of honeypots is known as a honeynet. A honeynet is a network set up with intentional vulnerabilities; its purpose is to invite attack, so that an attacker’s activities and methods can be studied and that information used to increase network security. A honeynet contains one or more honey pots, which are computer systems on the Internet expressly set up to attract and “trap” people who attempt to penetrate other people’s computer systems. Although the primary purpose of a honeynet is to gather information about attackers’ methods and motives, the decoy network can benefit its operator in other ways, for example by diverting attackers from a real network and its resources. The Honeynet Project, a non-profit research organization dedicated to computer security and information sharing, actively promotes the deployment of honeynets. In addition to the honey pots, a honeynet usually has real applications and services so that it seems like a normal network and a worthwhile target. However, because the honeynet doesn’t actually serve any authorized users, any attempt to contact the network from without is likely an illicit attempt to breach its security, and any outbound activity is likely evidence that a system has been compromised. For this reason, the suspect information is much more apparent than it would be in an actual network, where it would have to be found amidst all the legitimate network data. Applications within a honeynet are often given names such as “Finances” or “Human Services” to make them sound appealing to the attacker.

A virtual honeynet is one that, while appearing to be an entire network, resides on a single server.