Cyberops Associate (Version 1.0) - Modules 1 - 2: Threat Actors and Defenders Group Exam Answers
Cyberops Associate (Version 1.0) - Modules 1 - 2: Threat Actors and Defenders Group Exam Answers
Cyberops Associate (Version 1.0) - Modules 1 - 2: Threat Actors and Defenders Group Exam Answers
0) – Modules 1 – 2:
Threat Actors and Defenders Group Exam Answers
1. Which organization is an international nonprofit organization that offers
the CISSP certification?
▪ CompTIA
▪ (ISC)2
▪ IEEE
▪ GIAC
Explanation: (ISC)2 is an international nonprofit organization that offers the
CISSP certification.
2. What is a benefit to an organization of using SOAR as part of the SIEM
system?
▪ SOAR was designed to address critical security events and high-end
investigation.
▪ SOAR would benefit smaller organizations because it requires no
cybersecurity analyst involvement once installed.
▪ SOAR automates incident investigation and responds to workflows
based on playbooks.
▪ SOAR automation guarantees an uptime factor of “5 nines”.
Explanation: SIEM systems are used for collecting and filtering data, detecting
and classifying threats, and analyzing and investigating threats. SOAR
technology does the same as SIEMs but it also includes automation. SOAR
integrates threat intelligence and automates incident investigation. SOAR also
responds to events using response workflows based on previously developed
playbooks.
3. Which personnel in a SOC are assigned the task of hunting for potential
threats and implementing threat detection tools?
▪ Tier 3 SME
▪ Tier 2 Incident Reporter
▪ Tier 1 Analyst
▪ SOC Manager
Explanation: In a SOC, Tier 3 SMEs have expert-level skills in network,
endpoint, threat intelligence, and malware reverse engineering (RE). They are
deeply involved in hunting for potential security threats and implementing
threat detection tools.
4. Which three technologies should be included in a SOC security
information and event management system? (Choose three.)
▪ security monitoring
▪ threat intelligence
▪ proxy service
▪ firewall appliance
▪ intrusion prevention
▪ log management
Explanation: Technologies in a SOC should include the following:
Event collection, correlation, and analysis
Security monitoring
Security control
Log management
Vulnerability assessment
Vulnerability tracking
Threat intelligence
Proxy server, VPN, and IPS are security devices deployed in the network
infrastructure.
5. The term cyber operations analyst refers to which group of personnel in a
SOC?
▪ Tier 1 personnel
▪ Tier 3 personnel
▪ Tier 2 personnel
▪ SOC managers
Explanation: In a typical SOC, the Tier 1 personnel are called alert analysts,
also known as cyberoperations analysts.
6. How does a security information and event management system (SIEM) in
a SOC help the personnel fight against security threats?
▪ by analyzing logging data in real time
▪ by combining data from multiple technologies
▪ by integrating all security devices and appliances in an organization
▪ by dynamically implementing firewall rules
Explanation: A security information and event management system (SIEM)
combines data from multiple sources to help SOC personnel collect and filter
data, detect and classify threats, analyze and investigate threats, and manage
resources to implement preventive measures.
7. An SOC is searching for a professional to fill a job opening. The employee
must have expert-level skills in networking, endpoint, threat intelligence,
and malware reverse engineering in order to search for cyber threats
hidden within the network. Which job within an SOC requires a professional
with those skills?
▪ Incident Responder
▪ Alert Analyst
▪ SOC Manager
▪ Threat Hunter
Explanation: Tier 3 professionals called Threat Hunters must have expert-
level skills in networking, endpoint, threat intelligence, and malware reverse
engineering. They are experts at tracing the processes of malware to
determine the impact of the malware and how it can be removed.
8. Which three are major categories of elements in a security operations
center? (Choose three.)
▪ technologies
▪ Internetconnection
▪ processes
▪ data center
▪ people
▪ database engine
Explanation: The three major categories of elements of a security operations
center are people, processes, and technologies. A database engine, a data
center, and an Internet connection are components in the technologies
category.
9. Which KPI metric does SOAR use to measure the time required to stop the
spread of malware in the network?
▪ MITR
▪ Time to Control
▪ MITC
▪ MTTD
Explanation:
The common key performance indicator (KPI) metrics compiled by SOC
managers are as follows:
• Dwell Time: the length of time that threat actors have access to a network
before they are detected and the access of the threat actors stopped
• Mean Time to Detect (MTTD): the average time that it takes for the SOC
personnel to identify that valid security incidents have occurred in the network
• Mean Time to Respond (MTTR): the average time that it takes to stop and
remediate a security incident
• Mean Time to contain (MTTC): the time required to stop the incident from
causing further damage to systems or data
• Time to Control the time required to stop the spread of malware in the
network
10. What job would require verification that an alert represents a true
security incident or a false positive?
▪ Alert Analyst
▪ Threat Hunter
▪ SOC Manager
▪ Incident Reporter
Explanation: A Cybersecurity Analyst monitors security alert queues and uses
a ticketing system to assign alerts to a queue for an analyst to investigate.
Because the software that generates alerts can trigger false alarms, one job of
the Cybersecurity Analyst would be to verify that an alert represents a true
security incident.
11. When a user turns on the PC on Wednesday, the PC displays a message
indicating that all of the user files have been locked. In order to get the files
unencrypted, the user is supposed to send an email and include a specific ID
in the email title. The message also includes ways to buy and submit
bitcoins as payment for the file decryption. After inspecting the message,
the technician suspects a security breach occurred. What type of malware
could be responsible?
▪ Trojan
▪ spyware
▪ adware
▪ ransomware
Explanation: Ransomware requires payment for access to the computer or
files. Bitcoin is a type of digital currency that does not go through a particular
bank.
12. An employee connects wirelessly to the company network using a cell
phone. The employee then configures the cell phone to act as a wireless
access point that will allow new employees to connect to the company
network. Which type of security threat best describes this situation?
▪ rogue access point
▪ cracking
▪ spoofing
▪ denial of service
Explanation: Configuring the cell phone to act as a wireless access point
means that the cell phone is now a rogue access point. The employee
unknowingly breached the security of the company network by allowing a user
to access the network without connecting through the company access point.
Cracking is the process of obtaining passwords from data stored or transmitted
on a network. Denial of service attacks refer to sending large amounts of data
to a networked device, such as a server, to prevent legitimate access to the
server. Spoofing refers to access gained to a network or data by an attacker
appearing to be a legitimate network device or user.
13. What are two examples of personally identifiable information (PII)?
(Choose two.)
▪ first name
▪ IP address
▪ language preference
▪ street address
▪ credit card number
Explanation: Personally identifiable information (PII) is any data that could
potentially identify and track a specific individual. A credit card number and
street address are the best examples of PII.
14. What is the dark web?
▪ It is a website that reports the most recent activities of cybercriminals all
over the world.
▪ It is a website that sells stolen credit cards.
▪ It is part of the internet where a person can obtain personally identifiable
information from anyone for free
▪ It is part of the internet that can only be accessed with special
software.
Explanation: One of the more lucrative goals of cybercriminals is obtaining
lists of personally identifiable information that can then be sold on the dark
web. The dark web can only be accessed with special software and is used by
cybercriminals to shield their activities. Stolen PII can be used to create fake
accounts, such as credit cards and short-term loans.
15. A company has just had a cybersecurity incident. The threat actor
appeared to have a goal of network disruption and appeared to use a
common security hack tool that overwhelmed a particular server with a
large amount of traffic. This traffic rendered the server inoperable. How
would a certified cybersecurity analyst classify this type of threat actor?
▪ terrorist
▪ hacktivist
▪ state-sponsored
▪ amateur
Explanation:Amateurs or script kiddies use common, existing tools found on
the internet to launch attacks. Hacktivists disrupt services in protest against
organizations or governments for a particular political or social idea. State-
sponsored threat actors use cyberspace for industrial espionage or interfering
with another country in some way. Terrorist groups attack for a specific cause.
16. A user calls the help desk complaining that the password to access the
wireless network has changed without warning. The user is allowed to
change the password, but an hour later, the same thing occurs. What might
be happening in this situation?
▪ rogue access point
▪ password policy
▪ weak password
▪ user error
▪ user laptop
Explanation:Man-in-the-middle attacks are a threat that results in lost
credentials and data. These type of attacks can occur for different reasons
including traffic sniffing.
17. Which regulatory law regulates the identification, storage, and
transmission of patient personal healthcare information?
▪ FISMA
▪ HIPAA
▪ PCI-DSS
▪ GLBA
Explanation: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
requires that all patient personally identifiable healthcare information be
stored, maintained, and transmitted in ways that ensure patient privacy and
confidentiality.
18. A worker in the records department of a hospital accidentally sends a
medical record of a patient to a printer in another department. When the
worker arrives at the printer, the patient record printout is missing. What
breach of confidentiality does this situation describe?
▪ EMR
▪ PII
▪ PSI
▪ PHI
Explanation: Protected Health Information (PHI) includes patient name,
addresses, visiting dates and more. The Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulates and provides severe penalties for
breaches of PHI. EMRs (Electronic Medical Records) are documents created
and maintained by the medical community that contain PHI. Personally
identifiable information (PII) is any information that can be used to positively
identify an individual, such as name and social security number. Personal
Security Information (PSI) is related to information about an individual such as
passwords, access keys, and account details.
19. What type of cyberwarfare weapon was Stuxnet?
▪ botnet
▪ virus
▪ worm
▪ ransomware
Explanation:The Stuxnet worm was an excellent example of a sophisticated
cyberwarfare weapon. In 2010, it was used to attack programmable logic
controllers that operated uranium enrichment centrifuges in Iran.
20. Which example illustrates how malware might be concealed?
21. What websites should a user avoid when connecting to a free and
open wireless hotspot?
▪ websites to check account fees
▪ websites to check product details
▪ websites to check stock prices
▪ websites to make purchases
Explanation: Many free and open wireless hotspots operate with no
authentication or weak authentication mechanisms. Attackers could easily
capture the network traffic in and out of such a hotspot and steal user
information. Therefore, users who use free and open wireless hotspots to
connect to websites should avoid giving any personal information to the
websites.
22. In a smart home, an owner has connected many home devices to the
Internet, such as the refrigerator and the coffee maker. The owner is
concerned that these devices will make the wireless network vulnerable to
attacks. What action could be taken to address this issue?
▪ Configure mixed mode wireless operation.
▪ Install the latest firmware versions for the devices.
▪ Assign static IP addresses to the wireless devices.
▪ Disable the SSID broadcast.
Explanation: The Internet of Things (IoT) is facilitating the connection of
different kinds of devices to the internet, like home devices such as coffee
makers and refrigerators, and also wearable devices. In order to make these
devices secure and not vulnerable to attacks, they have to be updated with the
latest firmware.
23. Match the SOC metric to the description. (Not all options are used.)
24. A group of users on the same network are all complaining about their
computers running slowly. After investigating, the technician determines
that these computers are part of a zombie network. Which type of malware
is used to control these computers?
▪ botnet
▪ spyware
▪ virus
▪ rootkit
Explanation: A botnet is a network of infected computers called a zombie
network. The computers are controlled by a hacker and are used to attack
other computers or to steal data.
25. Which statement describes cyberwarfare?
▪ It is Internet-based conflict that involves the penetration of
information systems of other nations.
▪ It is simulation software for Air Force pilots that allows them to practice
under a simulated war scenario.
▪ Cyberwarfare is an attack carried out by a group of script kiddies.
▪ It is a series of personal protective equipment developed for soldiers
involved in nuclear war
Explanation: Cyberwarfare is Internet-based conflict that involves the
penetration of the networks and computer systems of other nations. Organized
hackers are typically involved in such an attack.
26. Why do IoT devices pose a greater risk than other computing devices on
a network?
▪ Most IoT devices do not receive frequent firmware updates.
▪ Most IoT devices do not require an Internet connection and are unable
to receive new updates.
▪ IoT devices cannot function on an isolated network with only an Internet
connection.
▪ IoT devices require unencrypted wireless connections.
Explanation: IoT devices commonly operate using their original firmware and
do not receive updates as frequently as laptops, desktops, and mobile
platforms.
27. Which cyber attack involves a coordinated attack from a botnet of
zombie computers?
▪ DDoS
▪ MITM
▪ address spoofing
▪ ICMP redirect
Explanation: DDoS is a distributed denial-of-services attack. A DDoS attack is
launched from multiple coordinated sources. The sources of the attack are
zombie hosts that the cybercriminal has built into a botnet. When ready, the
cybercriminal instructs the botnet of zombies to attack the chosen target.
28. What is the main purpose of cyberwarfare?
▪ to protect cloud-based data centers
▪ to develop advanced network devices
▪ to gain advantage over adversaries
▪ to simulate possible war scenarios among nations
Explanation: Cyberwarfare is Internet-based conflict that involves the
penetration of the networks and computer systems of other nations. The main
purpose of cyberwarfare is to gain advantage over adversaries, whether they
are nations or competitors.
ls –l analyst.txt
▪ write only
▪ read, write
▪ read only
▪ read, write, execute
Explanation: The file permissions are always displayed in the User Group and
Other order. In the example displayed, the file has the following permissions:
The dash ( – ) means that this is a file. For directories, the first dash would
replaced with a “d”.
The first set of characters is for user permission (rwx).
The user, sales, who owns the file can read, write and execute the file.
The second set of characters is for group permissions (rw-). The group, staff,
who owns the file can read and write to the file.
The third set of characters is for any other user or group permissions (r–). Any
other user or group on the computer can only read the file.
5. A Linux system boots into the GUI by default, so which application can a
network administrator use in order to access the CLI environment?
▪ system viewer
▪ file viewer
▪ package management tool
▪ terminal emulator
Explanation: A terminal emulator is an application program a user of Linux
can use in order to access the CLI environment.
6. What is the well-known port address number used by DNS to serve
requests?
▪ 25
▪ 53
▪ 110
▪ 60
Explanation: Port numbers are used in TCP and UDP communications to
differentiate between the various services running on a device. The well-
known port number used by DNS is port 53.
7. Which user can override file permissions on a Linux computer?
▪ any user that has ‘group’ permission to the file
▪ only the creator of the file
▪ any user that has ‘other’ permission to the file
▪ root user
Explanation: A user has as much rights to a file as the file permissions allow.
The only user that can override file permission on a Linux computer is the root
user. Because the root user has the power to override file permissions, the
root user can write to any file.
8. Match the commonly used ports on a Linux server with the corresponding
service.
▪ SMTP: 25
▪ DNS: 53
▪ HTTPS: 443
▪ SSH: 22
▪ TELNET: 23
9. Match typical Linux log files to the function.
33. A user creates a file with .ps1 extension in Windows. What type of file
is it?
▪ PowerShell documentation
▪ PowerShell cmdlet
▪ PowerShell script
▪ PowerShell function
Explanation: The types of commands that PowerShell can execute include the
following:
cmdlets – perform an action and return an output or object to the next
command that will be executed
PowerShell scripts – files with a .ps1 extension that contain PowerShell
commands that are executed
PowerShell functions – pieces of code that can be referenced in a script
34. Match the Windows system tool with the description. (Not all options
are used.)
TCP:
▪ 3-wayhandshake
▪ window size
UDP:
▪ connectionless
▪ bestfor VoIP
Both UDP and TCP:
▪ Port number
▪ checksum
Explanation: TCP uses 3-way handshaking as part of being able to provide
reliable communication and window size to provide data flow control. UDP is a
connectionless protocol that is great for video conferencing. Both TCP and
UDP have port numbers to distinguish between applications and application
windows and a checksum field for error detection.
20. What action does a DHCPv4 client take if it receives more than one
DHCPOFFER from multiple DHCP servers?
▪ It sends a DHCPNAK and begins the DHCP process over again.
▪ It accepts both DHCPOFFER messages and sends a DHCPACK.
▪ It discards both offers and sends a new DHCPDISCOVER.
▪ It sends a DHCPREQUEST that identifies which lease offer the client is
accepting.
Explanation: If there are multiple DHCP servers in a network, it is possible for
a client to receive more than one DHCPOFFER. In this scenario, the client will
only send one DHCPREQUEST, which includes the server from which the
client is accepting the offer.
21. Refer to the exhibit. From the perspective of users behind the NAT
router, what type of NAT address is 209.165.201.1?
▪ inside global
▪ inside local
▪ outside global
▪ outside local
Explanation: From the perspective of users behind NAT, inside global
addresses are used by external users to reach internal hosts. Inside local
addresses are the addresses assigned to internal hosts. Outside global
addresses are the addresses of destinations on the external network. Outside
local addresses are the actual private addresses of destination hosts behind
other NAT devices.
22. Match each characteristic to the appropriate email protocol. (Not all
options are used.)
POP:
▪ does not require a centralized backup solution.
▪ mail is deleted as it is downloaded.
▪ desirable for an ISP or large business.
IMAP:
▪ download copies of messages to be the client.
▪ original messages must be manually deleted.
▪ requires a larger a mount of disk space.
23. What is done to an IP packet before it is transmitted over the physical
medium?
▪ It is tagged with information guaranteeing reliable delivery.
▪ It is segmented into smaller individual pieces.
▪ It is encapsulated in a Layer 2 frame.
▪ It is encapsulated into a TCP segment.
Explanation: When messages are sent on a network, the encapsulation
process works from the top of the OSI or TCP/IP model to the bottom. At each
layer of the model, the upper layer information is encapsulated into the data
field of the next protocol. For example, before an IP packet can be sent, it is
encapsulated in a data link frame at Layer 2 so that it can be sent over the
physical medium.
33. What are the two sizes (minimum and maximum) of an Ethernet
frame? (Choose two.)
▪ 128 bytes
▪ 64 bytes
▪ 1024 bytes
▪ 56 bytes
▪ 1518 bytes
Explanation: The minimum Ethernet frame is 64 bytes. The maximum
Ethernet frame is 1518 bytes. A network technician must know the minimum
and maximum frame size in order to recognize runt and jumbo frames.
34. Which process failed if a computer cannot access the internet and
received an IP address of 169.254.142.5?
▪ DNS
▪ IP
▪ HTTP
▪ DHCP
Explanation: When a Windows computer cannot communicate with an IPv4
DHCP server, the computer automatically assigns itself an IP address in
the169.254.0.0/16 range. Linux and Apple computers do not automatically
assign an IP address.
35. Which statement describes a feature of the IP protocol?
▪ IP relies on Layer 2 protocols for transmission error control.
▪ MAC addresses are used during the IP packet encapsulation.
▪ IP relies on upper layer services to handle situations of missing or
out-of-order packets.
▪ IP encapsulation is modified based on network media.
Explanation: IP protocol is a connection-less protocol, considered unreliable in
terms of end-to-end delivery. It does not provide error control in the cases
where receiving packets are out-of-order or in cases of missing packets. It
relies on upper layer services, such as TCP, to resolve these issues.
38. A large corporation has modified its network to allow users to access
network resources from their personal laptops and smart phones. Which
networking trend does this describe?
