CS0-002 Exam Dumps - CompTIA CySA+ Certification Exam (CS0-002)

According to the CompTIA CySA+ Certification Exam Study guide, the best action for the security analyst to take after analyzing the trends is to investigate why the number of open SSH ports varied during the six months. This could indicate that malicious actors are attempting to gain access to the system, and it would be important to find out the root cause of this activity in order to prevent further intrusions. Additionally, raising a concern to a supervisor regarding possible malicious use of port 8443 would also be a prudent step, as this port is often used by attackers. As stated in the study guide, "Monitoring network ports and traffic can provide insight into suspicious activity and may be necessary to identify malicious activities". Additionally, "Ports can be used to gain unauthorized access to a system, so it is important to monitor the ports and to take steps to ensure that only necessary ports are open".

Three common types of file carving methods are as follows: Header- and footer-based carving, which focuses on headers like those found in JPEG files. For example, JPEGs can be found by looking for \xFF\xD8 in the header and \xFF\xD9 in the footer. Content-based carving techniques look for information about the content of a file such as character counts and text recognition. File structure-based carving techniques that use information about the structure of files.

File carving is a technique for recovering files from raw data bytes by scanning and rebuilding them based on their file headers and footers. File headers and footers are sequences of bytes that indicate the beginning and end of a file format, such as JPEG, PDF, ZIP, etc. File carving can be used to reconstruct files that are deleted, corrupted, fragmented, or encrypted by bypassing the file system structure and looking for recognizable patterns in the data3 The analyst used file carving to reconstruct files from a hard disk by scanning the raw data bytes and rebuilding them based on their file headers and footers.

A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legally binding contract that establishes a confidential relationship between two or more parties and prevents them from sharing or using certain information that is deemed sensitive, proprietary, or valuable1. An NDA can be used to protect intellectual property (IP) such as trade secrets, inventions, designs, or business plans from being disclosed to competitors or the public2.

A company that wants to ensure a third party does not take its IP and build a competing product can use an NDA to restrict the access, use, and disclosure of its IP by the third party. For example, if the company hires a contractor to develop a software application, the company can require the contractor to sign an NDA that prohibits the contractor from copying, modifying, selling, or revealing the source code or any other details of the application to anyone else3. The NDA can also specify the duration, scope, and consequences of the confidentiality obligation.

A data governance program is a collection of practices, policies, and procedures that manage, leverage, and protect the data assets of an organization1. It requires changing the workplace culture and adding some software1. To survey sensitive data within the organization, the most accurate method is to perform an enterprise-wide discovery scan that can identify and classify data from various sources and systems2. This way, the analyst can have a comprehensive view of the data landscape and its quality, security, accessibility, and usage. Consulting with an internal data custodian (B) or reviewing enterprise-wide asset inventory © may provide some insights, but not as accurate or complete as a discovery scan. Creating a survey and distributing it to data owners (D) may be time-consuming and unreliable, as data owners may not have the full knowledge or awareness of their data.

References: 1: https://www.analytics8.com/blog/8-steps-to-start-your-data-governance-program/  2: https://solutionsreview.com/data-management/the-best-data-governance-tools-and-software/

The CySA+ exam outline calls out “trusted firmware updates,” but trusted firmware itself is more commonly described as part of trusted execution environments (TEEs). Trusted firmware is signed by a chip vendor or other trusted party, and then used to access keys to help control access to hardware. TEEs like those used by ARM processors leverage these technologies to protect the hardware by preventing unsigned code from using privileged features."

Trusted firmware updates provide organizations with secure code signing, distribution, installation, and attestation for embedded devices. Embedded devices are devices that have a dedicated function and are part of a larger system or network, such as routers, cameras, sensors, etc. Embedded devices often run on firmware, which is a type of software that controls the device’s hardware and functionality. Firmware updates are essential for improving the performance, security, and reliability of embedded devices. However, firmware updates also pose risks of introducing vulnerabilities or malware into the devices if they are not properly secured. Trusted firmware updates are firmware updates that use cryptographic techniques to ensure the integrity, authenticity, and confidentiality of the firmware code and data. Trusted firmware updates typically involve four steps1:

• Code signing: The firmware code is digitally signed by the firmware developer or provider using a private key. The digital signature proves that the firmware code is from a trusted source and has not been tampered with.
• Distribution: The signed firmware code is securely transmitted to the embedded device or a trusted intermediary (such as a cloud service or a gateway) using encryption or other methods. The transmission ensures that the firmware code is not intercepted or modified by unauthorized parties.
• Installation: The embedded device verifies the digital signature of the firmware code using a public key that is stored in a secure location (such as a trusted platform module or TPM). The verification ensures that the firmware code is from a trusted source and has not been tampered with. The embedded device then installs the firmware code and reboots to apply the update.
• Attestation: The embedded device reports its firmware status and configuration to a trusted verifier (such as a cloud service or a gateway) using a cryptographic proof. The proof ensures that the embedded device has installed the correct firmware update and has not been compromised.

Trusted firmware updates provide organizations with several benefits for hardware assurance, such as2:

• Preventing unauthorized or malicious firmware updates that could compromise the security or functionality of embedded devices
• Detecting and mitigating firmware attacks or incidents that could affect the availability or performance of embedded devices
• Complying with regulatory or industry standards or best practices for firmware security
• Enhancing customer trust and satisfaction with embedded devices

Trusted firmware updates do not provide organizations with development, compilation, remote access, or customization for embedded devices (A), as these are software engineering tasks that are not directly related to firmware security. Trusted firmware updates do not provide organizations with security specifications, open-source libraries, or custom tools for embedded devices (B), as these are software resources that are not directly related to firmware security. Trusted firmware updates do not provide organizations with remote code execution, distribution, maintenance, or extended warranties for embedded devices ©, as these are software features or services that are not directly related to firmware security.

References: 1: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/24771/technical-controls  2: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/25888/security-development-lifecycle-sdl

The vulnerability scan report shows that the workstation has a high-risk vulnerability (CVE-2019-0708) that affects Remote Desktop Services on Windows systems. This vulnerability allows remote code execution without authentication or user interaction, and can be exploited by sending specially crafted requests to the target system1 As part of the detection and analysis procedures, the analyst should confirm the workstation’s signatures against the most current signatures. This can help verify if the workstation has been patched or updated to address the vulnerability, or if it is still vulnerable and needs remediation. The analyst can use tools such as Windows Update or Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer to check the workstation’s patch level and compare it with the latest available signatures.

Documenting the respective chain of custody and performing a memory dump of the mobile device for analysis would help during the forensic analysis of the mobile device. The chain of custody is a record of who handled the evidence, when, where, how, and why. The chain of custody helps to preserve the integrity and admissibility of the evidence by preventing tampering, alteration, or loss1. A memory dump is a process of capturing and storing the contents of the device’s memory (RAM) for analysis. A memory dump can help to recover volatile data that may be lost when the device is powered off or rebooted, such as running processes, network connections, encryption keys, or malware traces2.

Port 22 is the default port for Secure Shell (SSH), which is a protocol that allows remote access and administration of a server. If the server is dedicated to one function (web server) and unneeded services are disabled, then port 22 should be closed, because SSH is not necessary for a web server and could pose a security risk if exploited. Port 80, port 443, and port 1433 are ports that are needed for a web server, because they are used for HTTP, HTTPS, and SQL Server respectively. Reference: https://www.ssh.com/ssh/port