- (Topic 4)
How should a risk be HANDLED when the cost of the countermeasure OUTWEIGHS the cost of the risk?
Correct Answer:C
Which means the company understands the level of risk it is faced. The following answers are incorrect because :
Reject the risk is incorrect as it means ignoring the risk which is dangerous.
Perform another risk analysis is also incorrect as the existing risk analysis has already shown the results.
Reduce the risk is incorrect is applicable after implementing the countermeasures. Reference : Shon Harris AIO v3 , Chapter-3: Security Management Practices , Page : 39
- (Topic 5)
Which of the following statements pertaining to Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is false?
Correct Answer:B
All of these statements pertaining to SSL are true except that it is primary use is to authenticate the client to the server using public key cryptography and digital certificates. It is the opposite, Its primary use is to authenticate the server to the client.
The following reference(s) were used for this question:
KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter 4: Cryptography (page 170).
- (Topic 1)
The three classic ways of authenticating yourself to the computer security software are by something you know, by something you have, and by something:
Correct Answer:C
This is more commonly known as biometrics and is one of the most accurate ways to authenticate an individual.
The rest of the answers are incorrect because they not one of the three recognized forms for Authentication.
- (Topic 6)
The communications products and services, which ensure that the various components of a network (such as devices, protocols, and access methods) work together refers to:
Correct Answer:B
A Network Architecture refers to the communications products and services, which ensure that the various components of a network (such as devices, protocols, and access methods) work together.
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Page 101.
- (Topic 6)
While using IPsec, the ESP and AH protocols both provides integrity services. However when using AH, some special attention needs to be paid if one of the peers uses NAT for address translation service. Which of the items below would affects the use of AH and it´s Integrity Check Value (ICV) the most?
Correct Answer:B
It may seem odd to have two different protocols that provide overlapping functionality.
AH provides authentication and integrity, and ESP can provide those two functions and confidentiality.
Why even bother with AH then?
In most cases, the reason has to do with whether the environment is using network address translation (NAT). IPSec will generate an integrity check value (ICV), which is really the same thing as a MAC value, over a portion of the packet. Remember that the sender and receiver generate their own values. In IPSec, it is called an ICV value. The receiver compares her ICV value with the one sent by the sender. If the values match, the receiver can be assured the packet has not been modified during transmission. If the values are different, the packet has been altered and the receiver discards the packet.
The AH protocol calculates this ICV over the data payload, transport, and network headers. If the packet then goes through a NAT device, the NAT device changes the IP address of the packet. That is its job. This means a portion of the data (network header) that was included to calculate the ICV value has now changed, and the receiver will generate an ICV value that is different from the one sent with the packet, which means the packet will be discarded automatically.
The ESP protocol follows similar steps, except it does not include the network header portion when calculating its ICV value. When the NAT device changes the IP address, it will not affect the receiver??s ICV value because it does not include the network header when calculating the ICV.
Here is a tutorial on IPSEC from the Shon Harris Blog:
The Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) protocol suite provides a method of setting up a secure channel for protected data exchange between two devices. The devices that share this secure channel can be two servers, two routers, a workstation and a server, or two gateways between different networks. IPSec is a widely accepted standard for providing network layer protection. It can be more flexible and less expensive than end-to end and link encryption methods.
IPSec has strong encryption and authentication methods, and although it can be used to enable tunneled communication between two computers, it is usually employed to establish virtual private networks (VPNs) among networks across the Internet.
IPSec is not a strict protocol that dictates the type of algorithm, keys, and authentication method to use. Rather, it is an open, modular framework that provides a lot of flexibility for companies when they choose to use this type of technology. IPSec uses two basic security protocols: Authentication Header (AH) and Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP). AH is the authenticating protocol, and ESP is an authenticating and encrypting protocol that uses cryptographic mechanisms to provide source authentication, confidentiality, and message integrity.
IPSec can work in one of two modes: transport mode, in which the payload of the message is protected, and tunnel mode, in which the payload and the routing and header information are protected. ESP in transport mode encrypts the actual message information so it cannot be sniffed and uncovered by an unauthorized entity. Tunnel mode provides a higher level of protection by also protecting the header and trailer data an attacker may find useful. Figure 8-26 shows the high-level view of the steps of setting up an IPSec connection.
Each device will have at least one security association (SA) for each VPN it uses. The SA, which is critical to the IPSec architecture, is a record of the configurations the device needs to support an IPSec connection. When two devices complete their handshaking process, which means they have agreed upon a long list of parameters they will use to communicate, these data must be recorded and stored somewhere, which is in the SA.