▪ cloud computing
▪ video conferencing
▪ online collaboration
▪ bring your own device
Explanation: BYOD allows end users to use personal tools to access the
corporate network. Allowing this trend can have major impacts on a network,
such as security and compatibility with corporate software and devices.
39. Match each description to its corresponding term. (Not all options are
used.)
▪ 66
▪ 1514
▪ 6666
▪ 48598
Explanation: During the TCP three-way handshake process, the output shows
that the host uses source port 48598 to initiate the connection and request the
download.
46. Which two operations are provided by TCP but not by UDP? (Choose
two.)
▪ retransmitting any unacknowledged data
▪ acknowledging received data
▪ reconstructing data in the order received
▪ identifying the applications
▪ tracking individual conversations
Explanation: Numbering and tracking data segments, acknowledging received
data, and retransmitting any unacknowledged data are reliability operations to
ensure that all of the data arrives at the destination. UDP does not provide
reliability. Both TCP and UDP identify the applications and track individual
conversations. UDP does not number data segments and reconstructs data in
the order that it is received.
47. A user is executing a tracert to a remote device. At what point would a
router, which is in the path to the destination device, stop forwarding the
packet?
▪ when the router receives an ICMP Time Exceeded message
▪ when the RTT value reaches zero
▪ when the values of both the Echo Request and Echo Reply messages
reach zero
▪ when the host responds with an ICMP Echo Reply message
▪ when the value in the TTL field reaches zero
Explanation: When a router receives a traceroute packet, the value in the TTL
field is decremented by 1. When the value in the field reaches zero, the
receiving router will not forward the packet, and will send an ICMP Time
Exceeded message back to the source.
48. A network administrator is testing network connectivity by issuing the
ping command on a router. Which symbol will be displayed to indicate that
a time expired during the wait for an ICMP echo reply message?
▪U
▪.
▪!
▪$
Explanation: When the ping command is issued on a router, the most
common indicators are as follows:
! – indicates receipt of an ICMP echo reply message
. – indicates a time expired while waiting for an ICMP echo reply message
U – an ICMP message of unreachability was received
49. A technician is configuring email on a mobile device. The user wants to
be able to keep the original email on the server, organize it into folders, and
synchronize the folders between the mobile device and the server. Which
email protocol should the technician use?
▪ SMTP
▪ MIME
▪ POP3
▪ IMAP
Explanation: The IMAP protocol allows email data to be synchronized
between a client and server. Changes made in one location, such as marking
an email as read, are automatically applied to the other location. POP3 is also
an email protocol. However, the data is not synchronized between the client
and the server. SMTP is used for sending email, and is typically used in
conjunction with the POP3 protocol. MIME is an email standard that is used to
define attachment types, and allows extra content like pictures and documents
to be attached to email messages.
50. At which OSI layer is a source MAC address added to a PDU during the
encapsulation process?
▪ application layer
▪ presentation layer
▪ data link layer
▪ transport layer
51. Which value, that is contained in an IPv4 header field, is decremented by
each router that receives a packet?
▪ Time-to-Live
▪ Fragment Offset
▪ Header Length
▪ Differentiated Services
Explanation: When a router receives a packet, the router will decrement the
Time-to-Live (TTL) field by one. When the field reaches zero, the receiving
router will discard the packet and will send an ICMP Time Exceeded message
to the sender.
52. What are three responsibilities of the transport layer? (Choose three.)
▪ identifying the applications and services on the client and server that
should handle transmitted data
▪ conducting error detection of the contents in frames
▪ meeting the reliability requirements of applications, if any
▪ directing packets towards the destination network
▪ formatting data into a compatible form for receipt by the destination
devices
▪ multiplexing multiple communication streams from many users or
applications on the same network
Explanation: The transport layer has several responsibilities. Some of the
primary responsibilities include the following:
Tracking the individual communication streams between applications on the
source and destination hosts
Segmenting data at the source and reassembling the data at the destination
Identifying the proper application for each communication stream through the
use of port numbers
Multiplexing the communications of multiple users or applications over a single
network
Managing the reliability requirements of applications
53. Which two ICMP messages are used by both IPv4 and IPv6 protocols?
(Choose two.)
▪ route redirection
▪ neighbor solicitation
▪ router solicitation
▪ router advertisement
▪ protocol unreachable
Explanation: The ICMP messages common to both ICMPv4 and ICMPv6
include: host confirmation, destination (net, host, protocol, port) or service
unreachable, time exceeded, and route redirection. Router solicitation,
neighbor solicitation, and router advertisement are new protocols implemented
in ICMPv6.
54. What mechanism is used by a router to prevent a received IPv4 packet
from traveling endlessly on a network?
▪ It checks the value of the TTL field and if it is 100, it discards the packet
and sends a Destination Unreachable message to the source host.
▪ It decrements the value of the TTL field by 1 and if the result is 0, it
discards the packet and sends a Time Exceeded message to the
source host.
▪ It checks the value of the TTL field and if it is 0, it discards the packet
and sends a Destination Unreachable message to the source host.
▪ It increments the value of the TTL field by 1 and if the result is 100, it
discards the packet and sends a Parameter Problem message to the
source host.
Explanation: To prevent an IPv4 packet to travel in the network endlessly,
TCP/IP protocols use ICMPv4 protocol to provide feedback about issues.
When a router receives a packet and decrements the TTL field in the IPv4
packet by 1 and if the result is zero, it discards the packet and sends a Time
Exceeded message to the source host.
55. A device has been assigned the IPv6 address of
2001:0db8:cafe:4500:1000:00d8:0058:00ab/64. Which is the host
identifier of the device?
▪ 2001:0db8:cafe:4500:1000:00d8:0058:00ab
▪ 00ab
▪ 2001:0db8:cafe:4500
▪ 1000:00d8:0058:00ab
Explanation: The address has a prefix length of /64. Thus the first 64 bits
represent the network portion, whereas the last 64 bits represent the host
portion of the IPv6 address.
56. What three application layer protocols are part of the TCP/IP protocol
suite? (Choose three.)
▪ DHCP
▪ PPP
▪ FTP
▪ DNS
▪ NAT
▪ ARP
Explanation: DNS, DHCP, and FTP are all application layer protocols in the
TCP/IP protocol suite. ARP and PPP are network access layer protocols, and
NAT is an internet layer protocol in the TCP/IP protocol suite.
57. A computer can access devices on the same network but cannot access
devices on other networks. What is the probable cause of this problem?
▪ The computer has an invalid IP address.
▪ The cable is not connected properly to the NIC.
▪ The computer has an incorrect subnet mask.
▪ The computer has an invalid default gateway address.
Explanation: The default gateway is the address of the device a host uses to
access the Internet or another network. If the default gateway is missing or
incorrect, that host will not be able to communicate outside the local network.
Because the host can access other hosts on the local network, the network
cable and the other parts of the IP configuration are working.
58. Refer to the exhibit. PC1 issues an ARP request because it needs to send
a packet to PC3. In this scenario, what will happen next?
▪ RT1 will send an ARP reply with its own Fa0/1 MAC address.
▪ SW1 will send an ARP reply with its Fa0/1 MAC address.
▪ RT1 will send an ARP reply with the PC3 MAC address.
▪ RT1 will forward the ARP request to PC3.
▪ RT1 will send an ARP reply with its own Fa0/0 MAC address.
Explanation: When a network device has to communicate with a device on
another network, it broadcasts an ARP request asking for the default gateway
MAC address. The default gateway (RT1) unicasts an ARP reply with the
Fa0/0 MAC address.
59. A user who is unable to connect to the file server contacts the help desk.
The helpdesk technician asks the user to ping the IP address of the default
gateway that is configured on the workstation. What is the purpose for this
ping command?
▪ to resolve the domain name of the file server to its IP address
▪ to request that gateway forward the connection request to the file server
▪ to obtain a dynamic IP address from the server
▪ to test that the host has the capability to reach hosts on other
networks
Explanation: The ping command is used to test connectivity between hosts.
The other options describe tasks not performed by ping . Pinging the default
gateway will test whether the host has the capability to reach hosts on its own
network and on other networks.
60. A user gets an IP address of 192.168.0.1 from the company network
administrator. A friend of the user at a different company gets the same IP
address on another PC. How can two PCs use the same IP address and still
reach the Internet, send and receive email, and search the web?
▪ ISPs use Domain Name Service to change a user IP address into a
public IP address that can be used on the Internet.
▪ Both users must be using the same Internet Service Provider.
▪ Both users must be on the same network.
▪ ISPs use Network Address Translation to change a user IP address
into an address that can be used on the Internet.
Explanation: As user traffic from behind an ISP firewall reaches the gateway
device, Network Address Translation changes private IP addresses into a
public, routable IP address. Private user addresses remain hidden from the
public Internet, and thus more than one user can have the same private IP
address, regardless of ISP.
61. How many host addresses are available on the 192.168.10.128/26
network?
▪ 30
▪ 32
▪ 60
▪ 62
▪ 64
Explanation: A /26 prefix gives 6 host bits, which provides a total of 64
addresses, because 2 6 = 64. Subtracting the network and broadcast
addresses leaves 62 usable host addresses.
62. What are the three ranges of IP addresses that are reserved for internal
private use? (Choose three.)
▪ 64.100.0.0/14
▪ 192.168.0.0/16
▪ 192.31.7.0/24
▪ 172.16.0.0/12
▪ 10.0.0.0/8
▪ 127.16.0.0/12
Explanation: The private IP address blocks that are used inside companies
are as follows:10.0.0.0 /8 (any address that starts with 10 in the first octet)
172.16.0.0 /12 (any address that starts with 172.16 in the first two octets
through 172.31.255.255)
192.168.0.0 /16 (any address that starts with 192.168 in the first two octets)
63. Refer to the exhibit. A cybersecurity analyst is viewing captured packets
forwarded on switch S1. Which device has the MAC address
50:6a:03:96:71:22?
▪ PC-A
▪ router DG
▪ DSN server
▪ router ISP
▪ web server
The Wireshark capture is of a DNS query from PC-A to the DNS server.
Because the DNS server is on a remote network, the PC will send the query to
the default gateway router, router DG, using the MAC address of the router
G0/0 interface on the router.
64. A host PC is attempting to lease an address through DHCP. What
message is sent by the server to let the client know it is able to use the
provided IP information?
▪ DHCPDISCOVER
▪ DHCPOFFER
▪ DHCPREQUEST
▪ DHCPACK
▪ DHCPNACK
Explanation: When a host uses DHCP to automatically configure an IP
address, the typically sends two messages: the DHCPDISCOVER message
and the DHCPREQUEST message. These two messages are usually sent as
broadcasts to ensure that all DHCP servers receive them. The servers
respond to these messages using DHCPOFFER, DHCPACK, and
DHCPNACK messages, depending on the circumstance.
65. An employee complains that a Windows PC cannot connect to the
Internet. A network technician issues the ipconfig command on the PC and
is shown an IP address of 169.254.10.3. Which two conclusions can be
drawn? (Choose two.)
▪ The PC is configured to obtain an IP address automatically.
▪ The default gateway address is not configured.
▪ The DNS server address is misconfigured.
▪ The enterprise network is misconfigured for dynamic routing.
▪ The PC cannot contact a DHCP server.
Explanation: When a Windows PC is configured to obtain an IP address
automatically, the PC will try to obtain an IP address from a DHCP server.
When the PC cannot contact a DHCP server, Windows will automatically
assign an address belonging to the 169.254.0.0/16 range.
66. What is a function of the tracert command that differs from
the ping command when they are used on a workstation?
▪ The tracert command is used to test the connectivity between two
devices.
▪ The tracert command reaches the destination faster.
▪ The tracert command shows the information of routers in the path.
▪ The tracert command sends one ICMP message to each hop in the
path.
Explanation: The tracert command sends three pings to each hop (router) in
the path toward the destination and displays the domain name and IP address
of hops from their responses. Because tracert uses the ping command, the
travel time is the same as a standalone ping command. The primary function
of a standalone ping command is to test the connectivity between two hosts.
67. Which two functions or operations are performed by the MAC sublayer?
(Choose two.)
▪ It is responsible for Media Access Control.
▪ It performs the function of NIC driver software.
▪ It adds a header and trailer to form an OSI Layer 2 PDU.
▪ It handles communication between upper and lower layers.
▪ It adds control information to network protocol layer data.
Explanation: The MAC sublayer is the lower of the two data link sublayers and
is closest to the physical layer. The two primary functions of the MAC sublayer
are to encapsulate the data from the upper layer protocols and to control
access to the media.
68. Which field in an IPv4 packet header will typically stay the same during
its transmission?
▪ Flag
▪ Time-to-Live
▪ Packet Length
▪ Destination Address
Explanation: The value in the Destination Address field in an IPv4 header will
stay the same during its transmission. The other options might change during
its transmission.
69. Match each statement about FTP communications to the connection it
describes. (Not all options are used.)
CyberOps Associate (Version 1.0) – Modules 5 – 10: Network Fundamentals
Group Exam
Explanation: Both connections that are required for FTP operations are
established from the client to the FTP server. The client first opens a control
connection via TCP port 21. The client then opens a data connection for the
actual file transfer via TCP port 20.
▪ defines system requirements and objectives, rules, and requirements for users when
they attach to or on the network ==> security
▪ protects the rights of workers and the company interests ==> company
▪ identifies salary, pay schedule, benefits, work schedule, vacations,
etc. ==> employee
9. Match the threat intelligence sharing standards with the description.
▪ Thisis the specification for an application layer protocol that allows the
communication of CTI over HTTPS. ==> TAXII
▪ This is a set of specifications for exchanging cyberthreat information between
organizations. ==> STIX
▪ This is is a set of standardized schemata for specifying, capturing, characterizing, and
communicating events and properties of network operations. ==> CybOX
10. What is the primary purpose of the Forum of Incident Response and Security
Teams (FIRST)?
▪ to enable a variety of computer security incident response teams to
collaborate, cooperate, and coordinate information sharing, incident
prevention, and rapid reaction strategies
▪ toprovide a security news portal that aggregates the latest breaking news pertaining to
alerts, exploits, and vulnerabilities
▪ to offer 24×7 cyberthreat warnings and advisories, vulnerability identification, and
mitigation and incident response
▪ to provide vendor neutral education products and career services to industry
professionals worldwide
Explanation: The primary purpose of the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams
(FIRST) is to enable a variety of computer security incident response teams to collaborate,
cooperate, and coordinate information sharing, incident prevention, and rapid reaction
between the teams.
11. What is the primary purpose of the Malware Information Sharing Platform
(MISP) ?
▪ to publish all informational materials on known and newly discovered cyberthreats
▪ to enable automated sharing of IOCs between people and machines using
the STIX and other exports formats
▪ to provide a set of standardized schemata for specifying and capturing events and
properties of network operations
▪ to exchange all the response mechanisms to known threats
Explanation: Malware Information Sharing Platform (MISP) is an open source platform that
enables automated sharing of IOCs between people and machines using the STIX and other
exports formats.
12. Which statement describes Trusted Automated Exchange of Indicator
Information (TAXII)?
▪ It is a set of specifications for exchanging cyber threat information between
organizations.
▪ It is a signature-less engine utilizing stateful attack analysis to detect zero-day threats.
▪ It is a dynamic database of real-time vulnerabilities.
▪ It is the specification for an application layer protocol that allows the
communication of CTI over HTTPS.
Explanation: Trusted Automated Exchange of Indicator Information (TAXII) is the
specification for an application layer protocol that allows the communication of CTI over
HTTPS. TAXII is designed to support Structured Threat Information Expression (STIX).
13. Which organization defines unique CVE Identifiers for publicly known
information-security vulnerabilities that make it easier to share data?
▪ Cisco Talos
▪ DHS
▪ FireEye
▪ MITRE
Explanation: The United States government sponsored the MITRE Corporation to create
and maintain a catalog of known security threats called Common Vulnerabilities and
Exposures (CVE). The CVE serves as a dictionary of common names (i.e., CVE Identifiers)
for publicly known cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
14. How does FireEye detect and prevent zero-day attacks?
▪ by establishing an authentication parameter prior to any data exchange
▪ by addressing all stages of an attack lifecycle with a signature-less engine
utilizing stateful attack analysis
▪ by keeping a detailed analysis of all viruses and malware
▪ by only accepting encrypted data packets that validate against their configured hash
values
Explanation: FireEye uses a three-pronged approach combining security intelligence,
security expertise, and technology. It addresses all stages of an attack lifecycle with a
signature-less engine utilizing stateful attack analysis to detect zero-day threats.
15. What is the primary function of the Center for Internet Security (CIS)?
▪ to maintain a list of common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVE) used by security
organizations
▪ to provide a security news portal that aggregates the latest breaking news pertaining to
alerts, exploits, and vulnerabilities
▪ to offer 24×7 cyberthreat warnings and advisories, vulnerability
identification, and mitigation and incident responses
▪ to provide vendor-neutral education products and career services to industry
professionals worldwide
Explanation: CIS offers 24×7 cyberthreat warnings and advisories, vulnerability
identification, and mitigation and incident responses to state, local, tribal, and territorial
(SLTT) governments through the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-
ISAC).
16. What is CybOX?
▪ It is a specification for an application layer protocol that allows the communication of
CTI over HTTPS.
▪ It is a set of standardized schemata for specifying, capturing, characterizing,
and communicating events and properties of network operations.
▪ It enables the real-time exchange of cyberthreat indicators between the U.S. Federal
Government and the private sector.
▪ It is a catalog of known security threats called Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures
(CVE) for publicly known cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
Explanation: CybOX is a set of open standards that provide the specifications that aid in the
automated exchange of cyberthreat intelligence information in a standardized format. It is a
set of standardized schemata for specifying, capturing, characterizing, and communicating
events and properties of network operations that support many cybersecurity functions.
17. A web server administrator is configuring access settings to require users to
authenticate first before accessing certain web pages. Which requirement of
information security is addressed through the configuration?
▪ availability
▪ integrity
▪ scalability
▪ confidentiality
Explanation: Confidentiality ensures that data is accessed only by authorized individuals.
Authentication will help verify the identity of the individuals.
18. When designing a prototype network for a new server farm, a network
designer chooses to use redundant links to connect to the rest of the network.
Which business goal will be addressed by this choice?
▪ availability
▪ manageability
▪ security
▪ scalability
Explanation: Availability is one of the components of information security where authorized
users must have uninterrupted access to important resources and data.
19. When a security audit is performed at a company, the auditor reports that new
users have access to network resources beyond their normal job roles.
Additionally, users who move to different positions retain their prior permissions.
What kind of violation is occurring?
▪ least privilege
▪ network policy
▪ password
▪ audit
Explanation: Users should have access to information on a need to know basis. When a user
moves from job role to job role, the same concept applies.
20. Which component of the zero trust security model focuses on secure access
when an API, a microservice, or a container is accessing a database within an
application?
▪ workflow
▪ workforce
▪ workload
▪ workplace
Explanation: The workload pillar focuses on applications that are running in the cloud, in
data centers, and other virtualized environments that interact with one another. It focuses on
secure access when an API, a microservice, or a container is accessing a database within an
application.
