The Chief Executive Officer of an organization recently heard that exploitation of new attacks in the industry was happening approximately 45 days after a patch was released. Which of the following would best protect this organization?

Correct Answer:A
A mean time to remediate (MTTR) is a metric that measures how long it takes to fix a vulnerability after it is discovered. A MTTR of 30 days would best protect the organization from the new attacks that are exploited 45 days after a patch is released, as it would ensure that the vulnerabilities are fixed before they are exploited

A user downloads software that contains malware onto a computer that eventually infects numerous other systems. Which of the following has the user become?

Correct Answer:C
The user has become an insider threat by downloading software that contains malware onto a computer that eventually infects numerous other systems. An insider threat is a person or entity that has legitimate access to an organization’s systems, networks, or resources and uses that access to cause harm or damage to the organization. An insider threat can be intentional or unintentional, malicious or negligent, and can result from various actions or behaviors, such as downloading unauthorized software, violating security policies, stealing data, sabotaging systems, or collaborating with external attackers.

A security analyst reviews the latest vulnerability scans and observes there are vulnerabilities with similar CVSSv3 scores but different base score metrics. Which of the following attack vectors should the analyst remediate first?

Correct Answer:C
CVSS 3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H is the attack vector that the analyst should remediate first, as it has the highest CVSSv3 score of 8.1. CVSSv3 (Common Vulnerability Scoring System version 3) is a standard framework for rating the severity of vulnerabilities, based on various metrics that reflect the characteristics and impact of the vulnerability. The CVSSv3 score is calculated from three groups of metrics: Base, Temporal, and Environmental. The Base metrics are mandatory and reflect the intrinsic qualities of the vulnerability, such as how it can be exploited, what privileges are required, and what impact it has on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The Temporal metrics are optional and reflect the current state of the vulnerability, such as whether there is a known exploit, a patch, or a workaround. The Environmental metrics are also optional and reflect the context of the vulnerability in a specific environment, such as how it affects the asset value, security requirements, or mitigating controls. The Base metrics produce a score ranging from 0 to 10, which can then be modified by scoring the Temporal and Environmental metrics. A CVSS score is also represented as a vector string, a compressed textual representation of the values used to derive the score.
The attack vector in question has the following Base metrics:
Attack Vector (AV): Network (N). This means that the vulnerability can be exploited remotely over a network connection.
Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L). This means that the attack does not require any special conditions or changes to the configuration of the target system.
Privileges Required (PR): Low (L). This means that the attacker needs some privileges on the target system to exploit the vulnerability, such as user-level access.
User Interaction (UI): None (N). This means that the attack does not require any user action or involvement to succeed.
Scope (S): Unchanged (U). This means that the impact of the vulnerability is confined to the same security authority as the vulnerable component, such as an application or an operating system.
Confidentiality Impact ©: High (H). This means that the vulnerability results in a total loss of confidentiality, such as unauthorized disclosure of all data on the system.
Integrity Impact (I): High (H). This means that the vulnerability results in a total loss of integrity, such as unauthorized modification or deletion of all data on the system.
Availability Impact (A): High (H). This means that the vulnerability results in a total loss of availability,
such as denial of service or system crash.
Using these metrics, we can calculate the Base score using this formula: Base Score = Roundup(Minimum[(Impact + Exploitability), 10]) Where:
Impact = 6.42 x [1 - ((1 - Confidentiality) x (1 - Integrity) x (1 - Availability))]
Exploitability = 8.22 x Attack Vector x Attack Complexity x Privileges Required x User Interaction Using this formula, we get:
Impact = 6.42 x [1 - ((1 - 0.56) x (1 - 0.56) x (1 - 0.56))] = 5.9
Exploitability = 8.22 x 0.85 x 0.77 x 0.62 x 0.85 = 2.8
Base Score = Roundup(Minimum[(5.9 + 2.8), 10]) = Roundup(8.7) = 8.8
Therefore, this attack vector has a Base score of 8.8, which is higher than any other option.
The other attack vectors have lower Base scores, as they have different values for some of the Base metrics:
CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H has a Base score of 6.2, as it has a lower value for
Attack Vector (Physical), which means that the vulnerability can only be exploited by having physical access to the target system.
CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H has a Base score of 7.4, as it has a lower value for Attack Vector (Adjacent Network), which means that the vulnerability can only be exploited by being on the same physical or logical network as the target system.
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H has a Base score of 6.8, as it has a lower value for Attack Vector (Local), which means that the vulnerability can only be exploited by having local access to the target system, such as through a terminal or a command shell.

