CompTIA CS0-003 Online Practice Questions and Exam Preparation

CompTIA CS0-003 Online Questions & Answers

• Question 451:

  Which of the following is a reason why proper handling and reporting of existing evidence are important for the investigation and reporting phases of an incident response?

  A. To ensure the report is legally acceptable in case it needs to be presented in court
  B. To present a lessons-learned analysis for the incident response team
  C. To ensure the evidence can be used in a postmortem analysis
  D. To prevent the possible loss of a data source for further root cause analysis
  A. To ensure the report is legally acceptable in case it needs to be presented in court

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  Explanation

  To ensure the report is legally acceptable in case it needs to be presented in court. Proper handling and reporting of existing evidence are important for the investigation and reporting phases of an incident response because they ensure the integrity, authenticity, and admissibility of the evidence in case it needs to be presented in court. Evidence that is mishandled, tampered with, or poorly documented may not be accepted by the court or may be challenged by the opposing party. Therefore, incident responders should follow the best practices and standards for evidence collection, preservation, analysis, and reporting. The other options are not reasons why proper handling and reporting of existing evidence are important for the investigation and reporting phases of an incident response. They are rather outcomes or benefits of conducting a thorough and effective incident response process. A lessons-learned analysis (B) is a way to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the incident response team and improve their performance for future incidents. A postmortem analysis ?is a way to determine the root cause, impact, and timeline of the incident and provide recommendations for remediation and prevention. A root cause analysis (D) is a way to identify the underlying factors that led to the incident and address them accordingly.

• Question 452:

  The security team reviews a web server for XSS and runs the following Nmap scan:

  

  Which of the following most accurately describes the result of the scan?

  A. An output of characters > and " as the parameters used in the attempt
  B. The vulnerable parameter ID and unfiltered characters returned
  C. The vulnerable parameter ID and unfiltered or encoded characters passed > and " as unsafe
  D. The vulnerable parameter ID with a SQL Injection attempt
  B. The vulnerable parameter ID and unfiltered characters returned

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  Explanation

  The Nmap http-unsafe-output-escaping script reports that the id parameter is reflecting the characters > and " without filtering, indicating a potential XSS weakness in that parameter.

• Question 453:

  SIMULATION

  An organization's website was maliciously altered.

  INSTRUCTIONS

  Review information in each tab to select the source IP the analyst should be concerned

  about, the indicator of compromise, and the two appropriate corrective actions.

  

  

  

  

  A. See the answer in explanation for this task.
  B. PlaceHoder
  C. PlaceHoder
  D. PlaceHoder
  A. See the answer in explanation for this task.

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  Explanation

  Step 1: Analyzing the SFTP Log

  The SFTP log provides a record of file transfer and login activities: User "sjames" logged in from several IP addresses: We see file alterations in the /var/www directory, which is commonly the web directory.

  Suspicious activity:

  The most suspicious IP here is 41.21.18.102, as it's associated with direct file modifications, possibly indicating unauthorized access.

  Step 2: Reviewing Netstat

  The netstat output shows active connections and their states: IP 41.21.18.102 has an ESTABLISHED connection with port 22, commonly used for SFTP.

  IP 32.111.16.37 is also attempting connections, and 32.111.16.37 connections are in a TIME_WAIT state, showing prior connections were recently closed. The netstat output reaffirms 41.21.18.102 is actively connected and potentially involved in malicious activities.

  Step 3: Checking the HTTP Access Log

  The HTTP Access log shows access to about_us.html: 32.111.16.37 repeatedly accessed /about_us.html with 404 errors, indicating attempts to reach non-existing pages. 41.21.18.102 accessed the 200 status code, showing successful page requests, but since this IP was modifying files directly on the server, it might be testing or verifying changes.

  Again, 41.21.18.102 stands out as it matches both successful file modification and page request patterns, while 32.111.16.37 shows unsuccessful attempts.

  Step 4: Selecting the IP of Concern Based on the above analysis:

  Answer: 41.21.18.102 should be the IP of concern due to its direct file modifications on critical web files (about_us.html, index.html).

  Step 5: Identifying the Indicator of Compromise Potential indicators include unauthorized file modifications: Modified index.html file is the correct answer, as it indicates direct changes to website content and is often a clear sign of compromise.

  Step 6: Selecting Corrective Actions

  To mitigate and prevent further compromise: Change the password on the "sjames" account: The account was used across various IPs, indicating potential account compromise. Block external SFTP access: Restricting SFTP to internal IPs only would prevent unauthorized external modifications. Since 41.21.18.102 was external, this would stop similar threats.

  Summary IP of Concern: 41.21.18.102

  Indicator of Compromise: Modified index.html file

  Corrective Actions: These selections address both the immediate security breach and implement a preventative measure against future unauthorized access.

  

• Question 454:

  An organization's email account was compromised by a bad actor. Given the following information:

  

  Which of the following is the length of time the team took to detect the threat?