21. What is the purpose of the network security accounting function?
▪ to determine which resources a user can access
▪ to provide challenge and response questions
▪ to keep track of the actions of a user
▪ to require users to prove who they are
Explanation: Authentication, authorization, and accounting are network services collectively
known as AAA. Authentication requires users to prove who they are. Authorization
determines which resources the user can access. Accounting keeps track of the actions of the
user.
22. Which term describes the ability of a web server to keep a log of the users who
access the server, as well as the length of time they use it?
▪ authentication
▪ accounting
▪ assigning permissions
▪ authorization
Explanation: Accounting records what users do and when they do it, including what is
accessed, the amount of time the resource is accessed, and any changes that were made.
Accounting keeps track of how network resources are used.
23. Match the information security component with the description.
▪ ST
▪ AlertID
▪ Pr
▪ CNT
Explanation: The Sguil application window has several fields available that
give information about an event. The ST field gives the status of an event that
includes a color-coded priority from light yellow to red to indicate four levels of
priority.
31. Match the Snort rule source to the description.
1. What are two problems that can be caused by a large number of ARP
request and reply messages? (Choose two.)
▪ All ARP request messages must be processed by all nodes on the local
network.
▪ A large number of ARP request and reply messages may slow down the
switching process, leading the switch to make many changes in its
MAC table.
▪ The network may become overloaded because ARP reply messages
have a very large payload due to the 48-bit MAC address and 32-bit
IP address that they contain.
▪ The ARP request is sent as a broadcast, and will flood the entire
subnet.
▪ Switches become overloaded because they concentrate all the traffic
from the attached subnets.
Explanation: ARP requests are sent as broadcasts:
(1) All nodes will receive them, and they will be processed by software,
interrupting the CPU.
(2) The switch forwards (floods) Layer 2 broadcasts to all ports.
A switch does not change its MAC table based on ARP request or reply
messages. The switch populates the MAC table using the source MAC
address of all frames. The ARP payload is very small and does not overload
the switch.
2. Refer to the exhibit. Which field in the Sguil application window indicates
the priority of an event or set of correlated events?
▪ ST
▪ AlertID
▪ Pr
▪ CNT
Explanation: The Sguil application window has several fields available that
give information about an event. The ST field gives the status of an event that
includes a color-coded priority from light yellow to red to indicate four levels of
priority.
3. Match the job titles to SOC personnel positions. (Not all options are used.)
▪ Tier 1 Alert Analyst —> monitors incoming alerts & verifies that a true
incident has occured
▪ Tier 2 Incident Responder –> involved in deep investigation of incident
▪ Tier 3 Subject Matter Expert –> involved in hunting for potential threads
& implements thread detection tools
▪ (not use) –> serve as the point of contact for the large organitazion
4. If the default gateway is configured incorrectly on the host, what is the
impact on communications?
▪ The host is unable to communicate on the local network.
▪ The host can communicate with other hosts on the local network, but
is unable to communicate with hosts on remote networks.
▪ The host can communicate with other hosts on remote networks, but is
unable to communicate with hosts on the local network.
▪ There is no impact on communications.
Explanation: A default gateway is only required to communicate with devices
onanother network. The absence of a default gateway does not affect
connectivity between devices on the same local network
5. When a connectionless protocol is in use at a lower layer of the OSI
model, how is missing data detected and retransmitted if necessary?
▪ Connectionless acknowledgements are used to request retransmission.
▪ Upper-layer connection-oriented protocols keep track of the data
received and can request retransmission from the upper-level
protocols on the sending host.
▪ Network layer IP protocols manage the communication sessions if
connection-oriented transport services are not available.
▪ The best-effort delivery process guarantees that all packets that are sent
are received.
Explanation: When connectionless protocols are in use at a lower layer of the
OSI model, upper-level protocols may need to work together on the sending
and receiving hosts to account for and retransmit lost data. In some cases, this
is not necessary, because for some applications a certain amount of data loss
is tolerable.
6. What is the prefix length notation for the subnet mask 255.255.255.224?
▪ /25
▪ /26
▪ /27
▪ /28
Explanation: The binary format for 255.255.255.224 is
11111111.11111111.11111111.11100000. The prefix length is the number of
consecutive 1s in the subnet mask. Therefore, the prefix length is /27.
7. Which network monitoring tool saves captured network frames in PCAP
files?
▪ NetFlow
▪ Wireshark
▪ SNMP
▪ SIEM
Explanation: Wireshark is a network protocol analyzer used to capture
network traffic. The traffic captured by Wireshark is saved in PCAP files and
includes interface information and timestamps.
8. What is the TCP mechanism used in congestion avoidance?
▪ three-way handshake
▪ socket pair
▪ two-way handshake
▪ sliding window
Explanation: TCP uses windows to attempt to manage the rate of
transmission to the maximum flow that the network and destination device can
support while minimizing loss and retransmissions. When overwhelmed with
data, the destination can send a request to reduce the of the window. This
congestion avoidance is called sliding windows.
9. What is the Internet?
▪ It is a network based on Ethernet technology.
▪ It provides network access for mobile devices.
▪ It provides connections through interconnected global networks.
▪ It is a private network for an organization with LAN and WAN
connections.
Explanation: The Internet provides global connections that enable networked
devices (workstations and mobile devices) with different network technologies,
such as Ethernet, DSL/cable, and serial connections, to communicate. A
private network for an organization with LAN and WAN connections is an
intranet.
10. Which protocol is used by the traceroute command to send and receive
echo-requests and echo-replies?
▪ SNMP
▪ ICMP
▪ Telnet
▪ TCP
Explanation: Traceroute uses the ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol)
to send and receive echo-request and echo-reply messages.
11. What are two ICMPv6 messages that are not present in ICMP for IPv4?
(Choose two.)
▪ Neighbor Solicitation
▪ Destination Unreachable
▪ Host Confirmation
▪ Time Exceeded
▪ Router Advertisement
▪ Route Redirection
Explanation: ICMPv6 includes four new message types: Router
Advertisement, Neighbor Advertisement, Router Solicitation, and Neighbor
Solicitation.
12. Match the network security testing technique with how it is used to test
network security. (Not all options are used.)
▪ fullaccess
▪ read, write
▪ read
▪ read, write, execute
Explanation: The file permissions are always displayed in the user, group and
other order. In the example displayed, the file has the following permissions:
The dash ( – ) means that this is a file. For directories, the first dash would be
replaced with a “d”.
The first set of characters is for user permission (rwx). The user, sales, who
owns the file can read, write and execute the file.
The second set of characters is for group permissions (rw-). The group, staff,
who owns the file can read and write to the file.
The third set of characters is for any other user or group permissions (r–). Any
other user or group on the computer can only read the file.
16. What are three benefits of using symbolic links over hard links in Linux?
(Choose three.)
▪ They can link to a directory.
▪ They can be compressed.
▪ Symbolic links can be exported.
▪ They can be encrypted.
▪ They can link to a file in a different file system.
▪ They can show the location of the original file.
Explanation: In Linux, a hard link is another file that points to the same
location as the original file. A soft link (also called a symbolic link or a symlink)
is a link to another file system name. Hard links are limited to the file system in
which they are created and they cannot link to a directory; soft links are not
limited to the same file system and they can link to a directory. To see the
location of the original file for a symbolic link use the ls –l command.
17. A network security specialist is tasked to implement a security measure
that monitors the status of critical files in the data center and sends an
immediate alert if any file is modified. Which aspect of secure
communications is addressed by this security measure?
▪ origin authentication
▪ data integrity
▪ nonrepudiation
▪ data confidentiality
Explanation: Secure communications consists of four elements:
Data confidentiality – guarantees that only authorized users can read the
message
Data integrity – guarantees that the message was not altered
Origin authentication – guarantees that the message is not a forgery and does
actually come from whom it states
Data nonrepudiation – guarantees that the sender cannot repudiate, or refute,
the validity of a message sent
18. A network administrator is configuring an AAA server to manage
TACACS+ authentication. What are two attributes of TACACS+
authentication? (Choose two.)
▪ TCP port 40
▪ encryption for all communication
▪ single process for authentication and authorization
▪ UDP port 1645
▪ encryption for only the password of a user
▪ separate processes for authentication and authorization
Explanation: TACACS+ authentication includes the following attributes:
Separates authentication and authorization processes
Encrypts all communication, not just passwords
Utilizes TCP port 49
19. In an attempt to prevent network attacks, cyber analysts share unique
identifiable attributes of known attacks with colleagues. What three types
of attributes or indicators of compromise are helpful to share? (Choose
three.)
▪ IP addresses of attack servers
▪ changes made to end system software
▪ netbios names of compromised firewalls
▪ features of malware files
▪ BIOS of attacking systems
▪ system ID of compromised systems
Explanation: Many network attacks can be prevented by sharing information
about indicators of compromise (IOC). Each attack has unique identifiable
attributes. Indicators of compromise are the evidence that an attack has
occurred. IOCs can be identifying features of malware files, IP addresses of
servers that are used in the attack, filenames, and characteristic changes
made to end system software.
20. Which two types of messages are used in place of ARP for address
resolution in IPv6? (Choose two.)
▪ anycast
▪ broadcast
▪ neighbor solicitation
▪ echo reply
▪ echo request
▪ neighbor advertisement
Explanation: IPv6 does not use ARP. Instead, ICMPv6 neighbor discovery is
used by sending neighbor solicitation and neighbor advertisement messages.
21. What is indicated by a true negative security alert classification?
▪ An alert is verified to be an actual security incident.
▪ An alert is incorrectly issued and does not indicate an actual security
incident.
▪ Normal traffic is correctly ignored and erroneous alerts are not being
issued.
▪ Exploits are not being detected by the security systems that are in place.
Explanation: True negative classifications are desirable because they indicate
that normal traffic is correctly not being identified as malicious traffic by
security measures.
22. Which statement describes the anomaly-based intrusion detection
approach?
▪ It compares the antivirus definition file to a cloud based repository for
latest updates.
▪ It compares the behavior of a host to an established baseline to
identify potential intrusions.
▪ It compares the signatures of incoming traffic to a known intrusion
database.
▪ It compares the operations of a host against a well-defined security
policy.
Explanation: With an anomaly-based intrusion detection approach, a baseline
of host behaviors is established first. The host behavior is checked against the
baseline to detect significant deviations, which might indicate potential
intrusions.
23. Match the description to the antimalware approach. (Not all options are
used.)
24. Which two protocols are associated with the transport layer? (Choose
two.)
▪ ICMP
▪ IP
▪ UDP
▪ PPP
▪ TCP
Explanation: TCP and UDP reside at the transport layer in both the OSI and
TCP/IP models.
25. A network administrator is creating a network profile to generate a
network baseline. What is included in the critical asset address space
element?
▪ the time between the establishment of a data flow and its termination
▪ the TCP and UDP daemons and ports that are allowed to be open on
the server
▪ the IP addresses or the logical location of essential systems or data
▪ the list of TCP or UDP processes that are available to accept data
Explanation: A network profile should include some important elements, such
as the following:
Total throughput – the amount of data passing from a given source to a given
destination in a given period of time
Session duratio n – the time between the establishment of a data flow and its
termination
Ports used – a list of TCP or UDP processes that are available to accept data
Critical asset address space – the IP addresses or the logical location of
essential systems or data
26. What are the three impact metrics contained in the CVSS 3.0 Base Metric
Group? (Choose three.)
▪ confidentiality
▪ remediation level
▪ integrity
▪ attack vector
▪ exploit
▪ availability
Explanation:
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) is a vendor-neutral,
industry standard, open framework for weighing the risks of a vulnerability
using a variety of metrics. CVSS uses three groups of metrics to assess
vulnerability, the Base Metric Group, Temporal Metric Group, and
Environmental Metric Group. The Base Metric Group has two classes of
metrics (exploitability and impact). The impact metrics are rooted in the
following areas: confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
27. What is a characteristic of DNS?
▪ DNS servers can cache recent queries to reduce DNS query traffic.
▪ All DNS servers must maintain mappings for the entire DNS structure.
▪ DNS servers are programmed to drop requests for name translations
that are not within their zone.
▪ DNS relies on a hub-and-spoke topology with centralized servers.
Explanation: DNS uses a hierarchy for decentralized servers to perform name
resolution. DNS servers only maintain records for their zone and can cache
recent queries so that future queries do not produce excessive DNS traffic.
28. What are two differences between HTTP and HTTP/2? (Choose two.)
▪ HTTP/2 uses a compressed header to reduce bandwidth
requirements.
▪ HTTP/2 uses multiplexing to support multiple streams and enhance
efficiency.
▪ HTTP/2 uses different status codes than HTTP does to improve
performance.
▪ HTTP/2 issues requests using a text format whereas HTTP uses binary
commands.
▪ HTTP has a different header format than HTTP/2 has.
Explanation: The purpose of HTTP/2 is to improve HTTP performance by
addressing the latency issues of HTTP. This is accomplished using features
such as multiplexing, server push, binary code, and header compression.
29. Match the steps with the actions that are involved when an internal host
with IP address 192.168.10.10 attempts to send a packet to an external
server at the IP address 209.165.200.254 across a router R1 that is running
dynamic NAT. (Not all options are used.)
31. What are two shared characteristics of the IDS and the IPS? (Choose
two.)
▪ Both have minimal impact on network performance.
▪ Both are deployed as sensors.
▪ Both analyze copies of network traffic.
▪ Both use signatures to detect malicious traffic.
▪ Both rely on an additional network device to respond to malicious traffic.
Explanation: Both the IDS and the IPS are deployed as sensors and use
signatures to detect malicious traffic. The IDS analyzes copies of network
traffic, which results in minimal impact on network performance. The IDS also
relies on an IPS to stop malicious traffic.
32. Which statement describes a typical security policy for a DMZ firewall
configuration?
▪ Traffic that originates from the DMZ interface is selectively permitted
to the outside interface.
▪ Return traffic from the inside that is associated with traffic originating
from the outside is permitted to traverse from the inside interface to
the outside interface.
▪ Return traffic from the outside that is associated with traffic originating
from the inside is permitted to traverse from the outside interface to
the DMZ interface.
▪ Traffic that originates from the inside interface is generally blocked
entirely or very selectively permitted to the outside interface.
▪ Traffic that originates from the outside interface is permitted to traverse
the firewall to the inside interface with few or no restrictions.
Explanation:
With a three interface firewall design that has internal, external, and DMZ
connections, typical configurations include the following:
Traffic originating from DMZ destined for the internal network is normally
blocked.
Traffic originating from the DMZ destined for external networks is typically
permitted based on what services are being used in the DMZ.
Traffic originating from the internal network destined from the DMZ is normally
inspected and allowed to return.
Traffic originating from external networks (the public network) is typically
allowed in the DMZ only for specific services.
33. After complaints from users, a technician identifies that the college web
server is running very slowly. A check of the server reveals that there are an
unusually large number of TCP requests coming from multiple locations on
the Internet. What is the source of the problem?
▪ The server is infected with a virus.
▪ A DDoS attack is in progress.
▪ There is insufficient bandwidth to connect to the server.
▪ There is a replay attack in progress.
Explanation: The source of the problem cannot be a virus because in this
situation the server is passive and at the receiving end of the attack. A replay
attack uses intercepted and recorded data in an attempt to gain access to an
unauthorized server. This type of attack does not involve multiple computers.
The issue is not the bandwidth available, but the number of TCP connections
taking place. Receiving a large number of connections from multiple locations
is the main symptom of a distributed denial of service attack which use botnets
or zombie computers.
34. Which two statements describe access attacks? (Choose two.)
▪ Password attacks can be implemented by the use of brute-force attack
methods, Trojan horses, or packet sniffers.
▪ To detect listening services, port scanning attacks scan a range of TCP
or UDP port numbers on a host.
▪ Port redirection attacks use a network adapter card in promiscuous
mode to capture all network packets that are sent across a LAN.
▪ Trust exploitation attacks often involve the use of a laptop to act as a
rogue access point to capture and copy all network traffic in a public
location, such as a wireless hotspot.
▪ Buffer overflow attacks write data beyond the allocated buffer
memory to overwrite valid data or to exploit systems to execute
malicious code.
Explanation: An access attack tries to gain access to a resource using a
hijacked account or other means. The five types of access attacks include the
following:
password – a dictionary is used for repeated login attempts
trust exploitation – uses granted privileges to access unauthorized material
port redirection – uses a compromised internal host to pass traffic through a
firewall
man-in-the-middle – an unauthorized device positioned between two legitimate
devices in order to redirect or capture traffic
buffer overflow – too much data sent to a memory location that already
contains data
35. Which two actions can be taken when configuring Windows Firewall?
(Choose two.)
▪ Turn on port screening.
▪ Manually open ports that are required for specific applications.
▪ Allow a different software firewall to control access.
▪ Enable MAC address authentication.
▪ Perform a rollback.
Explanation: When a different software firewall is installed, Windows Firewall
must be disabled through the Windows Firewall control panel. When Windows
Firewall is enabled, specific ports can be enabled that are needed by specific
applications.
36. Which statement describes the state of the administrator and guest
accounts after a user installs Windows desktop version to a new computer?
▪ By default, the guest account is enabled but the administrator account is
disabled.
▪ By default, both the administrator and guest accounts are enabled.
▪ By default, both the administrator and guest accounts are disabled.
▪ By default, the administrator account is enabled but the guest account is
disabled.
Explanation: When a user installs Windows desktop version, two local user
accounts are created automatically during the process, administrator and
guest. Both accounts are disabled by default.
37. What is a purpose of entering the nslookup cisco.com command on a
Windows PC?
▪ to check if the DNS service is running
▪ to connect to the Cisco server
▪ to test if the Cisco server is reachable
▪ to discover the transmission time needed to reach the Cisco server
Explanation: The nslookup command queries DNS servers to find out the IP
address or addresses associated with the domain name cisco.com. A
successful result indicates that the DNS configuration on the PC is functional,
and also indicates the IP address for the domain name being displayed. The
command does not try connect to the actual Cisco host directly.
38. How is the event ID assigned in Sguil?
▪ All events in the series of correlated events are assigned the same
event ID.
▪ Only the first event in the series of correlated events is assigned a
unique ID.
▪ Allevents in the series of correlated events are assigned the same
event group ID.
▪ Each event in the series of correlated events is assigned a unique ID.
Explanation: In Sguil, each event receives a unique event ID, but only the first
event ID in the series of correlated events is displayed in the RealTime tab.
39. Which two types of network traffic are from protocols that generate a
lot of routine traffic? (Choose two.)
▪ routing updates traffic
▪ Windows security auditing alert traffic
▪ IPsec traffic
▪ STP traffic
▪ SSL traffic
Explanation: To reduce the huge amount of data collected so that
cybersecurity analysts can focus on critical threats, some less important or
less relevant data could be eliminated from the datasets. For example, routing
network management traffic, such as routing updates and STP traffic, could be
eliminated.
40. What are two elements that form the PRI value in a syslog message?
(Choose two.)
