CompTIA Security+ Question K-14

A retail store uses a wireless network for its employees to access inventory from anywhere in the store. Due to concerns regarding the aging wireless network, the store manager has brought in a consultant to harden the network. During the site survey, the consultant discovers that the network was using WEP encryption. Which of the following would be the BEST course of action for the consultant to recommend?

A. Replace the unidirectional antenna at the front of the store with an omni-directional antenna.
B. Change the encryption used so that the encryption protocol is CCMP-based.
C. Disable the network’s SSID and configure the router to only access store devices based on MAC addresses.
D. Increase the access point’s encryption from WEP to WPA TKIP.

Answer: B

Explanation:
CCMP is the standard encryption protocol for use with the WPA2 standard and is much more secure than the WEP protocol and TKIP protocol of WPA. CCMP provides the following security services: Data confidentiality; ensures only authorized parties can access the information Authentication; provides proof of genuineness of the user Access control in conjunction with layer management

Incorrect Options:

A: The antenna type deals with signal strength and direction. It will not have a bearing on whether technology is older.

C: This option would “cloak” the network, not harden the network.

D: WPA2, which uses CCMP as its standard encryption protocol, more secure than WPA-TKIP.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CCMP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi_Protected_Access Stewart, James Michael, CompTIA Security+ Review Guide, Sybex, Indianapolis, 2014, pp. 61, 63

CompTIA Security+ Question J-22

A security administrator has implemented a policy to prevent data loss. Which of the following is the BEST method of enforcement?

A. Internet networks can be accessed via personally-owned computers.
B. Data can only be stored on local workstations.
C. Wi-Fi networks should use WEP encryption by default.
D. Only USB devices supporting encryption are to be used.

Answer: D

Explanation:
The concern for preventing data loss is the concern for maintaining data confidentiality. This can

be accomplished through encryption, access controls, and steganography. USB encryption is usually provided by the vendor of the USB device. It is not included on all USB devices.

CompTIA Security+ Question H-76

Ann, the network administrator, has learned from the helpdesk that employees are accessing the wireless network without entering their domain credentials upon connection. Once the connection is made, they cannot reach any internal resources, while wired network connections operate smoothly. Which of the following is MOST likely occurring?

A. A user has plugged in a personal access point at their desk to connect to the network wirelessly.
B. The company is currently experiencing an attack on their internal DNS servers.
C. The company’s WEP encryption has been compromised and WPA2 needs to be implemented instead.
D. An attacker has installed an access point nearby in an attempt to capture company information.

Answer: D

Explanation:
The question implies that users should be required to enter their domain credentials upon connection to the wireless network. The fact that they are connecting to a wireless network without being prompted for their domain credentials and they are unable to access network resources suggests they are connecting to a rogue wireless network. A rogue access point is a wireless access point that has either been installed on a secure company network without explicit authorization from a local network administrator, or has been created to allow a hacker to conduct a man-in-the-middle attack. Rogue access points of the first kind can pose a security threat to large organizations with many employees, because anyone with access to the premises can install (maliciously or non-maliciously) an inexpensive wireless router that can potentially allow access to a secure network to unauthorized parties. Rogue access points of the second kind target networks that do not employ mutual authentication (client-server server-client) and may be used in conjunction with a rogue RADIUS server, depending on security configuration of the target network. To prevent the installation of rogue access points, organizations can install wireless intrusion prevention systems to monitor the radio spectrum for unauthorized access points.

CompTIA Security+ Question E-85

An employee connects a wireless access point to the only jack in the conference room to provide Internet access during a meeting. The access point is configured to use WPA2-TKIP. A malicious user is able to intercept clear text HTTP communication between the meeting attendees and the Internet. Which of the following is the reason the malicious user is able to intercept and see the clear text communication?

A. The malicious user has access to the WPA2-TKIP key.
B. The wireless access point is broadcasting the SSID.
C. The malicious user is able to capture the wired communication.
D. The meeting attendees are using unencrypted hard drives.

Answer: C

Explanation:
In this question, the wireless users are using WPA2-TKIP. While TKIP is a weak encryption protocol, it is still an encryption protocol. Therefore, the wireless communications between the laptops and the wireless access point are encrypted. The question states that user was able to intercept ‘clear text’ HTTP communication between the meeting attendees and the Internet. The HTTP communications are unencrypted as they travel over the wired network. Therefore, the malicious user must have been able to capture the wired communication.

