Free Cisco 350-201 Practice Exam with Questions & Answers | Set: 4

 Upon receiving an alert of a zero-day vulnerability, the first step an engineer should take is to initiate a triage meeting to acknowledge the vulnerability and assess its potential impact2. This step is crucial for understanding the severity of the vulnerability, determining the scope of affected systems, and deciding on the subsequent actions to mitigate the risk. It involves gathering the relevant stakeholders and security experts to evaluate the threat and develop a response plan2.

When analyzing a possible compromise that occurred in the past, tools like Wireshark and Autopsy can be instrumental. Wireshark is a network protocol analyzer that can capture and display the data traveling back and forth on a network in real-time. It’s useful for understanding what happened during the compromise by analyzing the packets for signs of malicious activity. Autopsy is a digital forensics platform that cananalyze hard drives and smartphones to recover evidence of a compromise, such as malware artifacts or suspicious file changes. Both tools would provide an engineer with the necessary data to analyze the events leading up to and during the compromise.

 To prevent a security breach exploiting the Netlogon Remote Protocol vulnerability from reoccurring, the incident response team should implement a patch management process and apply existing patches to the company servers5. Patch management ensures that all systems are up-to-date with the latest security patches, which can prevent known vulnerabilities from being exploited6. Applying existing patches is a critical step in securing systems against identified threats, such as the Netlogon Remote Protocol vulnerability5.

Predictive analytics is the most suitable data analytic technique for anticipating future cyberattacks. It involves using historical data, statistical algorithms, and machine learning techniques to identify the likelihood of future outcomes based on patterns and trends. This approach can help organizations forecast potential cyber threats and take proactive measures to mitigate them before they occur123.

After isolating the affected workstation in a malware incident, the next step in the investigation is to inspect the registry entries for recently executed files. This can provide clues about the malware’s actions and potential persistence mechanisms. It’s a critical step in understanding the scope of the breach and the methods used by the attacker

The STIX (Structured Threat Information eXpression) object in the exhibit indicates that the compromise involves a website hosting malware, which is designed to download files onto a user’s system without their knowledge. This type of indicator is commonly associated with drive-by download attacks, where visiting a website can result in the automatic download and execution of malware. The STIX object would contain information about the malicious URLs, file hashes, and other relevant indicators that can be used to detect and prevent such threats.

The stage of the threat kill chain indicated by the URIs of inbound web requests from known malicious Internet scanners is reconnaissance. During this stage, attackers are gathering information about the target system, looking for vulnerabilities or weak points that can be exploited. The URIs provided in the exhibit suggest attempts to discover administrative interfaces, exploit known vulnerabilities, and test for common web application weaknesses such as cross-site scripting (XSS) and SQL injection. These activities are characteristic of the reconnaissance phase, where attackers are probing and mapping out the target environment to plan their subsequent moves.

After utilizing interactive behavior analysis in a sandbox environment, the next step in malware analysis is typically to disassemble the malware. This process involves breaking down the executable into assembly code to understand its structure and functionality. Disassembly allows the engineer to see the instructions that the malware executes, which can provide insights into its capabilities and purpose

Prioritizing vulnerabilities for handling is a critical process that depends on various factors, including the nature of the institution and the context in which the devices are deployed. Vulnerability #1, which affects the Command Line Interpreter (CLI) of ACME Super Firewall, could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary commands with administrative rights. This type of vulnerability is particularly severe because it could lead to complete system compromise. However, it requires the attacker to be logged in to the device, which adds a layer of difficulty for exploitation.

Vulnerability #2 affects the web-based management interface of ACME Router models 1010 and 1020, allowing an attacker to bypass authorization checks. This vulnerability is also critical as it can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive information and system configuration. Unlike Vulnerability #1, it does not require the attacker to be logged in, making it easier to exploit.

The prioritization of these vulnerabilities would depend on the specific deployment scenario of the institution. For example, an institution that heavily relies on remote management of devices may prioritize Vulnerability #2 higher due to its remote exploitability. Conversely, an institution with strict access controls and limited remote access might prioritize Vulnerability #1 due to the potential for internal threats.