▪ facility
▪ timestamp
▪ severity
▪ header
▪ hostname
Explanation: The PRI in a syslog message consists of two elements, the
facility and severity of the message.
41. Which three pieces of information are found in session data? (Choose
three.)
▪ default gateway IP address
▪ source and destination port numbers
▪ Layer 4 transport protocol
▪ source and destination MAC addresses
▪ user name
▪ source and destination IP addresses
Explanation: Session data includes identifying information such as source and
destination IP addresses, source and destination port numbers, and the Layer
4 protocol in use. Session data does not include user name, source and
destination MAC addresses, and a default gateway IP address.
42. What kind of ICMP message can be used by threat actors to perform
network reconnaissance and scanning attacks?
▪ ICMP mask reply
▪ ICMP router discovery
▪ ICMP unreachable
▪ ICMP redirects
Explanation: Common ICMP messages of interest to threat actors include the
these:
ICMP echo request and echo reply: used to perform host verification and DoS
attacks
ICMP unreachable: used to perform network reconnaissance and scanning
attacks
ICMP mask reply: used to map an internal IP network
ICMP redirects: used to lure a target host into sending all traffic through a
compromised device and create a man-in-the-middle attack
ICMP router discovery: used to inject bogus route entries into the routing table
of a target host
43. A flood of packets with invalid source IP addresses requests a
connection on the network. The server busily tries to respond, resulting in
valid requests being ignored. What type of attack has occurred?
▪ TCP session hijacking
▪ TCP SYN flood
▪ TCP reset
▪ UDP flood
Explanation: The TCP SYN Flood attack exploits the TCP three-way
handshake. The threat actor continually sends TCP SYN session request
packets with a randomly spoofed source IP address to an intended target. The
target device replies with a TCP SYN-ACK packet to the spoofed IP address
and waits for a TCP ACK packet. Those responses never arrive. Eventually
the target host is overwhelmed with half-open TCP connections and denies
TCP services.
44. An attacker is redirecting traffic to a false default gateway in an attempt
to intercept the data traffic of a switched network. What type of attack could
achieve this?
▪ DNS tunneling
▪ TCP SYN flood
▪ DHCP spoofing
▪ ARP cache poisoning
Explanation: In DHCP spoofing attacks, a threat actor configures a fake
DHCP server on the network to issue DHCP addresses to clients with the aim
of forcing the clients to use a false or invalid default gateway. A man-in-the-
middle attack can be created by setting the default gateway address to the IP
address of the threat actor.
45. What is the most common goal of search engine optimization (SEO)
poisoning?
▪ to increase web traffic to malicious sites
▪ to build a botnet of zombies
▪ to trick someone into installing malware or divulging personal
information
▪ to overwhelm a network device with maliciously formed packets
Explanation: A malicious user could create a SEO so that a malicious website
appears higher in search results. The malicious website commonly contains
malware or is used to obtain information via social engineering techniques.
46. Users report that a database file on the main server cannot be accessed.
A database administrator verifies the issue and notices that the database
file is now encrypted. The organization receives a threatening email
demanding payment for the decryption of the database file. What type of
attack has the organization experienced?
▪ man-in-the-middle attack
▪ DoS attack
▪ ransomware
▪ Trojan horse
Explanation: A cybersecurity specialist needs to be familiar with the
characteristics of the different types of malware and attacks that threaten an
organization.
47. What two kinds of personal information can be sold on the dark web by
cybercriminals? (Choose two.)
▪ city of residence
▪ Facebook photos
▪ name of a bank
▪ name of a pet
▪ street address
Explanation: Personally identifiable information (PII) is any information that
can be used to positively identify an individual. Examples of PII include the
following:
Name
Social security number
Birthdate
Credit card numbers
Bank account numbers
Facebook information
Address information (street, email, phone numbers).
48. What three services are offered by FireEye? (Choose three.)
▪ blocks attacks across the web
▪ creates firewall rules dynamically
▪ identifies and stops latent malware on files
▪ subjects all traffic to deep packet inspection analysis
▪ deploys incident detection rule sets to network security tools
▪ identifies and stops email threat vectors
Explanation: FireEye is a security company that uses a three-pronged
approach combining security intelligence, security expertise, and technology.
FireEye offers SIEM and SOAR with the Helix Security Platform, which use
behavioral analysis and advanced threat detection.
49. After containment, what is the first step of eradicating an attack?
▪ Change all passwords.
▪ Patch all vulnerabilities.
▪ Hold meetings on lessons learned.
▪ Identify all hosts that need remediation.
Explanation: Once an attack is contained, the next step is to identify all hosts
that will need remediation so that the effects of the attack can be eliminated.
50. Which activity is typically performed by a threat actor in the installation
phase of the Cyber Kill Chain?
▪ Install a web shell on the target web server for persistent access.
▪ Harvest email addresses of user accounts.
▪ Open a two-way communication channel to the CnC infrastructure.
▪ Obtain an automated tool to deliver the malware payload.
Explanation: In the installation phase of the Cyber Kill Chain, the threat actor
establishes a back door into the system to allow for continued access to the
target.
51. When dealing with a security threat and using the Cyber Kill Chain
model, which two approaches can an organization use to help block
potential exploitations on a system? (Choose two.)
▪ Collect email and web logs for forensic reconstruction.
▪ Conduct full malware analysis.
▪ Train web developers for securing code.
▪ Build detections for the behavior of known weaponizers.
▪ Perform regular vulnerability scanning and penetration testing.
Explanation: The most common exploit targets, once a weapon is delivered,
are applications, operating system vulnerabilities, and user accounts. Among
other measures, such as regular vulnerability scanning and penetration
testing, training web developers in securing code can help block potential
exploitations on systems.
52. How might corporate IT professionals deal with DNS-based cyber
threats?
▪ Limit the number of simultaneously opened browsers or browser tabs.
▪ Monitor DNS proxy server logs and look for unusual DNS queries.
▪ Use IPS/IDS devices to scan internal corporate traffic.
▪ Limit the number of DNS queries permitted within the organization.
Explanation: DNS queries for randomly generated domain names or
extremely long random-appearing DNS subdomains should be considered
suspicious. Cyberanalysts could do the following for DNS-based attacks:
Analyze DNS logs.
Use a passive DNS service to block requests to suspected CnC and exploit
domains.
53. How does using HTTPS complicate network security monitoring?
▪ HTTPS adds complexity to captured packets.
▪ HTTPS cannot protect visitors to a company-provided web site.
▪ Web browser traffic is directed to infected servers.
▪ HTTPS can be used to infiltrate DNS queries.
Explanation:
HTTPS adds extra overhead to the HTTP-formed packet. HTTPS encrypts
using secure socket layer (SSL). Even though some devices can perform SSL
decryption and inspection, this can present processing and privacy issues.
HTTPS adds complexity to packet captures due to the additional message
involved in establishing an encrypted data connection.
54. Match the security concept to the description.
55. What are the two important components of a public key infrastructure
(PKI) used in network security? (Choose two.)
▪ intrusion prevention system
▪ digital certificates
▪ symmetric encryption algorithms
▪ certificate authority
▪ pre-shared key generation
Explanation: A public key infrastructure uses digital certificates and certificate
authorities to manage asymmetric key distribution. PKI certificates are public
information. The PKI certificate authority (CA) is a trusted third-party that
issues the certificate. The CA has its own certificate (self-signed certificate)
that contains the public key of the CA.
56. Which three algorithms are designed to generate and verify digital
signatures? (Choose three.)
▪ 3DES
▪ IKE
▪ DSA
▪ AES
▪ ECDSA
▪ RSA
Explanation: There are three Digital Signature Standard (DSS) algorithms that
are used for generating and verifying digital signatures:
Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA)
Rivest-Shamir Adelman Algorithm (RSA)
Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA)
57. Which section of a security policy is used to specify that only authorized
individuals should have access to enterprise data?
▪ statement of authority
▪ identification and authentication policy
▪ campus access policy
▪ Internet access policy
▪ statement of scope
▪ acceptable use policy
Explanation: The identification and authentication policy section of the security
policy typically specifies authorized persons that can have access to network
resources and identity verification procedures.
58. Refer to the exhibit. A cybersecurity analyst is viewing captured packets
forwarded on switch S1. Which device has the MAC address
d8:cb:8a:5c:d5:8a?
▪ PC-A
▪ DNS server
▪ web server
▪ router DG
▪ router ISP
Explanation: The Wireshark capture is a DNS response from the DNS server
to PC-A. Because the packet was captured on the LAN that the PC is on,
router DG would have encapsulated the response packet from the ISP router
into an Ethernet frame addressed to PC-A and forwarded the frame with the
MAC address of PC-A as the destination.
59. What kind of message is sent by a DHCPv4 client requesting an IP
address?
▪ DHCPDISCOVER broadcast message
▪ DHCPDISCOVER unicast message
▪ DHCPOFFER unicast message
▪ DHCPACK unicast message
Explanation: When the DHCPv4 client requests an IP address, it sends a
DHCPDISCOVER broadcast message seeking a DHCPv4 server on the
network.
60. Place the evidence collection priority from most volatile to least volatile
as defined by the IETF guidelines.
13. If a SOC has a goal of 99.999% uptime, how many minutes of downtime a
year would be considered within its goal?
▪ Approximately 5 minutes per year.
▪ Approximately 10 minutes per year
▪ Approximately 20 minutes per year.
▪ Approximately 30 minutes per year.
Explanation: Within a year, there are 365 days x 24 hours a day x 60 minutes
per hour = 525,600 minutes. With the goal of uptime 99.999% of time, the
downtime needs to be controlled under 525,600 x (1-0.99999) = 5.256 minutes
a year.
14. The HTTP server has responded to a client request with a 200 status
code. What does this status code indicate?
▪ The request is understood by the server, but the resource will not be
fulfilled.
▪ The request was completed successfully.
▪ The server could not find the requested resource, possibly because of
an incorrect URL.
▪ The request has been accepted for processing, but processing is not
completed.
15. What is an advantage for small organizations of adopting IMAP instead
of POP?
▪ POP only allows the client to store messages in a centralized way, while
IMAP allows distributed storage.
▪ IMAP sends and retrieves email, but POP only retrieves email.
▪ When the user connects to a POP server, copies of the messages are
kept in the mail server for a short time, but IMAP keeps them for a
long time.
▪ Messages are kept in the mail servers until they are manually deleted
from the email client.
Explanation: IMAP and POP are protocols that are used to retrieve email
messages. The advantage of using IMAP instead of POP is that when the user
connects to an IMAP-capable server, copies of the messages are downloaded
to the client application. IMAP then stores the email messages on the server
until the user manually deletes those messages.
16. What debugging security tool can be used by black hats to reverse
engineer binary files when writing exploits?
▪ WinDbg
▪ Firesheep
▪ Skipfish
▪ AIDE
17. Match the attack tools with the description. (Not all options are used.)
18. What are two features of ARP? (Choose two.)
▪ When a host is encapsulating a packet into a frame, it refers to the MAC
address table to determine the mapping of IP addresses to MAC
addresses.
▪ If a host is ready to send a packet to a local destination device and it
has the IP address but not the MAC address of the destination, it
generates an ARP broadcast.
▪ If a device receiving an ARP request has the destination IPv4 address,
it responds with an ARP reply.
▪ If no device responds to the ARP request, then the originating node will
broadcast the data packet to all devices on the network segment.
▪ An ARP request is sent to all devices on the Ethernet LAN and contains
the IP address of the destination host and the multicast MAC address.
Explanation: When a node encapsulates a data packet into a frame, it needs
the destination MAC address. First it determines if the destination device is on
the local network or on a remote network. Then it checks the ARP table (not
the MAC table) to see if a pair of IP address and MAC address exists for either
the destination IP address (if the destination host is on the local network) or
the default gateway IP address (if the destination host is on a remote network).
If the match does not exist, it generates an ARP broadcast to seek the IP
address to MAC address resolution. Because the destination MAC address is
unknown, the ARP request is broadcast with the MAC address
FFFF.FFFF.FFFF. Either the destination device or the default gateway will
respond with its MAC address, which enables the sending node to assemble
the frame. If no device responds to the ARP request, then the originating node
will discard the packet because a frame cannot be created.
19. What is a property of the ARP table on a device?
▪ Entries in an ARP table are time-stamped and are purged after the
timeout expires.
▪ Every operating system uses the same timer to remove old entries from
the ARP cache.
▪ Static IP-to-MAC address entries are removed dynamically from the
ARP table.
▪ Windows operating systems store ARP cache entries for 3 minutes.
20. What is the purpose of Tor?
▪ to allow users to browse the Internet anonymously
▪ to securely connect to a remote network over an unsecure link such as
an Internet connection
▪ to donate processor cycles to distributed computational tasks in a
processor sharing P2P network
▪ to inspect incoming traffic and look for any that violates a rule or
matches the signature of a known exploit
Explanation: Tor is a software platform and network of peer-to-peer (P2P)
hosts that function as routers. Users access the Tor network by using a special
browserthat allows them to browse anonymously.
21. Which two network protocols can be used by a threat actor to exfiltrate
data in traffic that is disguised as normal network traffic? (Choose two.)
▪ NTP
▪ DNS
▪ HTTP
▪ syslog
▪ SMTP
22. What is a key difference between the data captured by NetFlow and data
captured by Wireshark?
▪ NetFlow data shows network flow contents whereas Wireshark data
shows network flow statistics.
▪ NetFlow data is analyzed by tcpdump whereas Wireshark data is
analyzed by nfdump.
▪ NetFlow provides transaction data whereas Wireshark provides session
data.
▪ NetFlow collects metadata from a network flow whereas Wireshark
captures full data packets.
Explanation: Wireshark captures the entire contents of a packet. NetFlow
does not. Instead, NetFlow collects metadata, or data about the flow.
23. Which tool captures full data packets with a command-line interface
only?
▪ nfdump
▪ Wireshark
▪ NBAR2
▪ tcpdump
Explanation: The command-line tool tcpdump is a packet analyzer. Wireshark
is a packet analyzer with a GUI interface.
24. Which method can be used to harden a device?
▪ maintain use of the same passwords
▪ allow default services to remain enabled
▪ allow USB auto-detection
▪ use SSH and disable the root account access over SSH
Explanation: The basic best practices for device hardening are as follows:
Ensure physical security.
Minimize installed packages.
Disable unused services.
Use SSH and disable the root account login over SSH.
Keep the system updated.
Disable USB auto-detection.
Enforce strong passwords.
Force periodic password changes.
Keep users from re-using old passwords.
Review logs regularly.
25. In a Linux operating system, which component interprets user
commands and attempts to execute them?
▪ GUI
▪ daemon
▪ kernel
▪ shell
26. A network administrator is configuring an AAA server to manage
RADIUS authentication. Which two features are included in RADIUS
authentication? (Choose two.)
▪ encryption for all communication
▪ encryption for only the data
▪ single process for authentication and authorization
▪ separate processes for authentication and authorization
▪ hidden passwords during transmission
Explanation: RADIUS authentication supports the following features:
RADIUS authentication and authorization as one process
Encrypts only the password
Utilizes UDP
Supports remote-access technologies, 802.1X, and Session Initiation Protocol
(SIP)
27. What is privilege escalation?
▪ Vulnerabilities in systems are exploited to grant higher levels of
privilege than someone or some process should have.
▪ Everyone is given full rights by default to everything and rights are taken
away only when someone abuses privileges.
▪ Someone is given rights because she or he has received a promotion.
▪ A security problem occurs when high ranking corporate officials demand
rights to systems or files that they should not have.
Explanation: With privilege escalation, vulnerabilities are exploited to grant
higher levels of privilege. After the privilege is granted, the threat actor can
access sensitive information or take control of the system.
28. What two assurances does digital signing provide about code that is
downloaded from the Internet? (Choose two.)
▪ The code contains no viruses.
▪ The code has not been modified since it left the software publisher.
▪ The code is authentic and is actually sourced by the publisher.
▪ The code contains no errors.
▪ The code was encrypted with both a private and public key.
Explanation: Digitally signing code provides several assurances about the
code:
The code is authentic and is actually sourced by the publisher.
The code has not been modified since it left the software publisher.
The publisher undeniably published the code. This provides nonrepudiation of
the act of publishing.
29. An IT enterprise is recommending the use of PKI applications to
securely exchange information between the employees. In which two cases
might an organization use PKI applications to securely exchange
information between users? (Choose two.)
▪ HTTPS web service
▪ 802.1x authentication
▪ local NTP server
▪ FTP transfers
▪ file and directory access permission
Explanation: The Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is a third party-system
referred to as a certificate authority or CA. The PKI is the framework used to
securely exchange information between parties. Common PKI applications are
as follows:
SSL/TLS certificate-based peer authentication
Secure network traffic using IPsec VPNs
HTTPS Web traffic
Control access to the network using 802.1x authentication
Secure email using the S/MIME protocol
Secure instant messaging
Approve and authorize applications with Code Signing
Protect user data with the Encryption File System (EFS)
Implement two-factor authentication with smart cards
Securing USB storage devices
30. Which measure can a security analyst take to perform effective security
monitoring against network traffic encrypted by SSL technology?
▪ Use a Syslog server to capture network traffic.
▪ Deploy a Cisco SSL Appliance.
▪ Require remote access connections through IPsec VPN.
▪ Deploy a Cisco ASA.
31. An administrator is trying to develop a BYOD security policy for
employees that are bringing a wide range of devices to connect to the
company network. Which three objectives must the BYOD security policy
address? (Choose three.)
▪ All devices must be insured against liability if used to compromise the
corporate network.
▪ All devices must have open authentication with the corporate network.
▪ Rights and activities permitted on the corporate network must be
defined.
▪ Safeguards must be put in place for any personal device being
compromised.
▪ The level of access of employees when connecting to the corporate
network must be defined.
▪ All devices should be allowed to attach to the corporate network
flawlessly.
32. Match the security policy with the description. (Not all options are
used.)
33. Match the attack to the definition. (Not all options are used.)
34. What type of attack targets an SQL database using the input field of a
user?
▪ XML injection
▪ buffer overflow
▪ Cross-site scripting
▪ SQL injection
Explanation: A criminal can insert a malicious SQL statement in an entry field
on a website where the system does not filter the user input correctly.
35. What are two characteristics of Ethernet MAC addresses? (Choose two.)
▪ MAC addresses use a flexible hierarchical structure.
▪ They are expressed as 12 hexadecimal digits.
▪ They are globally unique.
▪ They are routable on the Internet.
▪ MAC addresses must be unique for both Ethernet and serial interfaces
on a device.
36. A user calls to report that a PC cannot access the internet. The network
technician asks the user to issue the command ping 127.0.0.1 in a command
prompt window. The user reports that the result is four positive replies.
What conclusion can be drawn based on this connectivity test?
▪ The IP address obtained from the DHCP server is correct.
▪ The PC can access the network. The problem exists beyond the local
network.
▪ The PC can access the Internet. However, the web browser may not
work.
▪ The TCP/IP implementation is functional.
