CompTIA CySA+ Practice Test (CS0-003)

When response teams collect data for analysis during an incident, it is essential that they ensure the data has not been tampered with during the process. Performing a cryptographic hash function on files both before acquisition and after ensures that the data remains identical and unaltered. If the hash values match, this confirms data integrity has been maintained. It's a foundational concept in digital forensics and incident response.

The primary configuration file for the Apache HTTP server is usually located at '/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf' or '/etc/apache2/apache2.conf' depending on the Linux distribution. This file contains directives that configure the overall behavior and modules of the Apache server. Understanding the location of these critical files is important for any security operations task involving system hardening and monitoring for unauthorized changes. The other options provided are common locations but linked to other services or aspects of the OS, making them incorrect for this context.

Adjusting the server configuration to support robust encryption protocols and prohibiting the use of known vulnerable algorithms will directly address the issue highlighted by the vulnerability scanner, enhancing the secure transmission of data on the web server. Removing encryption entirely would leave data transmitted in plain text, vulnerable to eavesdropping and interception. Although updating the web platform and renewing the certificates used for establishing secure connections are important maintenance tasks, neither action remedies the core issue of weak encryption protocols being permitted.

The risk score is a combination of the impact of the vulnerability and the likelihood of it being exploited. Although the vulnerability has a high impact (complete system takeover), the likelihood of exploitation is low due to the requirement of privileged network access and the absence of known active exploits. Furthermore, its limited exposure (not internet-facing) decreases the risk. Thus, the risk score should reflect a medium or lower level, rather than a high or critical rating.

Regulatory reporting typically involves notifying a government agency or regulatory body about a data breach or other security incident. This is often required by law to ensure that the agency is aware of potential risks and can take appropriate actions. The other options are not specific to regulatory compliance.

In scenarios where urgent vulnerabilities need to be addressed outside of the regular maintenance window, it's important to follow a clearly defined exceptions process. Notifying stakeholders ensures that everyone is aware of the impending patch and its potential impacts. This also allows for any necessary precautions or adjustments to be made. Escalation ensures that higher management is aware and can approve the exception. Other answers neglect these critical steps which could lead to unmanaged risks or business disruptions.

A Service-Level Objective (SLO) is a predefined level of service between a service provider and the customer that sets a target for system performance. SLOs are essential for managing expectations and measuring the effectiveness of IT services. They are not informal agreements or strategies but are clear objectives used to monitor and gauge service performance.

The correct answer is false. While device fingerprinting is effective for identifying devices, its ability to differentiate between two devices of the same make and model running identical software versions may be limited if they present very similar characteristics. Additional contextual information or behavioral analysis may be required to distinguish between them.

Exceptions in patch management and vulnerability response are deviations from standard operating procedures that are typically invoked when standard patching processes can't be followed. These exceptions are made to either postpone the patching due to potential impact on business operations or to allow alternate mitigation techniques when immediate patching is not feasible. Understanding and correctly managing exceptions is vital to ensure that they do not introduce additional risk to the organization.

The correct answer is 'Passive Scan'. Passive scanning in ZAP processes the requests and responses that your browser makes to a web application without sending any new requests by itself, with minimal impact on the performance of the application. It is safer to use in a production environment compared to an Active Scan, which can potentially be more invasive as it sends new requests that can affect a live system. The AJAX Spider option is incorrect because while it does provide more insight into AJAX-heavy applications, it actively interacts with them, which may not be desired in a production environment. Lastly, the Forced Browse option is an attack mode in ZAP that actively searches for hidden resources, which can potentially lead to performance degradation or unmasking of unintended content.

DMARC is designed to give email domain owners the ability to protect their domain from unauthorized use, commonly known as email spoofing. By using DMARC, domain owners can publish policies that tell email receivers what to do with non-authenticated emails and receive reports about messages using their domain.

The primary purpose of conducting a tabletop exercise is to evaluate and improve the incident response plan by simulating a real-world scenario without the pressure of an actual incident. This is a controlled setting which helps in identifying weaknesses in procedures, communication flows, and roles and responsibilities. It also aids in verifying if team members understand their tasks and the response process. Other options, while they might be involved in the broader scope of incident management, are not the main objective of conducting a tabletop.

The correct answer is 'Implement compensating controls to mitigate the risk', because, in cases where patching is not possible due to the application running on an unsupported operating system, the best course of action is to apply alternative security measures that can protect the system, without changing the legacy system itself. This might include network segmentation, additional monitoring, or even application whitelisting.

• 'Upgrade the operating system' is incorrect because the question implies that the application is business-critical and might not be compatible with newer operating systems, which could lead to business process interruption.
• 'Decommission the application' is incorrect because the application is described as business-critical, thus simply removing it may not be a viable immediate solution.
• 'Ignore the vulnerability' is incorrect as it leaves the system open to exploitation, which could result in significant business impact.

The 'Lessons learned' phase is conducted as a review process after an incident has been resolved. It involves documenting the effectiveness of the incident response, identifying strengths and areas for improvement, and formulating recommendations for how future incidents should be handled. The goal of this phase is to enhance the organization's incident response capabilities over time.

The best approach to manage the interruption of business processes is to implement compensating controls. This allows for critical vulnerabilities to be addressed while minimizing the impact on business operations. Simply accepting the risk could leave the organization exposed, whereas a rollback potentially leaves the vulnerability unaddressed. Postponement also delays necessary security measures.