The SA can contain the authentication and encryption keys, the agreed-upon algorithms, the key lifetime, and the source IP address. When a device receives a packet via the IPSec
protocol, it is the SA that tells the device what to do with the packet. So if device B receives a packet from device C via IPSec, device B will look to the corresponding SA to tell it how to decrypt the packet, how to properly authenticate the source of the packet, which key to use, and how to reply to the message if necessary.
SAs are directional, so a device will have one SA for outbound traffic and a different SA for inbound traffic for each individual communication channel. If a device is connecting to three devices, it will have at least six SAs, one for each inbound and outbound connection per remote device. So how can a device keep all of these SAs organized and ensure that the right SA is invoked for the right connection? With the mighty secu rity parameter index (SPI), that??s how. Each device has an SPI that keeps track of the different SAs and tells the device which one is appropriate to invoke for the different packets it receives. The SPI value is in the header of an IPSec packet, and the device reads this value to tell it which SA to consult.
IPSec can authenticate the sending devices of the packet by using MAC (covered in the earlier section, ??The One-Way Hash??). The ESP protocol can provide authentication, integrity, and confidentiality if the devices are configured for this type of functionality.
So if a company just needs to make sure it knows the source of the sender and must be assured of the integrity of the packets, it would choose to use AH. If the company would like to use these services and also have confidentiality, it would use the ESP protocol because it provides encryption functionality. In most cases, the reason ESP is employed is because the company must set up a secure VPN connection.
It may seem odd to have two different protocols that provide overlapping functionality. AH provides authentication and integrity, and ESP can provide those two functions and confidentiality. Why even bother with AH then? In most cases, the reason has to do with whether the environment is using network address translation (NAT). IPSec will generate an integrity check value (ICV), which is really the same thing as a MAC value, over a portion of the packet. Remember that the sender and receiver generate their own values. In IPSec, it is called an ICV value. The receiver compares her ICV value with the one sent by the sender. If the values match, the receiver can be assured the packet has not been modified during transmission. If the values are different, the packet has been altered and the receiver discards the packet.
The AH protocol calculates this ICV over the data payload, transport, and network headers. If the packet then goes through a NAT device, the NAT device changes the IP address of the packet. That is its job. This means a portion of the data (network header) that was included to calculate the ICV value has now changed, and the receiver will generate an ICV value that is different from the one sent with the packet, which means the packet will be discarded automatically.
The ESP protocol follows similar steps, except it does not include the network header portion when calculating its ICV value. When the NAT device changes the IP address, it will not affect the receiver??s ICV value because it does not include the network header when calculating the ICV.
Because IPSec is a framework, it does not dictate which hashing and encryption algorithms are to be used or how keys are to be exchanged between devices. Key management can be handled manually or automated by a key management protocol. The de facto standard for IPSec is to use Internet Key Exchange (IKE), which is a combination of the ISAKMP and OAKLEY protocols. The Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol (ISAKMP) is a key exchange architecture that is independent of the type of keying mechanisms used. Basically, ISAKMP provides the framework of what can be negotiated to set up an IPSec connection (algorithms, protocols, modes, keys). The OAKLEY protocol is the one that carries out the negotiation process. You can think of ISAKMP as providing the playing field (the infrastructure) and OAKLEY as the guy running up and down the playing field (carrying out the steps of the negotiation).
IPSec is very complex with all of its components and possible configurations. This complexity is what provides for a great degree of flexibility, because a company has many different configuration choices to achieve just the right level of protection. If this is all new to you and still confusing, please review one or more of the following references to help fill in the gray areas.
The following answers are incorrect: The other options are distractors.
The following reference(s) were/was used to create this question:
Shon Harris, CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide- fiveth edition, page 759 and
https://neodean.wordpress.com/tag/security-protocol/
- (Topic 6)
A proxy is considered a:
Correct Answer:C
The proxy (application layer firewall, circuit level proxy, or application proxy ) is a second generation firewall
"First generation firewall" incorrect. A packet filtering firewall is a first generation firewall. "Third generation firewall" is incorrect. Stateful Firewall are considered third generation firewalls
"Fourth generation firewall" is incorrect. Dynamic packet filtering firewalls are fourth generation firewalls
References:
CBK, p. 464
AIO3, pp. 482 - 484
Neither CBK or AIO3 use the generation terminology for firewall types but you will encounter it frequently as a practicing security professional. See http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/iaabu/centri4/user/scf4ch3.htm for a general discussion of the different generations.