Explanation: The ping 127.0.0.1 command is used to verify that the TCP/IP
stack is functional. It verifies the proper operation of the protocol stack from
the network layer to physical layer, without sending a signal on the media.
That is, this test does not go beyond the PC itself. For example, it does not
detect whether a cable is connected to the PC or not.
37. What characterizes a threat actor?
▪ They are all highly-skilled individuals.
▪ They always use advanced tools to launch attacks.
▪ They always try to cause some harm to an individual or organization.
▪ They all belong to organized crime.
38. A computer is presenting a user with a screen requesting payment
before the user data is allowed to be accessed by the same user. What type
of malware is this?
▪ a type of logic bomb
▪ a type of virus
▪ a type of worm
▪ a type of ransomware
Explanation: Ransomware commonly encrypts data on a computer and
makes the data unavailable until the computer user pays a specific sum of
money
39. Which ICMPv6 message type provides network addressing information
to hosts that use SLAAC?
▪ router solicitation
▪ neighbor advertisement
▪ neighbor solicitation
▪ router advertisement
40. Which tol included in the Security Onion is a series of software plugins
that send different types of data to the Elasticsearch data stores?
▪ Curator
▪ Beats
▪ OSSEC
▪ ElastAlert
41. Which two types of unreadable network traffic could be eliminated from
data collected by NSM? (Choose two.)
▪ STP traffic
▪ IPsec traffic
▪ routing updates traffic
▪ SSL traffic
▪ broadcast traffic
Explanation: To reduce the huge amount of data collected so that
cybersecurity analysts can focus on critical threats, some less important or
unusable data could be eliminated from the datasets. For example, encrypted
data, such as IPsec and SSL traffic, could be eliminated because it is
unreadable in a reasonable time frame.
42. Which core open source component of the Elastic-stack is responsible
for accepting the data in its native format and making elements of the data
consistent across all sources?
▪ Logstash
▪ Kibana
▪ Beats
▪ Elasticsearch
43. Match the security incident stakeholder with the role.
44. In the NIST incident response process life cycle, which type of attack
vector involves the use of brute force against devices, networks, or
services?
▪ media
▪ impersonation
▪ attrition
▪ loss or theft
Explanation: Common attack vectors include media, attrition, impersonation,
and loss or theft. Attrition attacks are any attacks that use brute force. Media
attacks are those initiated from storage devices. Impersonation attacks occur
when something or someone is replaced for the purpose of the attack, and
loss or theft attacks are initiated by equipment inside the organization.
45. Match the security organization with its security functions. (Not all
options are used.)
▪ an IPsec tunnel
▪ Cisco SSL VPN
▪ a GRE tunnel
▪ a remote access tunnel
Explanation: A Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) tunnel is a non-secure,
site-to-site VPN tunneling solution that is capable of encapsulating any Layer 3
protocol between multiple sites across over an IP internetwork.
55. For what purpose would a network administrator use the Nmap tool?
▪ protection of the private IP addresses of internal hosts
▪ identification of specific network anomalies
▪ collection and analysis of security alerts and logs
▪ detection and identification of open ports
56. Match the network service with the description.
57. A client application needs to terminate a TCP communication session
with a server. Place the termination process steps in the order that they will
occur. (Nat all options are used.)
58. Match the attack surface with attack exploits.
59. Match the Linux host-based firewall application with its description.
60. What network attack seeks to create a DoS for clients by preventing
them from being able to obtain a DHCP lease?
▪ DHCP starvation
▪ IP address spoofing
▪ DHCP spoofing
▪ CAM table attack
Explanation: DCHP starvation attacks are launched by an attacker with the
intent to create a DoS for DHCP clients. To accomplish this goal, the attacker
uses a tool that sends many DHCPDISCOVER messages in order to lease the
entire pool of available IP addresses, thus denying them to legitimate hosts.
61. Refer to the exhibit. If Host1 were to transfer a file to the server, what
layers of the TCP/IP model would be used?
64. A person coming to a cafe for the first time wants to gain wireless access
to the Internet using a laptop. What is the first step the wireless client will
do in order to communicate over the network using a wireless management
frame?
▪ associate with the AP
▪ authenticate to the AP
▪ discover the AP
▪ agree with the AP on the payload
Explanation: In order for wireless devices to communicate on a wireless
network, management frames are used to complete a three-stage process:
Discover the AP
Authenticate with the AP
Associate with the AP
65. A device has been assigned the IPv6 address of
2001:0db8:cafe:4500:1000:00d8:0058:00ab/64. Which is the network
identifier of the device?
▪ 2001:0db8:cafe:4500:1000
▪ 2001:0db8:cafe:4500:1000:00d8:0058:00ab
▪ 1000:00d8:0058:00ab
▪ 2001:0db8:cafe:4500
▪ 2001
Explanation: The address has a prefix length of /64. Thus the first 64 bits
represent the network portion, whereas the last 64 bits represent the host
portion of the IPv6 address.
66. An administrator wants to create four subnetworks from the network
address 192.168.1.0/24. What is the network address and subnet mask of
the second useable subnet?
subnetwork 192.168.1.64
subnet mask 255.255.255.192
subnetwork 192.168.1.64
subnet mask 255.255.255.240
subnetwork 192.168.1.32
subnet mask 255.255.255.240
subnetwork 192.168.1.128
subnet mask 255.255.255.192
subnetwork 192.168.1.8
subnet mask 255.255.255.224
Explanation: The number of bits that are borrowed would be two, thus giving a
total of 4 useable subnets:
192.168.1.0
192.168.1.64
192.168.1.128
192.168.1.192
Because 2 bits are borrowed, the new subnet mask would be /26 or
255.255.255.192
67. What term describes a set of software tools designed to increase the
privileges of a user or to grant access to the user to portions of the
operating system that should not normally be allowed?
▪ compiler
▪ rootkit
▪ package manager
▪ penetration testing
Explanation: A rootkit is used by an attacker to secure a backdoor to a
compromised computer, grant access to portions of the operating system
normally not permitted, or increase the privileges of a user.
68. The IT security personnel of an organization notice that the web server
deployed in the DMZ is frequently targeted by threat actors. The decision is
made to implement a patch management system to manage the server.
Which risk management strategy method is being used to respond to the
identified risk?
▪ risk sharing
▪ risk avoidance
▪ risk reduction
▪ risk
retention
Explanation: There are four potential strategies for responding to risks that
have been identified:
Risk avoidance – Stop performing the activities that create risk.
Risk reduction – Decrease the risk by taking measures to reduce vulnerability.
Risk sharing – Shift some of the risk to other parties.
Risk retention – Accept the risk and its consequences.
69. What are three characteristics of an information security management
system? (Choose three.)
▪ It involves the implementation of systems that track the location and
configuration of networked devices and software across an enterprise.
▪ It is a systematic and multilayered approach to cybersecurity.
▪ It addresses the inventory and control of hardware and software
configurations of systems.
▪ It consists of a set of practices that are systematically applied to
ensure continuous improvement in information security.
▪ It consists of a management framework through which an
organization identifies, analyzes, and addresses information
security risks.
▪ It is based on the application of servers and security devices.
Explanation: An Information Security Management System (ISMS) consists of
a management framework through which an organization identifies, analyzes,
and addresses information security risks. ISMSs are not based in servers or
security devices. Instead, an ISMS consists of a set of practices that are
systematically applied by an organization to ensure continuous improvement in
information security. ISMSs provide conceptual models that guide
organizations in planning, implementing, governing, and evaluating information
security programs.
ISMSs are a natural extension of the use of popular business models, such as
Total Quality Management (TQM) and Control Objectives for Information and
Related Technologies (COBIT), into the realm of cybersecurity.
An ISMS is a systematic, multi-layered approach to cybersecurity. The
approach includes people, processes, technologies, and the cultures in which
they interact in a process of risk management.
70. Which three technologies should be included in a SOC security
information and event management system? (Choose three.)
▪ event collection, correlation, and analysis
▪ security monitoring
▪ user authentication
▪ proxy service
▪ intrusion prevention
▪ threat intelligence
Explanation: Technologies in a SOC should include the following:
• Event collection, correlation, and analysis
• Security monitoring
• Security control
• Log management
• Vulnerability assessment
• Vulnerability tracking
• Threat intelligence
Proxy server, VPN, and IPS are security devices deployed in the network
infrastructure.
71. What part of the URL, http://www.cisco.com/index.html, represents the
top-level DNS domain?
▪ http
▪ www
▪ .com
▪ index
Explanation: The components of the URL http://www.cisco.com/index.htm are
as follows:
http = protocol
www = part of the server name
cisco = part of the domain name
index = file name
com = the top-level domain
72. What best describes the security threat of spoofing?
▪ sending bulk email to individuals, lists, or domains with the intention to
prevent users from accessing email
▪ sending abnormally large amounts of data to a remote server to prevent
user access to the server services
▪ intercepting traffic between two hosts or inserting false information into
traffic between two hosts
▪ making data appear to come from a source that is not the actual
source
73. A newly created company has fifteen Windows 10 computers that need
to be installed before the company can open for business. What is a best
practice that the technician should implement when configuring the
Windows Firewall?
▪ The technician should remove all default firewall rules and selectively
deny traffic from reaching the company network.
▪ After implementing third party security software for the company,
the technician should verify that the Windows Firewall is disabled.
▪ The technician should create instructions for corporate users on how to
allow an app through the WIndows Firewall using the Administrator
account.
▪ The technician should enable the Windows Firewall for inbound traffic
and install other firewall software for outbound traffic control.
Explanation: Only disable Windows Firewall if other firewall software is
installed. Use the Windows Firewall (Windows 7 or 8) or the Windows
Defender Firewall (Windows 10) Control Panel to enable or disable the
Windows Firewall.
74. Which statement defines the difference between session data and
transaction data in logs?
▪ Session data analyzes network traffic and predicts network behavior,
whereas transaction data records network sessions.
▪ Session data is used to make predictions on network behaviors,
whereas transaction data is used to detect network anomalies.
▪ Session data records a conversation between hosts, whereas
transaction data focuses on the result of network sessions.
▪ Session data shows the result of a network session, whereas
transaction data is in response to network threat traffic.
75. Match the network monitoring data type with the description.
91. Which field in the TCP header indicates the status of the three-way
handshake process?
▪ control bits
▪ window
▪ reserved
▪ checksum
Explanation: The value in the control bits field of theTCP header indicates the
progress and status of the connection.
92. A user opens three browsers on the same PC to access www.cisco.com to
search for certification course information. The Cisco web server sends a
datagram as a reply to the request from one of the web browsers. Which
information is used by the TCP/IP protocol stack in the PC to identify which
of the three web browsers should receive the reply?
▪ the source IP address
▪ the destination port number
▪ the destination IP address
▪ the source port number
Explanation: Each web browser client application opens a randomly
generated port number in the range of the registered ports and uses this
number as the source port number in the datagram that it sends to a server.
The server then uses this port number as the destination port number in the
reply datagram that it sends to the web browser. The PC that is running the
web browser application receives the datagram and uses the destination port
number that is contained in this datagram to identify the client application.
93. What are two scenarios where probabilistic security analysis is best
suited? (Choose two.)
▪ when applications that conform to application/networking standards are
analyzed
▪ when analyzing events with the assumption that they follow
predefined steps
▪ when random variables create difficulty in knowing with certainty the
outcome of any given event
▪ when analyzing applications designed to circumvent firewalls
▪ when each event is the inevitable result of antecedent causes
94. Which tool is a web application that provides the cybersecurity analyst
an easy-to-read means of viewing an entire Layer 4 session?
▪ Snort
▪ Zeek
▪ CapME
▪ OSSEC
95. Match the category of attacks with the description. (Not all options are
used.)
96. What are two characteristics of the SLAAC method for IPv6 address
configuration? (Choose two.)
▪ The default gateway of an IPv6 client on a LAN will be the link-local
address of the router interface attached to the LAN.
▪ This stateful method of acquiring an IPv6 address requires at least one
DHCPv6 server.
▪ Clients send router advertisement messages to routers to request IPv6
addressing.
▪ IPv6 addressing is dynamically assigned to clients through the use of
ICMPv6.
▪ Router solicitation messages are sent by the router to offer IPv6
addressing to clients.
Explanation: With SLAAC, the default gateway for IPv6 clients will be the link-
local address of the router interface that is attached to the client LAN. The
IPv6 addressing is dynamically assigned via the ICMPv6 protocol. SLAAC is a
stateless method of acquiring an IPv6 address, a method that requires no
servers. When a client is configured to obtain its addressing information
automatically via SLAAC, the client sends a router solicitation message to the
IPv6 all-routers multicast address FF02::2. The router advertisement
messages are sent by routers to provide addressing information to clients.
97. A technician notices that an application is not responding to commands
and that the computer seems to respond slowly when applications are
opened. What is the best administrative tool to force the release of system
resources from the unresponsive application?
▪ Event Viewer
▪ System Restore
▪ Add or Remove Programs
▪ Task Manager
Explanation: Use the Task Manager Performance tab to see a visual
representation of CPU and RAM utilization. This is helpful in determining if
more memory is needed. Use the Applications tab to halt an application that is
not responding.
98. How can statistical data be used to describe or predict network
behavior?
▪ by comparing normal network behavior to current network behavior
▪ by recording conversations between network endpoints
▪ by listing results of user web surfing activities
▪ by displaying alert messages that are generated by Snort
Explanation: Statistical data is created through the analysis of other forms of
network data. Statistical characteristics of normal network behavior can be
compared to current network traffic in an effort to detect anomalies.
Conclusions resulting from analysis can be used to describe or predict network
behavior.
99. Which metric in the CVSS Base Metric Group is used with an attack
vector?
▪ the proximity of the threat actor to the vulnerability
▪ the presence or absence of the requirement for user interaction in order
for an exploit to be successful
▪ the determination whether the initial authority changes to a second
authority during the exploit
▪ the number of components, software, hardware, or networks, that are
beyond the control of the attacker and that must be present in order
for a vulnerability to be successfully exploited
Explanation: This is a metric that reflects the proximity of the threat actor to
the vulnerable component. The more remote the threat actor is to the
component, the higher the severity. Threat actors close to your network or
inside your network are easier to detect and mitigate.
100. Which NIST Cybersecurity Framework core function is concerned with
the development and implementation of safeguards that ensure the
delivery of critical infrastructure services?
▪ respond
▪ detect
▪ identify
▪ recover
▪ protect
101. Which two techniques are used in a smurf attack? (Choose two.)
▪ session hijacking
▪ resource exhaustion
▪ botnets
▪ amplification
▪ reflection
102. What is the primary objective of a threat intelligence platform (TIP)?
▪ to aggregate the data in one place and present it in a comprehensible
and usable format
▪ to provide a specification for an application layer protocol that allows the
communication of CTI over HTTPS
▪ to provide a standardized schema for specifying, capturing,
characterizing, and communicating events and properties of network
operations
▪ to provide a security operations platform that integrates and enhances
diverse security tools and threat intelligence
103. Which wireless parameter is used by an access point to broadcast
frames that include the SSID?
▪ security mode
▪ active mode
▪ passive mode
▪ channel setting
Explanation: The two scanning or probing modes an access point can be
placed into are passive or active. In passive mode, the AP advertises the
SSID, supported standards, and security settings in broadcast beacon frames.
In active mode, the wireless client must be manually configured for the same
wireless parameters as the AP has configured.
104. Match the field in the Event table of Sguil to the description.
Match the field in the Event table of Sguil to the description
105. An employee connects wirelessly to the company network using a cell
phone. The employee then configures the cell phone to act as a wireless
access point that will allow new employees to connect to the company
network. Which type of security threat best describes this situation?
▪ rogue access point
▪ cracking
▪ denial of service
▪ spoofing
Explanation: Configuring the cell phone to act as a wireless access point
means that the cell phone is now a rogue access point. The employee
unknowingly breached the security of the company network by allowing a user
to access the network without connecting through the company access point.
Cracking is the process of obtaining passwords from data stored or transmitted
on a network. Denial of service attacks refer to sending large amounts of data
to a networked device, such as a server, to prevent legitimate access to the
server. Spoofing refers to access gained to a network or data by an attacker
appearing to be a legitimate network device or user.
106. What information is required for a WHOIS query?
▪ outside global address of the client
▪ ICANN lookup server address
▪ link-local address of the domain owner
▪ FQDN of the domain
107. Which two statements describe the characteristics of symmetric
algorithms? (Choose two.)
▪ They are referred to as a pre-shared key or secret key.
▪ They use a pair of a public key and a private key.
▪ They are commonly used with VPN traffic.
▪ They provide confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Explanation: Symmetric encryption algorithms use the same key (also called
shared secret) to encrypt and decrypt the data. In contrast, asymmetric
encryption algorithms use a pair of keys, one for encryption and another for
decryption.
108. What are two drawbacks to using HIPS? (Choose two.)
▪ With HIPS, the success or failure of an attack cannot be readily
determined.
▪ With HIPS, the network administrator must verify support for all the
different operating systems used inthe network.
▪ HIPS has difficulty constructing an accurate network picture or
coordinating events that occur across the entire network.
▪ If the network traffic stream is encrypted, HIPS is unable to access
unencrypted forms of the traffic.
▪ HIPS installations are vulnerable to fragmentation attacks or variable
TTL attacks
109. What are three functions provided by the syslog service? (Choose
three.)
▪ to select the type of logging information that is captured
▪ to periodically poll agents for data
▪ to provide statistics on packets that are flowing through a Cisco device
▪ to provide traffic analysis
▪ to gather logging information for monitoring and troubleshooting
▪ to specify the destinations of captured messages
Explanation: There are three primary functions provided by the syslog service:
1. gathering logging information
2. selection of the type of information to be logged
3. selection of the destination of the logged information
110. Which consideration is important when implementing syslog in a
network?
▪ Enable the highest level of syslog available to ensure logging of all
possible event messages.
▪ Synchronize clocks on all network devices with a protocol such as
Network Time Protocol.
▪ Log all messages to the system buffer so that they can be displayed
when accessing the router.
▪ Use SSH to access syslog information
111. What are the two ways threat actors use NTP? (Choose two.)
▪ They place an attachment inside an email message.
▪ They attack the NTP infrastructure in order to corrupt the
information used to log the attack.
▪ They place iFrames on a frequently used corporate web page.
▪ They encode stolen data as the subdomain portion where the
nameserver is under control of an attacker.
▪ Threat actors use NTP systems to direct DDoS attacks.
Explanation: Threat actors may attempt to attack the NTP infrastructure in
order to corrupt time information used to correlate logged network events. This
can serve to obfuscate traces of ongoing exploits. In addition, threat actors
have been known to use NTP systems to direct DDoS attacks through
vulnerabilities in client or server software. While these attacks do not
necessarily result in corrupted security monitoring data, they can disrupt
network availability.
112. Which two features are included by both TACACS+ and RADIUS
protocols? (Choose two.)