  A. 25 minutes
  B. 40 minutes
  C. 45 minutes
  D. 2 hours
  A. 25 minutes

• Question 455:

  A technician working at company.com received the following email:

  

  After looking at the above communication, which of the following should the technician recommend to the security team to prevent exposure of sensitive information and reduce the risk of corporate data being stored on non-corporate assets?

  A. Forwarding of corporate email should be disallowed by the company.
  B. A VPN should be used to allow technicians to troubleshoot computer issues securely.
  C. An email banner should be implemented to identify emails coming from external sources.
  D. A rule should be placed on the DLP to flag employee IDs and serial numbers.
  C. An email banner should be implemented to identify emails coming from external sources.

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  Explanation

  An email banner is a message that is added to the top or bottom of an email to provide some information or warning to the recipient. An email banner should be implemented to identify emails coming from external sources to prevent exposure of sensitive information and reduce the risk of corporate data being stored on non-corporate assets. An email banner can help employees recognize phishing or spoofing attempts and avoid clicking on malicious links or attachments. It can also remind employees not to share confidential information with external parties or forward corporate emails to personal accounts. The other options are not relevant or effective for this purpose.

  References:

  CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) Certification Exam Objectives (CS0-002), page 13; (https://www.csoonline.com/article5970/what-is-spoofing-definition-and-how-to-preventit.html)

• Question 456:

  The following output is from a tcpdump al the edge of the corporate network:

  

  Which of the following best describes the potential security concern?

  A. Payload lengths may be used to overflow buffers enabling code execution.
  B. Encapsulated traffic may evade security monitoring and defenses
  C. This traffic exhibits a reconnaissance technique to create network footprints.
  D. The content of the traffic payload may permit VLAN hopping.
  B. Encapsulated traffic may evade security monitoring and defenses

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  Explanation

  Encapsulated traffic may evade security monitoring and defenses by hiding or obfuscating the actual content or source of the traffic. Encapsulation is a technique that wraps data packets with additional headers or protocols to enable communication across different network types or layers. Encapsulation can be used for legitimate purposes, such as tunneling, VPNs, or NAT, but it can also be used by attackers to bypass security controls or detection mechanisms that are not able to inspect or analyze the encapsulated traffic .

  https://www.techopedia.com/definition39/memory-dump

• Question 457:

  Executives want to compare certain metrics from the most recent and last reporting periods to determine whether the metrics are increasing or decreasing.

  Which of the following would provide the necessary information to satisfy this request?

  A. Count level
  B. Trending analysis
  C. Impact assessment
  D. Severity score
  B. Trending analysis

• Question 458:

  New employees in an organization have been consistently plugging in personal webcams despite the company policy prohibiting use of personal devices. The SOC manager discovers that new employees are not aware of the company policy.

  Which of the following will the SOC manager most likely recommend to help ensure new employees are accountable for following the company policy?

  A. Human resources must email a copy of a user agreement to all new employees
  B. Supervisors must get verbal confirmation from new employees indicating they have read the user agreement
  C. All new employees must take a test about the company security policy during the cjitoardmg process
  D. All new employees must sign a user agreement to acknowledge the company security policy
  D. All new employees must sign a user agreement to acknowledge the company security policy

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  Explanation

  The best action that the SOC manager can recommend to help ensure new employees are accountable for following the company policy is to require all new employees to sign a user agreement to acknowledge the company security policy. A user agreement is a document that defines the rights and responsibilities of the users regarding " networks, or resources, as well as the consequences of violatin" Signing a user agreement can help ensure new employees are aware of and agree to comply with the company security policy, as well as hold them accountable for any breaches or incidents caused by their actions or inactions.

• Question 459:

  Security analysts can review the Windows Registry on endpoints to get insights into:

  A. domain account privileges.
  B. mandatory access control zones.
  C. system-critical configuration items.
  D. application and security event logs.
  C. system-critical configuration items.

• Question 460:

  A Chief Information Security Officer has outlined several requirements for a new vulnerability scanning project:

  1. Must use minimal network bandwidth

  2. Must use minimal host resources

  3. Must provide accurate, near real-time updates

  4. Must not have any stored credentials in configuration on the scanner

  Which of the following vulnerability scanning methods should be used to best meet these requirements?

  A. Internal
  B. Agent
  C. Active
  D. Uncredentialed
  B. Agent

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  Explanation

  Agent-based vulnerability scanning is a method that uses software agents installed on the target systems to scan for vulnerabilities. This method meets the requirements of the project because it uses minimal network bandwidth and host resources, provides accurate and near real-time updates, and does not require any stored credentials on the scanner.

  References:

  What Is Vulnerability Scanning? Types, Tools and Best Practices, Section: Types of vulnerability scanning;

  CompTIA CySA+ Study Guide:

  Exam CS0-003, 3rd Edition, Chapter 4: Security Operations and Monitoring, page 154.