TKIP and AES are two different types of encryption that can be used by a Wi-Fi network. TKIP stands for “Temporal Key Integrity Protocol.” It was a stopgap encryption protocol introduced with WPA to replace the very-insecure WEP encryption at the time. TKIP is actually quite similar to WEP encryption. TKIP is no longer considered secure, and is now deprecated.

CompTIA Security+ Question C-54

A security administrator discovered that all communication over the company’s encrypted wireless network is being captured by savvy employees with a wireless sniffing tool and is then being decrypted in an attempt to steal other employee’s credentials. Which of the following technology is MOST likely in use on the company’s wireless?

A. WPA with TKIP
B. VPN over open wireless
C. WEP128-PSK
D. WPA2-Enterprise

Answer: C

Explanation:
WEP’s major weakness is its use of static encryption keys. When you set up a router with a WEP encryption key, that one key is used by every device on your network to encrypt every packet that’s transmitted. But the fact that packets are encrypted doesn’t prevent them from being intercepted, and due to some esoteric technical flaws it’s entirely possible for an eavesdropper to intercept enough WEP-encrypted packets to eventually deduce what the key is. This problem used to be something you could mitigate by periodically changing the WEP key (which is why routers generally allow you to store up to four keys). But few bother to do this because changing WEP keys is inconvenient and time-consuming because it has to be done not just on the router, but on every device that connects to it. As a result, most people just set up a single key and then continue using it ad infinitum.

Even worse, for those that do change the WEP key, new research and developments reinforce how even changing WEP keys frequently is no longer sufficient to protect a WLAN. The process of ‘cracking’ a WEP key used to require that a malicious hacker intercept millions of packets plus spend a fair amount of time and computing power. Researchers in the computer science department of a German university recently demonstrated the capability to compromise a WEP-protected network very quickly. After spending less than a minute intercepting data (fewer than 100,000 packets in all) they were able to compromise a WEP key in just three seconds.

CompTIA Security+ Question C-6

Which of the following BEST describes the weakness in WEP encryption?

A. The initialization vector of WEP uses a crack-able RC4 encryption algorithm. Once enough packets are captured an XOR operation can be performed and the asymmetric keys can be derived.
B. The WEP key is stored in plain text and split in portions across 224 packets of random data. Once enough packets are sniffed the IV portion of the packets can be removed leaving the plain text key.
C. The WEP key has a weak MD4 hashing algorithm used. A simple rainbow table can be used to generate key possibilities due to MD4 collisions.
D. The WEP key is stored with a very small pool of random numbers to make the cipher text. As the random numbers are often reused it becomes easy to derive the remaining WEP key.

Answer: D

Explanation:
WEP is based on RC4, but due to errors in design and implementation, WEP is weak in a number of areas, two of which are the use of a static common key and poor implementation of initiation vectors (IVs). When the WEP key is discovered, the attacker can join the network and then listen in on all other wireless client communications.

CompTIA Security+ Question B-79

The IT department has installed new wireless access points but discovers that the signal extends far into the parking lot. Which of the following actions should be taken to correct this?

A. Disable the SSID broadcasting
B. Configure the access points so that MAC filtering is not used
C. Implement WEP encryption on the access points
D. Lower the power for office coverage only

Answer: D

Explanation:
On the chance that the signal is actually traveling too far, some access points include power level controls, which allow you to reduce the amount of output provided.

CompTIA Security+ Question A-14

Peter, the systems administrator, is setting up a wireless network for his team’s laptops only and needs to prevent other employees from accessing it. Which of the following would BEST address this?

A. Disable default SSID broadcasting.
B. Use WPA instead of WEP encryption.
C. Lower the access point’s power settings.
D. Implement MAC filtering on the access point.

Answer: D

Explanation:
If MAC filtering is turned off, any wireless client that knows the values looked for (MAC addresses) can join the network. When MAC filtering is used, the administrator compiles a list of the MAC addresses associated with users’ computers and enters those addresses. When a client attempts to connect and other values have been correctly entered, an additional check of the MAC address is done. If the address appears in the list, the client is allowed to join; otherwise, it is forbidden from doing so.

CompTIA A+ Question G-7

A user is trying to setup a small office home office (SOHO) wireless network and does not want any neighbors to be able to discover the network. Which of the following parameters would MOST likely be configured?

A. Configure a proxy server address
B. Enable WEP encryption
C. Disable SSID broadcast
D. Configure DMZ settings