▪ password encryption
▪ separate authentication and authorization processes
▪ SIP support
▪ utilization of transport layer protocols
▪ 802.1X support
Explanation: Both TACACS+ and RADIUS support password encryption
(TACACS+ encrypts all communication) and use Layer 4 protocol (TACACS+
uses TCP and RADIUS uses UDP). TACACS+ supports separation of
authentication and authorization processes, while RADIUS combines
authentication and authorization as one process. RADIUS supports remote
access technology, such as 802.1x and SIP; TACACS+ does not.
113. Match the SIEM function to the description.
114. What are two types of attacks used on DNS open resolvers? (Choose
two.)
▪ amplification and reflection
▪ fast flux
▪ ARP poisoning
▪ resource utilization
▪ cushioning
Explanation: Three types of attacks used on DNS open resolvers are as
follows:DNS cache poisoning – attacker sends spoofed falsified information to
redirect users from legitimate sites to malicious sites
DNS amplification and reflection attacks – attacker sends an increased volume
of attacks to mask the true source of the attack
DNS resource utilization attacks – a denial of service (DoS) attack that
consumes server resources
115. What are three goals of a port scan attack? (Choose three.)
▪ to identify peripheral configurations
▪ to determine potential vulnerabilities
▪ to disable used ports and services
▪ to identify operating systems
▪ to identify active services
▪ to discover system passwords
116. Which protocol or service uses UDP for a client-to-server
communication and TCP for server-to-server communication?
▪ HTTP
▪ FTP
▪ DNS
▪ SMTP
Explanation: Some applications may use both TCP and UDP. DNS uses UDP
when clients send requests to a DNS server, and TCP when two DNS serves
directly communicate.
117. What is one difference between the client-server and peer-to-peer
network models?
▪ Only in the client-server model can file transfers occur.
▪ A data transfer that uses a device serving in a client role requires that a
dedicated server be present.
▪ A peer-to-peer network transfers data faster than a transfer using a
client-server network.
▪ Every device in a peer-to-peer network can function as a client or a
server.
Explanation: Data transfer speeds depend on a number of factors including
the amount of traffic, the quality of service imposed, and the network media.
Transfer speeds are not dependent on the network model type. File transfers
can occur using the client-server model or the peer-to-peer model. A data
transfer between a device acting in the client role and a device acting in the
server role can occur in both peer-to-peer and client-server networks.
118. Which statement is correct about network protocols?
▪ They define how messages are exchanged between the source and the
destination.
▪ They all function in the network access layer of TCP/IP.
▪ They are only required for exchange of messages between devices on
remote networks.
▪ Network protocols define the type of hardware that is used and how it is
mounted in racks.
Explanation: Network protocols are implemented in hardware, or software, or
both. They interact with each other within different layers of a protocol stack.
Protocols have nothing to do with the installation of the network equipment.
Network protocols are required to exchange information between source and
destination devices in both local and remote networks.
119. Which approach can help block potential malware delivery methods,
as described in the Cyber Kill Chain model, on an Internet-faced web
server?
▪ Build detections for the behavior of known malware.
▪ Collect malware files and metadata for future analysis.
▪ Audit the web server to forensically determine the origin of exploit.
▪ Analyze the infrastructure storage path used for files.
Explanation: A threat actor may send the weapon through web interfaces to
the target server, either in file uploads or coded web requests. By analyzing
the infrastructure storage path used for files, security measures can be
implemented to monitor and detect malware deliveries through these methods.
120. Which meta-feature element in the Diamond Model classifies the
general type of intrusion event?
▪ phase
▪ results
▪ methodology
▪ direction
Explanation: Methodology – This is used to classify the general type of event,
such as port scan, phishing, content delivery attack, syn flood, etc.
121. Which Linux command is used to manage processes?
▪ chrootkit
▪ ls
▪ grep
▪ kill
Explanation: The kill command is used to stop, restart, or pause a process.
The chrootkit command is used to check the computer for rootkits, a set of
software tools that can increase the privilege level of a user or grant access to
portions of software normally not allowed. The grep command is used to look
for a file or text within a file. The ls command is used to list files, directories,
and file information.
122. Which tool can be used in a Cisco AVC system to analyze and present
the application analysis data into dashboard reports?
▪ NetFlow
▪ NBAR2
▪ Prime
▪ IPFIX
Explanation: A management and reporting system, such as Cisco Prime, can
be used to analyze and present the application analysis data into dashboard
reports for use by network monitoring personnel.
123. Which Windows Event Viewer log includes events regarding the
operation of drivers, processes, and hardware?
▪ system logs
▪ application logs
▪ security logs
▪ setup logs
By default Windows keeps four types of host logs:
▪ Application logs – events logged by various applications
▪ System logs – events about the operation of drivers, processes, and
hardware
▪ Setup logs – information about the installation of software, including
Windows updates
▪ Security logs – events related to security, such as logon attempts and
operations related to file or object management and access
124. Which method is used to make data unreadable to unauthorized users?
▪ Encrypt the data.
▪ Fragment the data.
▪ Add a checksum to the end of the data.
▪ Assign it a username and password.
Explanation: Network data can be encrypted using various cryptography
applications so that the data is made unreadable to unauthorized users.
Authorized users have the cryptography application so the data can be
unencrypted.
125. Match the tabs of the Windows 10 Task Manager to their functions.
(Not all options are used.)
128. What are the three core functions provided by the Security Onion?
(Choose three.)
▪ business continuity planning
▪ full packet capture
▪ alert analysis
▪ intrusion detection
▪ securitydevice management
▪ threatcontainment
Explanation: Security Onion is an open source suite of Network Security
Monitoring (NSM) tools for evaluating cybersecurity alerts. For cybersecurity
analysts the Security Onion provides full packet capture, network-based and
host-based intrusion detection systems, and alert analysis tools.
129. In NAT terms, what address type refers to the globally routable IPv4
address of a destination host on the Internet?
▪ outside global
▪ inside global
▪ outside local
▪ inside local
Explanation: From the perspective of a NAT device, inside global addresses
are used by external users to reach internal hosts. Inside local addresses are
the addresses assigned to internal hosts. Outside global addresses are the
addresses of destinations on the external network. Outside local addresses
are the actual private addresses of destination hosts behind other NAT
devices.
130. Which two fields or features does Ethernet examine to determine if a
received frame is passed to the data link layer or discarded by the NIC?
(Choose two.)
▪ CEF
▪ source MAC address
▪ minimum frame size
▪ auto-MDIX
▪ Frame Check Sequence
Explanation: An Ethernet frame is not processed and is discarded if it is
smaller than the minimum (64 bytes) or if the calculated frame check
sequence (FCS) value does not match the received FCS value. Auto-MDIX
(automatic medium-dependent interface crossover) is Layer 1 technology that
detects cable straight-through or crossover types. The source MAC address is
not used to determine how the frame is received. CEF (Cisco Express
Forwarding) is a technology used to expedite Layer 3 switching.
131. Which type of data would be considered an example of volatile data?
▪ web browser cache
▪ memory registers
▪ log files
▪ temp files
Explanation: Volatile data is data stored in memory such as registers, cache,
and RAM, or it is data that exists in transit. Volatile memory is lost when the
computer loses power.
132. What is the main purpose of exploitations by a threat actor through the
weapon delivered to a target during the Cyber Kill Chain exploitation
phase?
▪ Launch a DoS attack.
▪ Send a message back to a CnC controlled by the threat actor.
▪ Break the vulnerability and gain control of the target.
▪ Establish a back door into the system.
Explanation: After the weapon has been delivered, the threat actor uses it to
break the vulnerability and gain control of the target. The threat actor will use
an exploit that gains the effect desired, does it quietly, and avoids detections.
Establishing a back door in the target system is the phase of installation.
133. Refer to the exhibit. An administrator is trying to troubleshoot
connectivity between PC1 and PC2 and uses the tracert command from PC1
to do it. Based on the displayed output, where should the administrator
begin troubleshooting?
138. Which management system implements systems that track the location
and configuration of networked devices and software across an enterprise?
▪ asset management
▪ vulnerability management
▪ risk management
▪ configuration management
Explanation: Asset management involves the implementation of systems that
track the location and configuration of networked devices and software across
an enterprise.
139. A network administrator is reviewing server alerts because of reports
of network slowness. The administrator confirms that an alert was an
actual security incident. What is the security alert classification of this type
of scenario?
▪ false negative
▪ true positive
▪ true negative
▪ false positive
Explanation: True Positive: The alert has been verified to be an actual security
incident.
False Positive: The alert does not indicate an actual security incident. Benign
activity that results in a false positive is sometimes referred to as a benign
trigger.
True Negative: No security incident has occurred. The activity is benign.
False Negative: An undetected incident has occurred.
140. Which application layer protocol is used to provide file-sharing and
print services to Microsoft applications?
▪ SMTP
▪ HTTP
▪ SMB
▪ DHCP
Explanation: SMB is used in Microsoft networking for file-sharing and print
services. The Linux operating system provides a method of sharing resources
with Microsoft networks by using a version of SMB called SAMBA.
141. Which device in a layered defense-in-depth approach denies
connections initiated from untrusted networks to internal networks, but
allows internal users within an organization to connect to untrusted
networks?
▪ access layer switch
▪ firewall
▪ internal router
▪ IPS
Explanation: A firewall is typically a second line of defense in a layered
defense-in-depth approach to network security. The firewall typically connects
to an edge router that connects to the service provider. The firewall tracks
connections initiated within the company going out of the company and denies
initiation of connections from external untrusted networks going to internal
trusted networks.
142. What are two potential network problems that can result from ARP
operation? (Choose two.)
▪ Large numbers of ARP request broadcasts could cause the host MAC
address table to overflow and prevent the host from communicating on
the network.
▪ On large networks with low bandwidth, multiple ARP broadcasts
could cause data communication delays.
▪ Network attackers could manipulate MAC address and IP address
mappings in ARP messages with the intent of intercepting network
traffic.
▪ Multiple ARP replies result in the switch MAC address table containing
entries that match the MAC addresses of hosts that are connected to
the relevant switch port.
▪ Manually configuring static ARP associations could facilitate ARP
poisoning or MAC address spoofing.
Explanation: Large numbers of ARP broadcast messages could cause
momentary data communications delays. Network attackers could manipulate
MAC address and IP address mappings in ARP messages with the intent to
intercept network traffic. ARP requests and replies cause entries to be made
into the ARP table, not the MAC address table. ARP table overflows are very
unlikely. Manually configuring static ARP associations is a way to prevent, not
facilitate, ARP poisoning and MAC address spoofing. Multiple ARP replies
resulting in the switch MAC address table containing entries that match the
MAC addresses of connected nodes and are associated with the relevant
switch port are required for normal switch frame forwarding operations. It is not
an ARP caused network problem.
143. Which three procedures in Sguil are provided to security analysts to
address alerts? (Choose three.)
▪ Escalate an uncertain alert.
▪ Correlate similar alerts into a single line.
▪ Categorize true positives.
▪ Pivot to other information sources and tools.
▪ Construct queries using Query Builder.
▪ Expire false positives.
Explanation: Sguil is a tool for addressing alerts. Three tasks can be
completed in Sguil to manage alerts:
▪ Alerts that have been found to be false positives can be expired.
▪ An alert can be escalated if the cybersecurity analyst is uncertain how to
handle it.
▪ Events that have been identified as true positives can be categorized.
144. Match the SOC metric with the description. (Not all options apply.)
145. Which two services are provided by the NetFlow tool? (Choose two.)
▪ QoS configuration
▪ usage-based network billing
▪ log analysis
▪ access list monitoring
▪ network monitoring
Explanation: NetFlow efficiently provides an important set of services for IP
applications including network traffic accounting, usage-based network billing,
network planning, security, denial of service monitoring capabilities, and
network monitoring.
146. An administrator discovers that a user is accessing a newly established
website that may be detrimental to company security. What action should
the administrator take first in terms of the security policy?
▪ Ask the user to stop immediately and inform the user that this
constitutes grounds for dismissal.
▪ Create a firewall rule blocking the respective website.
▪ Revise the AUP immediately and get all users to sign the updated AUP.
▪ Immediately suspend the network privileges of the user.
Explanation: One of the most common security policy components is an AUP.
This can also be referred to as an appropriate use policy. This component
defines what users are allowed and not allowed to do on the various system
components. This includes the type of traffic that is allowed on the network.
The AUP should be as explicit as possible to avoid misunderstanding.
147. Which two tasks can be performed by a local DNS server? (Choose
two.)
▪ allowing data transfer between two network devices
▪ retrieving email messages
▪ providing IP addresses to local hosts
▪ forwarding name resolution requests between servers
▪ mapping name-to-IP addresses for internal hosts
Explanation: Two important functions of DNS are to (1) provide IP addresses
for domain names such as http://www.cisco.com, and (2) forward requests that
cannot be resolved to other servers in order to provide domain name to IP
address translation. DHCP provides IP addressing information to local
devices. A file transfer protocol such as FTP, SFTP, or TFTP provides file
sharing services. IMAP or POP can be used to retrieve an email message
from a server.
148. Which type of event is logged in Cisco Next-Generation IPS devices
(NGIPS) using FirePOWER Services when changes have been detected in the
monitored network?
▪ intrusion
▪ connection
▪ host or endpoint
▪ network discovery
Explanation: Network discovery events in Cisco NGIPS represent changes
that have been detected in the monitored network.
149. Which two actions should be taken during the preparation phase of the
incident response life cycle defined by NIST? (Choose two.)
▪ Acquire and deploy the tools that are needed to investigate incidents.
▪ Detect all the incidents that occurred.
▪ Meet with all involved parties to discuss the incident that took place.
▪ Create and train the CSIRT.
▪ Fullyanalyze the incident.
Explanation: According to the guideline defined in the NIST Incident
Response Life Cycle, several actions should be taken during the preparation
phase including (1) creating and training the CSIRT and (2) acquiring and
deploying the tools needed by the team to investigate incidents.
150. What subnet mask is represented by the slash notation /20?
▪ 255.255.255.0
▪ 255.255.255.248
▪ 255.255.255.192
▪ 255.255.240.0
▪ 255.255.224.0
Explanation: The slash notation /20 represents a subnet mask with 20 1s.
This would translate to: 11111111.11111111.11110000.0000, which in turn
would convert into 255.255.240.0.
151. What is the benefit of converting log file data into a common schema?
▪ creates a data model based on fields of data from a source
▪ creates a set of regex-based field extractions
▪ allows the implementation of partial normalization and inspection
▪ allows easy processing and analysis of datasets
Explanation: When data is converted into a universal format, it can be
effectively structured for performing fast queries and event analysis.
152. Which Cisco sponsored certification is designed to provide the first
step in acquiring the knowledge and skills to work with a SOC team?
▪ CCNA CyberOps Associate
▪ CCNA Cloud
▪ CCNA Security
▪ CCNA Data Center
Explanation: The Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate certification provides a
valuable first step in acquiring the knowledge and skills needed to work with a
SOC team. It can be a valuable part of a career in the exciting and growing
field of cybersecurity operations.
153. Which three IP addresses are considered private addresses? (Choose
three.)
▪ 198.168.6.18
▪ 192.168.5.29
▪ 172.68.83.35
▪ 128.37.255.6
▪ 172.17.254.4
▪ 10.234.2.1
Explanation:The designated private IP addresses are within the three IP
address ranges:
▪ 10.0.0.0 – 10.255.255.255
▪ 172.16.0.0 – 172.31.255.255
▪ 192.168.0.0 – 192.168.255.255
154. When establishing a network profile for an organization, which
element describes the time between the establishment of a data flow and its
termination?
▪ bandwidth of the Internet connection
▪ routing protocol convergence
▪ session duration
▪ total throughput
Explanation: A network profile should include some important elements, such
as the following:
Total throughput – the amount of data passing from a given source to a given
destination in a given period of time
Session duration – the time between the establishment of a data flow and its
termination
Ports used – a list of TCP or UDP processes that are available to accept data
Critical asset address space – the IP addresses or the logical location of
essential systems or data
155. What are the stages that a wireless device completes before it can
communicate over a wireless LAN network?
▪ discover a wireless AP, authenticate with the AP, associate with the
AP
▪ discover a wireless AP, associate with the AP, authorize with the AP
▪ discover a wireless AP, associate with the AP, authenticate with the AP
▪ discover a wireless AP, authorize with the AP, associate with the AP
156. Match the correct sequence of steps typically taken by a threat actor
carrying out a domain shadowing attack.
157. What are two properties of a cryptographic hash function? (Choose
two.)
▪ Complex inputs will produce complex hashes.
▪ The output is a fixed length.
▪ The hash function is one way and irreversible.
▪ Hash functions can be duplicated for authentication purposes.
▪ The input for a particular hash algorithm has to have a fixed size.
Explanation: A cryptographic hash function should have the following
properties:The input can be any length.
The output has a fixed length.
The hash value is relatively easy to compute for any given input.
The hash is one way and not reversible.
The hash is collision free, meaning that two different input values will result in
different hash values
158. Refer to the exhibit. The switches have a default configuration. Host A
needs to communicate with host D, but host A does not have the MAC
address for the default gateway. Which network devices will receive the
ARP request sent by host A?
i360201v3n1_275353.png
▪ only host D
▪ only hosts A, B, C, and D
▪ only hosts B and C
▪ only hosts B, C, and router R1
▪ only hosts A, B, and C
▪ only router R1
159. Which type of evidence cannot prove an IT security fact on its own?
▪ hearsay
▪ corroborative
▪ best
▪ indirect
Explanation: Indirect evidence cannot prove a fact on its own, but direct
evidence can. Corroborative evidence is supporting information. Best evidence
is most reliable because it is something concrete such as a signed contract.
160. What is a characteristic of a probabilistic analysis in an alert
evaluation?
▪ each event an inevitable result of antecedent causes
▪ precise methods that yield the same result every time by relying on
predefined conditions
▪ random variables that create difficulty in knowing the outcome of any
given event with certainty
▪ analysis of applications that conform to application/networking standards
161. Why would a network administrator choose Linux as an operating
system in the Security Operations Center (SOC)?
▪ It is easier to use than other server operating systems.
▪ It can be acquired at no charge.
▪ More network applications are created for this environment.
▪ The administrator has control over specific security functions, but not
standard applications.
Linux is open source – Any person can acquire Linux at no charge and modify
it to fit specific needs. This flexibility allows analysts and administrators to
tailor-build an operating system specifically for security analysis.
162. A technician needs to verify file permissions on a specific Linux file.
Which command would the technician use?
▪ cd
▪ sudo
▪ ls -l
▪ vi
163. Which two protocols may devices use in the application process that
sends email? (Choose two.)
▪ HTTP
▪ POP
▪ POP3
▪ DNS
▪ IMAP
▪ SMTP
Explanation: POP, POP3, and IMAP are protocols that are used to retrieve
email from servers. SMTP is the default protocol that is used to send email.
DNS may be used by the sender email server to find the address of the
destination email server. HTTP is a protocol for send and receiving web
pages.
164. Which file system type was specifically created for optical disk media?
▪ ext3
▪ HFS+
▪ CDFS
▪ ext2
165. A piece of malware has gained access to a workstation and issued a
DNS lookup query to a CnC server. What is the purpose of this attack?