A recent penetration test discovered that several employees were enticed to assist attackers by visiting specific websites and running downloaded files when prompted by phone calls. Which of the following would best address this issue?

Correct Answer:A
Increasing training and awareness for all staff is the best way to address the issue of employees being enticed to assist attackers by visiting specific websites and running downloaded files when prompted by phone calls. This issue is an example of social engineering, which is a technique that exploits human psychology and behavior to manipulate people into performing actions or divulging information that benefit the attackers. Social engineering can take many forms, such as phishing, vishing, baiting, quid pro quo, or impersonation. The best defense against social engineering is to educate and train the staff on how to recognize and avoid common social engineering tactics, such as:
Verifying the identity and legitimacy of the caller or sender before following their instructions or clicking on any links or attachments
Being wary of unsolicited or unexpected requests for information or action, especially if they involve urgency, pressure, or threats
Reporting any suspicious or anomalous activity to the security team or the appropriate authority
Following the organization’s policies and procedures on security awareness and best practices
Official References:
https://partners.comptia.org/docs/default-source/resources/comptia-cysa-cs0-002-exam-objectives
https://www.comptia.org/certifications/cybersecurity-analyst
https://www.comptia.org/blog/the-new-comptia-cybersecurity-analyst-your-questions-answered

A security analyst discovers an LFI vulnerability that can be exploited to extract credentials from the underlying host. Which of the following patterns can the security analyst use to search the web server
logs for evidence of exploitation of that particular vulnerability?

Correct Answer:A
/etc/shadow is the pattern that the security analyst can use to search the web server logs for evidence of exploitation of the LFI vulnerability that can be exploited to extract credentials from the underlying host. LFI stands for Local File Inclusion, which is a vulnerability that allows an attacker to include local files on the web server into the output of a web application. LFI can be exploited to extract sensitive information from the web server, such as configuration files, passwords, or source code. The /etc/shadow file is a file that stores the encrypted passwords of all users on a Linux system. If an attacker can exploit the LFI vulnerability to include this file into the web application output, they can obtain the credentials of the users on the web server. Therefore, the security analyst can look for /etc/shadow in the request line of the web server logs to see if any attacker has attempted or succeeded in exploiting the LFI vulnerability. Official References:
https://partners.comptia.org/docs/default-source/resources/comptia-cysa-cs0-002-exam-objectives
https://www.comptia.org/certifications/cybersecurity-analyst
https://www.comptia.org/blog/the-new-comptia-cybersecurity-analyst-your-questions-answered

A security analyst is trying to identify anomalies on the network routing. Which of the following functions can the analyst use on a shell script to achieve the objective most accurately?

Correct Answer:C
The function that can be used on a shell script to identify anomalies on the network routing most accurately is: function x() { info=(dig(dig -x $1 | grep PTR | tail -n 1 | awk -F “.in-addr” ’{print $1} ').origin.asn.cymru.com
TXT +short) && echo “$1 | $info” }
This function takes an IP address as an argument and performs two DNS lookups using the dig command. The first lookup uses the -x option to perform a reverse DNS lookup and get the hostname associated with the IP address. The second lookup uses the origin.asn.cymru.com domain to get the autonomous system number (ASN) and other information related to the IP address. The function then prints the IP address and the ASN information, which can help identify any routing anomalies or inconsistencies