▪ to check the domain name of the workstation
▪ to send stolen sensitive data with encoding
▪ to masquerade the IP address of the workstation
▪ to request a change of the IP address
Explanation: A piece of malware, after accessing a host, may exploit the DNS
service by communicating with command-and-control (CnC) servers and then
exfiltrate data in traffic disguised as normal DNS lookup queries. Various types
of encoding, such as base64, 8-bit binary, and hex can be used to camouflage
the data and evade basic data loss prevention (DLP) measures.
166. Refer to the exhibit. Which field in the Sguil event window indicates the
number of times an event is detected for the same source and destination IP
address?
▪ CNT
▪ Pr
▪ ST
▪ AlertID
Explanation: The CNT field indicates the number of times an event is detected
from the same source and destination IP address. Having a high number of
events can indicated a problem with event signatures.
167. Refer to the exhibit. The IP address of which device interface should be
used as the default gateway setting of host H1?
▪ R1: G0/0
▪ R2: S0/0/0
▪ R2: S0/0/1
▪ R1: S0/0/0
Explanation: The default gateway for host H1 is the router interface that is
attached to the LAN that H1 is a member of. In this case, that is the G0/0
interface of R1. H1 should be configured with the IP address of that interface
in its addressing settings. R1 will provide routing services to packets from H1
that need to be forwarded to remote networks.
168. According to information outlined by the Cyber Kill Chain, which two
approaches can help identify reconnaissance threats? (Choose two.)
▪ Analyze web log alerts and historical search data.
▪ Audit endpoints to forensically determine origin of exploit.
▪ Build playbooks for detecting browser behavior.
▪ Conduct full malware analysis.
▪ Understand targeted servers, people, and data available to attack.
Threat actors may use port scanning toward a web server of an organization
and identify vulnerabilities on the server. They may visit the web server to
collect information about the organization. The web server logging should be
enabled and the logging data should be analyzed to identify possible
reconnaissance threats. Building playbooks by filtering and combining related
web activities by visitors can sometimes reveal the intentions of threat actors.
169. Which two ICMPv6 messages are used during the Ethernet MAC
address resolution process? (Choose two.)
▪ router solicitation
▪ router advertisement
▪ neighbor solicitation
▪ neighbor advertisement
▪ echo request
Explanation: IPv6 uses neighbor solicitation (NS) and neighbor advertisement
(NA) ICMPv6 messages for MAC address resolution.
170. What best describes the destination IPv4 address that is used by
multicasting?
▪ a single IP multicast address that is used by all destinations in a group
▪ an IP address that is unique for each destination in the group
▪ a group address that shares the last 23 bits with the source IPv4
address
▪ a 48 bit address that is determined by the number of members in the
multicast group
Explain:
The destination multicast IPv4 address is a group address, which is a single IP
multicast address within the Class D range.
171. What is the result of using security devices that include HTTPS
decryption and inspection services?
▪ The devices require continuous monitoring and fine tuning.
▪ The devices introduce processing delays and privacy issues.
▪ The devices must have preconfigured usernames and passwords for all
users.
▪ Monthly service contracts with reputable web filtering sites can be
costly.
Explanation: HTTPS adds extra overhead to the HTTP-formed packet.
HTTPS encrypts using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Even though some
devices can perform SSL decryption and inspection, this can present
processing and privacy issues.
172. What is a disadvantage of DDNS?
▪ DDNS is considered malignant and must be monitored by security
software.
▪ DDNS is unable to co-exist on a network subdomain that also uses
DNS.
▪ Using free DDNS services, threat actors can quickly and easily
generate subdomains and change DNS records.
▪ Using DDNS, a change in an existing IP address mapping can take over
24 hours and could result in a disruption of connectivity.
Explanation: Dynamic DNS can be abused by threat actors in various ways.
Free DDNS services are especially useful to threat actors. DDNS can be used
to facilitate the rapid change of IP address for malware command-and-control
servers after the current IP address has become widely blocked.
173. Match the network-based antimalware solution to the function. (Not all
options are used.)
174. A threat actor has identified the potential vulnerability of the web
server of an organization and is building an attack. What will the threat
actor possibly do to build an attack weapon?
▪ Obtain an automated tool in order to deliver the malware payload
through the vulnerability.
▪ Install a webshell on the web server for persistent access.
▪ Create a point of persistence by adding services.
▪ Collect credentials of the web server developers and administrators.
One tactic of weaponization used by a threat actor after the vulnerability is
identified is to obtain an automated tool to deliver the malware payload
through the vulnerability.
175. Which tool included in the Security Onion is a series of software
plugins that send different types of data to the Elasticsearch data stores?
▪ OSSEC
▪ Curator
▪ Beats
▪ ElastAlert
Explanation: Beats – This is a series of software plugins that send different
types of data to the Elasticsearch data stores.
176. Which term is used to describe the process of identifying the NSM-
related data to be gathered?
▪ data archiving
▪ data normalization
▪ data reduction
▪ data retention
177. Match the alert classification with the description.
178. According to NIST, which step in the digital forensics process involves
preparing and presenting information that resulted from scrutinizing data?
▪ examination
▪ collection
▪ reporting
▪ analysis
Explanation: NIST describes the digital forensics process as involving the
following four steps:
Collection – the identification of potential sources of forensic data and
acquisition, handling, and storage of that data
Examination – assessing and extracting relevant information from the collected
data. This may involve decompression or decryption of the data
Analysis – drawing conclusions from the data. Salient features, such as
people, places, times, events, and so on should be documented
Reporting – preparing and presenting information that resulted from the
analysis. Reporting should be impartial and alternative explanations should be
offered if appropriate
179. Refer to the exhibit. A cybersecurity analyst is using Sguil to verify
security alerts. How is the current view sorted?
▪ by sensor number
▪ by source IP
▪ by date/time
▪ by frequency
Explanation: The CNT column, between the ST and Sensor columns, displays
the frequency of alerts. By sorting with frfequency, the analyst will get a better
sense of what has happened on the network.
180. Which two options are window managers for Linux? (Choose two.)
▪ File Explorer
▪ Kali
▪ Gnome
▪ PenTesting
▪ KDE
181. What are the two methods that a wireless NIC can use to discover an
AP? (Choose two.)
▪ transmitting a probe request
▪ sending an ARP request broadcast
▪ initiating a three-way handshake
▪ receiving a broadcast beacon frame
▪ sending a multicast frame
Explanation: Two methods can be used by a wireless device to discover and
register with an access point: passive mode and active mode. In passive
mode, the AP sends a broadcast beacon frame that contains the SSID and
other wireless settings. In active mode, the wireless device must be manually
configured for the SSID, and then the device broadcasts a probe request.
182. A client device has initiated a secure HTTP request to a web browser.
Which well-known port address number is associated with the destination
address?
▪ 110
▪ 80
▪ 443
▪ 404
Explanation: Port numbers are used in TCP and UDP communications to
differentiate between the various services running on a device. The well-
known port number used by HTTPs is port 443.
183. Which term describes evidence that is in its original state?
▪ Corroborating evidence
▪ Best evidence
▪ Indirect evidence
▪ Direct evidence
Explanation: Evidence can be classified as follows:
Best evidence: This is evidence that is in its original state. It might be storage
devices used by an accused or archives of files that can be proven to be
unaltered.
Corroborating evidence: This is evidence that supports a propositionalready
supported by initial evidence, therefore confirming the original proposition.
Indirect evidence: This evidence acts in combination with other facts to
establish a hypothesis.
184. Which three statements describe a DHCP Discover message? (Choose
three.)
▪ The source MAC address is 48 ones (FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF).
▪ The destination IP address is 255.255.255.255.
▪ The message comes from a server offering an IP address.
▪ The message comes from a client seeking an IP address.
▪ All hosts receive the message, but only a DHCP server replies.
▪ Only the DHCP server receives the message.
Explanation: When a host configured to use DHCP powers up on a network it
sends a DHCPDISCOVER message. FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF is the L2 broadcast
address. A DHCP server replies with a unicast DHCPOFFER message back to
the host.
185. Refer to the exhibit. The PC is sending a packet to the Server on the
remote network. Router R1 is performing NAT overload. From the
perspective of the PC, match the NAT address type with the correct IP
address. (Not all options are used.)
Explanation: The inside local address is the private IP address of the source
or the PC in this instance. The inside global address is the translated address
of the source or the address as seen by the outside device. Since the PC is
using the outside address of the R1 router, the inside global address is
192.0.2.1. The outside addressing is simply the address of the server or
203.0.113.5.
186. Which step in the Vulnerability Management Life Cycle categorizes
assets into groups or business units, and assigns a business value to asset
groups based on their criticality to business operations?
▪ remediate
▪ prioritize assets
▪ report
▪ assess
Explanation: The steps in the Vulnerability Management Life Cycle include
these:
Discover – inventory all assets across the network and identify host details,
including operating systems and open services to identify vulnerabilities
Prioritize assets – categorize assets into groups or business units, and assign
a business value to asset groups based on their criticality to business
operations
Assess – determine a baseline risk profile to eliminate risks based on asset
criticality, vulnerability threats, and asset classification
Report – measure the level of business risk associated with your assets
according to your security policies. Document a security plan, monitor
suspicious activity, and describe known vulnerabilities
Remediate – prioritize according to business risk and fix vulnerabilities in order
of risk
Verify – verify that threats have been eliminated through follow-up audits
187. A client application needs to terminate a TCP communication session
with a server. Place the termination process steps in the order that they will
occur. (Not all options are used.)
Explanation: In order to terminate a TCP session, the client sends to the
server a segment with the FIN flag set. The server acknowledges the client by
sending a segment with the ACK flag set. The server sends a FIN to the client
to terminate the server to client session. The client acknowledges the
termination by sending a segment with the ACK flag set.
188. Match the attack vector with the description.
Case 2
Match the definition to the Microsoft Windows term. (Not all options are used.)
2. What are two motivating factors for nation-state sponsored threat actors?
(Choose two.)
▪ industrial espionage
▪ showing off their hacking skill
▪ disruption of trade or infrastructure
▪ social or personal causes
▪ financial gain
Explanation: Nation-state threat actors are not typically interested or
motivated by financial gain. They are primarily involved in corporate espionage
or disrupting international trade or critical infrastructure.
3. Match the description to the Linux term. (Not all options are used.)
Other case
4. Match the antimalware approach to the description.
5. Which type of data is used by Cisco Cognitive Intelligence to find
malicious activity that has bypassed security controls, or entered through
unmonitored channels, and is operating inside an enterprise network?
▪ statistical
▪ session
▪ alert
▪ transaction
Explanation: Cisco Cognitive Intelligence utilizes statistical data for statistical
analysis in order to find malicious activity that has bypassed security controls,
or entered through unmonitored channels (including removable media), and is
operating inside the network of an organization.
6. Which type of evasion technique splits malicious payloads into smaller
packets in order to bypass security sensors that do not reassemble the
payloads before scanning them?
▪ pivoting
▪ traffic fragmentation
▪ protocol-level misinterpretation
▪ traffic insertion
Explanation: In order to keep the malicious payload from being recognized by
security sensors, such as IPS or IDS, perpetrators fragment the data into
smaller packets.These fragments can be passed by sensors that do not
reassemble the data before scanning.
7. Which type of cyber attack is a form of MiTM in which the perpetrator
copies IP packets off the network without modifying them?
▪ compromised key
▪ eavesdropping
▪ denial-of-service
▪ IP spoofing
Explanation: An eavesdropping attack is a form of man-in-the-middle in which
the perpetrator just reads or copies IP packets off the network but does not
alter them.
8. Which is an example of social engineering?
▪ an anonymous programmer directing a DDoS attack on a data center
▪ an unidentified person claiming to be a technician collecting user
information from employees
▪ a computer displaying unauthorized pop-ups and adware
▪ the infection of a computer by a virus carried by a Trojan
Explanation: A social engineer attempts to gain the confidence of an
employee and convince that person to divulge confidential and sensitive
information, such as usernames and passwords. DDoS attacks, pop-ups, and
viruses are all examples of software based security threats, not social
engineering.
9. Which component is a pillar of the zero trust security approach that
focuses on the secure access of devices, such as servers, printers, and other
endpoints, including devices attached to IoT?
▪ workflows
▪ workloads
▪ workplace
▪ workforce
Explanation: The workplace pillar focuses on secure access for any and all
devices, including devices on the internet of things (IoT), which connect to
enterprise networks, such as user endpoints, physical and virtual servers,
printers, cameras, HVAC systems, kiosks, infusion pumps, industrial control
systems, and more.
10. A security analyst is reviewing information contained in a Wireshark
capture created during an attempted intrusion. The analyst wants to
correlate the Wireshark information with the log files from two servers that
may have been compromised. What type of information can be used to
correlate the events found in these multiple data sets?
▪ ISP geolocation data
▪ IP five-tuples
▪ logged-in user account
▪ ownership metadata
Explanation: The source and destination IP address, ports, and protocol (the
IP five-tuples) can be used to correlate different data sets when analyzing an
intrusion.
11. A security analyst is investigating a cyber attack that began by
compromising one file system through a vulnerability in a custom software
application. The attack now appears to be affecting additional file systems
under the control of another security authority. Which CVSS v3.0 base
exploitability metric score is increased by this attack characteristic?
▪ privileges required
▪ scope
▪ attack complexity
▪ user interaction
Explanation: The scope metric is impacted by an exploited vulnerability that
can affect resources beyond the authorized privileges of the vulnerable
component or that are managed by a different security authority.
12. Which regular expression would match any string that contains 4
consecutive zeros?
▪ {0-4}
▪ [0-4]
▪ 0{4}
▪ ^0000
Explanation: The regular expression 0{4} matches any string that contains 4
repetitions of zero or 4 consecutive zeros.
13. Refer to the exhibit. Which technology generated the event log?
▪ Wireshark
▪ Netflow
▪ web proxy
▪ syslog
Explanation: The source of the output is Netflow.
14. Refer to the exhibit. A security specialist is using Wireshark to review a
PCAP file generated by tcpdump . When the client initiated a file download
request, which source socket pair was used?
▪ 209.165.202.133:48598
▪ 209.165.202.133:6666
▪ 209.165.200.235:6666
▪ 209.165.200.235:48598
Explanation: The combination of the source IP address and source port
number, or the destination IP address and destination port number, is known
as a socket. A socket is shown as the IP address and associated port number
with a colon in between the two (IP_address:port_number).
15. Match the security service with the description.
16. Using Tcpdump and Wireshark, a security analyst extracts a
downloaded file from a pcap file. The analyst suspects that the file is a virus
and wants to know the file type for further examination. Which Linux
command can be used to determine the file type?
▪ file
▪ tail
▪ nano
▪ ls -l
Explanation: The Linux file command can be used to determine a file type,
such as whether it is executable, ASCII text, or zip.
17. Match the IPS alarm with the description.
CyberOps Associate (Version 1.0) – CyberOps Associate (200-201) Certification
Practice Exam
18. What is a feature of an IPS?
▪ It can stop malicious packets.
▪ It is deployed in offline mode.
▪ It has no impact on latency.
▪ It is primarily focused on identifying possible incidents.
Explanation: An advantage of an intrusion prevention systems (IPS) is that it
can identify and stop malicious packets. However, because an IPS is deployed
inline, it can add latency to the network.
19. Which three fields are found in both the TCP and UDP headers? (Choose
three.)
▪ window
▪ checksum
▪ options
▪ sequence number
▪ destination port
▪ source port
Explanation: The UPD header has four fields. Three of these fields are in
common with the TCP header. These three fields are the source port,
destination port, and checksum.
20. What will match the regular expression ^83?
▪ any string that includes 83
▪ any string that begins with 83
▪ any string with values greater than 83
▪ any string that ends with 83
Explanation: The expression ^83 indicates any string that begins with 83 will
be matched.
21. What is a key difference between the data captured by NetFlow and data
captured by Wireshark?
▪ NetFlow provides transaction data whereas Wireshark provides session
data.
▪ NetFlow data is analyzed by tcpdump whereas Wireshark data is
analyzed by nfdump.
▪ NetFlow collects metadata from a network flow whereas Wireshark
captures full data packets.
▪ NetFlow data shows network flow contents whereas Wireshark data
shows network flow statistics.
Explanation: Wireshark captures the entire contents of a packet. NetFlow
does not. Instead, NetFlow collects metadata, or data about the flow.
22. Which three IPv4 header fields have no equivalent in an IPv6 header?
(Choose three.)
▪ flag
▪ identification
▪ TTL
▪ fragment offset
▪ version
▪ protocol
Explanation: Unlike IPv4, IPv6 routers do not perform fragmentation.
Therefore, all three fields supporting fragmentation in the IPv4 header are
removed and have no equivalent in the IPv6 header. These three fields are
fragment offset, flag, and identification. IPv6 does support host packet
fragmentation through the use of extension headers, which are not part of the
IPv6 header.
23. What classification is used for an alert that correctly identifies that an
exploit has occurred?
▪ false negative
▪ false positive
▪ true positive
▪ true negative
Explanation: A true positive occurs when an IDS and IPS signature is
correctly fired and an alarm is generated when offending traffic is detected.
24. Match the NIST incident response life cycle phase with the description.
25. Place the seven steps defined in the Cyber Kill Chain in the correct
order.
26. During the detection and analysis phase of the NIST incident response
process life cycle, which sign category is used to describe that an incident
might occur in the future?
▪ attrition
▪ impersonation
▪ precursor
▪ indicator
Explanation: There are two categories for the signs of an incident:
▪ Precursor – a sign that an incident might occur in the future
▪ Indicator – a sign that an incident might already have occurred or is
currently occurring
27. According to the Cyber Kill Chain model, after a weapon is delivered to a
targeted system, what is the next step that a threat actor would take?
▪ action on objectives
▪ exploitation
▪ weaponization
▪ installation
Explanation: The Cyber Kill Chain specifies seven steps (or phases) and
sequences that a threat actor must complete to accomplish an attack:
▪ Reconnaissance – The threat actor performs research, gathers
intelligence, and selects targets.
▪ Weaponization – The threat actor uses the information from the
reconnaissance phase to develop a weapon against specific targeted
systems.
▪ Delivery – The weapon is transmitted to the target using a delivery
vector.
▪ Exploitation – The threat actor uses the weapon delivered to break the
vulnerability and gain control of the target.
▪ Installation – The threat actor establishes a back door into the system
to allow for continued access to the target.
▪ Command and Control (CnC) – The threat actor establishes command
and control (CnC) with the target system.
▪ Action on Objectives – The threat actor is able to take action on the
target system, thus achieving the original objective.
28. A company is applying the NIST.SP800-61 r2 incident handling process
to security events. What are two examples of incidents that are in the
category of precursor? (Choose two.)
▪ multiple failed logins from an unknown source
▪ log entries that show a response to a port scan
▪ an IDS alert message being sent
▪ a newly-discovered vulnerability in Apache web servers
▪ a host that has been verified as infected with malware
Explanation: As an incident category, the precursor is a sign that an incident
might occur in the future. Examples of precursors are log entries that show a
response to a port scan or a newly-discovered vulnerability in web servers
using Apache.
29. A network administrator is creating a network profile to generate a
network baseline. What is included in the critical asset address space
element?
▪ the time between the establishment of a data flow and its termination
▪ the TCP and UDP daemons and ports that are allowed to be open on
the server
▪ the IP addresses or the logical location of essential systems or data
▪ the list of TCP or UDP processes that are available to accept data
Explanation: A network profile should include some important elements, such
as the following:
Total throughput – the amount of data passing from a given source to a given
destination in a given period of time
Session duratio n – the time between the establishment of a data flow and its
termination
Ports used – a list of TCP or UDP processes that are available to accept data
Critical asset address space – the IP addresses or the logical location of
essential systems or data
30. Which NIST-defined incident response stakeholder is responsible for
coordinating incident response with other stakeholders and minimizing the
damage of an incident?
▪ human resources
▪ IT support
▪ the legal department
▪ management
Explanation: The management team creates the policies, designs the budget,
and is in charge of staffing all departments. Management is also responsible
for coordinating the incident response with other stakeholders and minimizing
the damage of an incident.
31. What is defined in the policy element of the NIST incident response
plan?
▪ how to handle incidents based on the mission and functions of an
organization
▪ a roadmap for updating the incident response capability
▪ the metrics used for measuring incident response capability in an
organization
▪ how the incident response team of an organization will communicate
with organization stakeholders
Explanation: The policy element of the NIST incident response plan details
how incidents should be handled based on the mission and function of the
organization.
32. What is the responsibility of the human resources department when
handing a security incident as defined by NIST?
▪ Review the incident policies, plans, and procedures for local or federal
guideline violations.
▪ Perform disciplinary actions if an incident is caused by an employee.
▪ Coordinate the incident response with other stakeholders and minimize
the damage of an incident.
▪ Perform actions to minimize the effectiveness of the attack and preserve
evidence.
Explanation: The human resources department may be called upon to
perform disciplinary measures if an incident is caused by an employee.
33. What is the benefit of a defense-in-depth approach?
▪ All network vulnerabilities are mitigated.
▪ The need for firewalls is eliminated.
▪ Only a single layer of security at the network core is required.
▪ The effectiveness of other security measures is not impacted when a
security mechanism fails.
Explanation: The benefit of the defense-in-depth approach is that network
defenses are implemented in layers so that failure of any single security
mechanism does not impact other secuirty measures.
34. Which type of analysis relies on predefined conditions and can analyze
applications that only use well-known fixed ports?
▪ statistical
▪ deterministic
▪ log
▪ probabilistic
Explanation: Deterministic analysis uses predefined conditions to analyze
applications that conform to specification standards, such as performing a
port-based analysis.
35. Which type of analysis relies on different methods to establish the
likelihood that a security event has happened or will happen?
▪ deterministic
▪ statistical
▪ log
▪ probabilistic
Explanation: Probabilistic methods use powerful tools to create a probabilistic
answer as a result of analyzing applications.
36. Which access control model allows users to control access to data as an
owner of that data?
▪ mandatory access control
▪ nondiscretionary access control
▪ discretionary access control
▪ attribute-based access control
Explanation: In the discretionary access control (DAC) model, users can
control access to data as owners of the data.
37. What are the three impact metrics contained in the CVSS 3.0 Base Metric
Group? (Choose three.)
▪ confidentiality
▪ remediation level
▪ integrity
▪ attack vector
▪ exploit
▪ availability
Explanation: The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) is a vendor-
neutral, industry standard, open framework for weighing the risks of a
vulnerability using a variety of metrics. CVSS uses three groups of metrics to
assess vulnerability, the Base Metric Group, Temporal Metric Group, and
Environmental Metric Group. The Base Metric Group has two classes of
metrics (exploitability and impact). The impact metrics are rooted in the
following areas: confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
38. Which access control model applies the strictest access control and is
often used in military and mission critical applications?
▪ discretionary
▪ mandatory
▪ nondiscretionary
▪ attribute-based
Explanation: Military and mission critical applications typically use mandatory
access control which applies the strictest access control to protect network
resources.
39. Match the security concept to the description.
40. What is the principle behind the nondiscretionary access control model?
▪ It applies the strictest access control possible.
▪ It allows access decisions to be based on roles and responsibilities of
a user within the organization.
▪ It allows users to control access to their data as owners of that data.
▪ It allows access based on attributes of the object be to accessed.
Explanation: The nondiscretionary access control model used the roles and
responsibilities of the user as the basis for access decisions.
41. Match the information security component with the description.
42. Which attack is integrated with the lowest levels of the operating system
of a host and attempts to completely hide the activities of the threat actor
on the local system?
▪ rootkit
▪ traffic insertion
▪ traffic substitution
▪ encryption and tunneling
Explanation: A rootkit is a complex attack tool and it integrates with the lowest
levels of the operating system. The goal of the rootkit is to completely hide the
activities of the threat actor on the local system.
43. Which tool captures full data packets with a command-line interface
only?
▪ nfdump
▪ NBAR2
▪ tcpdump
▪ Wireshark
Explanation: The command-line tool tcpdump is a packet analyzer. Wireshark
is a packet analyzer with a GUI interface.
44. To which category of security attacks does man-in-the-middle belong?
▪ DoS
▪ access
▪ reconnaissance
▪ social engineering
Explanation: With a man-in-the-middle attack, a threat actor is positioned in
between two legitimate entities in order to read, modify, or redirect the data
that passes between the two parties.
45. What is an example of a local exploit?
▪ Port scanning is used to determine if the Telnet service is running on a
remote server.
▪ A threat actor performs a brute force attack on an enterprise edge router
to gain illegal access.
▪ A buffer overflow attack is launched against an online shopping website
and causes the server crash.
▪ A threat actor tries to gain the user password of a remote host by
using a keyboard capture software installed on it by a Trojan.
Explanation: Vulnerability exploits may be remote or local. In a local exploit,
the threat actor has some type of user access to the end system, either
physically or through remote access. The exploitation activity is within the local
network.
46. Which Cisco appliance can be used to filter network traffic contents to
report and deny traffic based on the web server reputation?
▪ WSA
▪ AVC
▪ ASA
▪ ESA
Explanation: The Cisco Web Security Appliance (WSA) acts as a web proxy
for an enterprise network. WSA can provide many types of logs related to web
traffic security including ACL decision logs, malware scan logs, and web
reputation filtering logs. The Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) is a tool to
monitor most aspects of email delivery, system functioning, antivirus, antispam
operations, and blacklist and whitelist decisions. The Cisco ASA is a firewall
appliance. The Cisco Application Visibility and Control (AVC) system combines
multiple technologies to recognize, analyze, and control over 1000
applications.
47. Which evasion method describes the situation that after gaining access
to the administrator password on a compromised host, a threat actor is
attempting to login to another host using the same credentials?
▪ pivoting
▪ traffic substitution
▪ resource exhaustion
▪ protocol-level misinterpretation
Explanation: Pivoting is an evasion method that assumes the threat actor has
compromised an inside host and the actor wants to expand the access further
into the compromised network.
48. What are two examples of DoS attacks? (Choose two.)
▪ port scanning
▪ SQL injection
▪ ping of death
▪ phishing
▪ buffer overflow
Explanation: The buffer overflow and ping of death DoS attacks exploit
system memory-related flaws on a server by sending an unexpected amount
of data or malformed data to the server.
49. Which type of attack is carried out by threat actors against a network to
determine which IP addresses, protocols, and ports are allowed by ACLs?
▪ social engineering
▪ denial of service
▪ phishing
▪ reconnaissance
Explanation: Packet filtering ACLs use rules to filter incoming and outgoing
traffic. These rules are defined by specifying IP addresses, port numbers, and
protocols to be matched. Threat actors can use a reconnaissance attack
involving port scanning or penetration testing to determine which IP
addresses, protocols, and ports are allowed by ACLs.
50. Refer to the exhibit. A security analyst is reviewing an alert message
generated by Snort. What does the number 2100498 in the message
indicate?
▪ 32%
▪ 53%
▪ 68%
▪ 90%
Explanation: The graphic shows that there is 5.1 GB (187 MB) of memory in
use with 10.6 GB still available. Together this adds up to 16 GB of total
physical memory. 5 GB is approximately 32% of 16 GB leaving 68% still
available.
61. Which Windows tool can be used by a cybersecurity administrator to
secure stand-alone computers that are not part of an active directory
domain?
▪ PowerShell
▪ Windows Defender
▪ Local Security Policy
▪ Windows Firewall
Explanation: Windows systems that are not part of an Active Directory
Domain can use the Windows Local Security Policy to enforce security
settings on each stand-alone system.
62. What are three benefits of using symbolic links over hard links in Linux?
(Choose three.)
▪ They can show the location of the original file.
▪ Symbolic links can be exported.
▪ They can be compressed.
▪ They can be encrypted.
▪ They can link to a directory.
▪ They can link to a file in a different file system.
Explanation: In Linux, a hard link is another file that points to the same
location as the original file. A soft link (also called a symbolic link or a symlink)
is a link to another file system name. Hard links are limited to the file system in
which they are created and they cannot link to a directory; soft links are not
limited to the same file system and they can link to a directory. To see the
location of the original file for a symbolic link use the ls –l command.
63. When attempting to improve system performance for Linux computers
with a limited amount of memory, why is increasing the size of the swap file
system not considered the best solution?
▪ A swap file system uses hard disk space to store inactive RAM content.
▪ A swap file system cannot be mounted on an MBR partition.
▪ A swap file system only supports the ex2 file system.
▪ A swap file system does not have a specific file system.
Explanation: The swap file system is used by Linux when it runs out of
physical memory. When needed, the kernel moves inactive RAM content to
the swap partition on the hard disk. Storing and retrieving content in the swap
partition is much slower than RAM is, and therefore using the swap partition
should not be considered the best solution to improving system performance.
64. Refer to the exhibit. A security analyst is reviewing the logs of an Apache
web server. Which action should the analyst take based on the output
shown?
75. What is the main goal of using different evasion techniques by threat
actors?
▪ to launch DDoS attacks on targets
▪ to identify vulnerabilities of target systems
▪ to prevent detection by network and host defenses
▪ to gain the trust of a corporate employee in an effort to obtain
credentials
Explanation: Many threat actors use stealthy evasion techniques to disguise
an attack payload because the malware and attack methods are most effective
if they are undetected. The goal is to prevent detection by network and host
defenses.
76. How can NAT/PAT complicate network security monitoring if NetFlow is
being used?
▪ It disguises the application initiated by a user by manipulating port
numbers.
▪ It changes the source and destination MAC addresses.
▪ It conceals the contents of a packet by encrypting the data payload.
▪ It hides internal IP addresses by allowing them to share one or a few
outside IP addresses.
Explanation: NAT/PAT maps multiple internal IP addresses with only a single
or a few outside IP addresses breaking end-to-end flows. The result makes it
difficult to log the inside device that is requesting and receiving the traffic. This
is especially a problem with a NetFlow application because NetFlow flows are
unidirectional and are defined by the addresses and ports that they share.
77. Which statement describes the function provided by the Tor network?
▪ It conceals packet contents by establishing end-to-end tunnels.
▪ It distributes user packets through load balancing.
▪ It allows users to browse the Internet anonymously.
▪ It manipulates packets by mapping IP addresses between two networks.
Explanation: Tor is a software platform and network of P2P hosts that function
as Internet routers on the Tor network. The Tor network allows users to
browse the Internet anonymously.
78. When establishing a server profile for an organization, which element
describes the type of service that an application is allowed to run on the
server?
▪ user account
▪ listening port
▪ service account
▪ software environment
Explanation: A server profile should contain some important elements
including these:
▪ Listening ports – the TCP and UDP daemons and ports that are allowed
to be open on the server
▪ User accounts – the parameters defining user access and behavior
▪ Service accounts – the definitions of the type of service that an
application is allowed to run on a server
▪ Software environment – the tasks, processes, and applications that are
permitted to run on the server
79. What will a threat actor do to create a back door on a compromised
target according to the Cyber Kill Chain model?
▪ Add services and autorun keys.
▪ Collect and exfiltrate data.
▪ Open a two-way communications channel to the CnC infrastructure.
▪ Obtain an automated tool to deliver the malware payload.
Explanation: Once a target system is compromised, the threat actor will
establish a back door into the system to allow for continued access to the
target. Adding services and autorun keys is a way to create a point of
persistent access.
80. Which three things will a threat actor do to prepare a DDoS attack
against a target system on the Internet? (Choose three.)
▪ Install a black door on the target system.
▪ Obtain an automated tool to deliver the malware payload.
▪ Establish two-way communications channels to the CnC
infrastructure with zombies.
▪ Collect and exfiltrate data.
▪ Compromise many hosts on the Internet.
▪ Install attack software on zombies.
Explanation: To prepare for launching a DDoS attack, a threat actor will
compromise many hosts on the Internet, called zombies. The threat actor will
then install attack software on zombies and establish a two-way
communications channel to CnC infrastructure with zombies. The threat actor
will issue the command to zombies through the CnC to launch a DDoS attack
against a target system.
81. What is specified in the plan element of the NIST incident response
plan?
▪ organizational structure and the definition of roles, responsibilities, and
levels of authority
▪ metrics for measuring the incident response capability and
effectiveness
▪ priority and severity ratings of incidents
▪ incident handling based on the mission of the organization
Explanation: NIST recommends creating policies, plans, and procedures for
establishing and maintaining a CSIRC. One component of the plan element is
to develop metrics for measuring the incident response capability and its
effectiveness.
82. What is the responsibility of the IT support group when handing an
incident as defined by NIST?
▪ coordinates the incident response with other stakeholders and
minimizes the damage of an incident
▪ performs disciplinary measures if an incident is caused by an employee
▪ performs actions to minimize the effectiveness of the attack and
preserve evidence
▪ reviews the incident policies, plans, and procedures for local or federal
guideline violations
Explanation: IT support best understands the technology used in the
organization and can perform the correct actions to minimize the effectiveness
of the attack and preserve evidence.
83. What is an example of privilege escalation attack?
▪ A DDoS attack is launched against a government server and causes the
server to crash.
▪ A port scanning attack finds that the FTP service is running on a server
that allows anonymous access.
▪ A threat actor performs an access attack and gains the administrator
password.
▪ A threat actor sends an email to an IT manager to request the root
access.
Explanation: With the privilege escalation exploit, vulnerabilities in servers or
access control systems are exploited to grant an unauthorized user, or
software process, higher levels of privilege than either should have. After the
higher privilege is granted, the threat actor can access sensitive information or
take control of a system.
84. A threat hunter is concerned about a significant increase in TCP traffic
sourced from port 53. It is suspected that malicious file transfer traffic is
being tunneled out using the TCP DNS port. Which deep packet inspection
tool can detect the type of application originating the suspicious traffic?
▪ syslog analyzer
▪ NBAR2
▪ NetFlow
▪ IDS/IPS
▪ Wireshark
Explanation: NBAR2 is used to discover the applications that are responsible
for network traffic. NBAR is a classification engine that can recognize a wide
variety of applications, including web-based applications and client/server
applications.
85. Which type of evaluation includes the assessment of the likelihood of an
attack, the type of threat actor likely to perpetrate such an attack, and what
the consequences could be to the organization if the exploit is successful?
▪ penetration testing
▪ risk analysis
▪ vulnerability identification
▪ server profiling
86. When establishing a network profile for an organization, which element
describes the time between the establishment of a data flow and its
termination?
▪ session duration
▪ total throughput
▪ routing protocol convergence
▪ bandwidth of the Internet connection
Explanation: A network profile should include some important elements, such
as the following:
▪ Total throughput – the amount of data passing from a given source to a
given destination in a given period of time
▪ Session duration – the time between the establishment of a data flow
and its termination
▪ Ports used – a list of TCP or UDP processes that are available to accept
data
▪ Critical asset address space – the IP addresses or the logical location of
essential systems or data
87. Which term describes a threat actor who has advanced skills and
pursues a social agenda?
▪ organized crime
▪ script kiddie
▪ corporate/industrial spies
▪ hacktivist
Explanation: Threat actors who have advanced hacking abilities and pursue a
social or political agenda are known as hacktivists.
88. Refer to the exhibit. A security specialist is checking if files in the
directory contain ADS data. Which switch should be used to show that a file
has ADS attached?
▪ /a
▪ /r
▪ /d
▪ /s
Explanation: By using NTFS, Alternate Data Streams (ADSs) can be
connected to a file as an attribute called $DATA. The command dir /r can be
used to see if a file contains ADS data.
89. The SOC manager is reviewing the metrics for the previous calendar
quarter and discovers that the MTTD for a breach of password security
perpetrated through the Internet was forty days. What does the MTTD
metric represent within the SOC?
▪ window of time required to stop the spread of malware in the network
▪ the average time that it takes to identify valid security incidents that
have occurred
▪ the time required to stop the incident from causing further damage to
systems or data
▪ the average time that it takes to stop and remediate a security incident
Explanation: Cisco defines MTTD as the average time that it takes for the
SOC personnel to identify that valid security incidents have occurred in the
network.
90. A cybersecurity analyst is performing a CVSS assessment on an attack
where a web link was sent to several employees. Once clicked, an internal
attack was launched. Which CVSS Base Metric Group Exploitability metric is
used to document that the user had to click on the link in order for the
attack to occur?
▪ scope
▪ integrity requirement
▪ availability requirement
▪ user interaction
Explanation: The CVSS Base Metric Group has the following metrics: attack
vector, attack complexity, privileges required, user interaction, and scope. The
user interaction metric expresses the presence or absence of the requirement
for user interaction in order for an exploit to be successful.
91. When a server profile for an organization is being established, which
element describes the TCP and UDP daemons and ports that are allowed to
be open on the server?
▪ critical asset address space
▪ service accounts
▪ software environment
▪ listening ports
Explanation: A server profile will often contain the following:
▪ Listening ports – the TCP and UDP daemons and ports that are allowed
to be open on the server
▪ User accounts – the parameters defining user access and behavior
▪ Service accounts – the definitions of the type of service that an
application is allowed to run on a server
▪ Software environment – the tasks, processes, and applications that are
permitted to run on the server
92. Which two actions should be taken during the preparation phase of the
incident response life cycle defined by NIST? (Choose two.)
▪ Fully analyze the incident.
▪ Meet with all involved parties to discuss the incident that took place.
▪ Detect all the incidents that occurred.
▪ Acquire and deploy the tools that are needed to investigate incidents.
▪ Create and train the CSIRT
Explanation: According to the guideline defined in the NIST Incident
Response Life Cycle, several actions should be taken during the preparation
phase including (1) creating and training the CSIRT and (2) acquiring and
deploying the tools needed by the team to investigate incidents.
93. Match the NIST incident response stakeholder with the role.
94. Match the file system term used in Linux to the function.