Free CREST CPTIA Practice Exam with Questions & Answers | Set: 3

True attribution in the context of cyber threats involves identifying the actual individual, group, or nation-state behind an attack or intrusion. This type of attribution goes beyond associating an attack with certain tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) or a known group and aims to pinpoint the real-world entity responsible. True attribution ischallenging due to the anonymity of the internet and the use of obfuscation techniques by attackers, but it is crucial for understanding the motive behind an attack and for forming appropriate responses at diplomatic, law enforcement, or cybersecurity levels.References:

"Attribution of Cyber Attacks: A Framework for an Evidence-Based Analysis" by Jason Healey

"The Challenges of Attribution in Cyberspace" in the Journal of Cyber Policy

The correct sequence of steps performed by incident responders during the vulnerability assessment phase is as follows:

Perform OSINT information gathering to validate the vulnerabilities (4):Initially, Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) is used to gather information about the organization’s digital footprint and potential vulnerabilities.

Run vulnerability scans using tools (1):Next, specialized tools are employed to scan the organization's networks and systems for vulnerabilities.

Identify and prioritize vulnerabilities (2):The identified vulnerabilities are then analyzed and prioritized based on their severity and potential impact on the organization.

Examine and evaluate physical security (3):Physical security assessments are also crucial as they can impact the overall security posture and protection of digital assets.

Check for misconfigurations and human errors (6):This step involves looking for misconfigurations in systems and networks, as well as potential human errors that could lead to vulnerabilities.

Apply business and technology context to scanner results (5):The results from the scans are evaluated within the context of the business and its technology environment to accurately assess risks.

Create a vulnerability scan report (7):Finally, a comprehensive report is created, detailing the vulnerabilities, their severity, and recommended mitigation strategies.

This sequence ensures a thorough assessment, prioritizing vulnerabilities that pose the greatest risk and providing actionable insights for mitigation.References:CREST CPTIA courses and study guides elaborate on the vulnerability assessment process, detailing the steps involved in identifying, evaluating, and addressing security vulnerabilities within an organization's IT infrastructure.

The correct flow of stages in an Incident Handling and Response (IH&R) process as outlined in the Incident Handler (CREST CPTIA) by EC-Council begins with Preparation. This phase involves getting ready for potential incidents by developing plans, policies, and procedures, and ensuring that tools and team training are up to date. Incident Recording is the next stage, where incidents are documented and reported. Incident Triage follows, prioritizing incidents based on their impact and urgency. Containment is next, aiming to limit the damage of the incident and prevent further spread. Eradication comes after containment, where the root cause of the incident is removed. Recovery is the stage where affected systems are restored to their operational status. Post-Incident Activities conclude the process, reviewing and learning from the incident to improve future response efforts.

References:This structured approach is foundational in the CREST CPTIA program, ensuring that incident handlers are prepared to systematically address and manage cybersecurity incidents efficiently.

Not enabling default administrative accounts is crucial to ensuring accountability and minimizing the risk of insider attacks by privileged users. By disabling or renaming default accounts, organizations can better track the actions performed by individual administrators, reducing the risk of unauthorized or malicious activities going unnoticed. This practice is part of a broader approach to privilege management that includes limiting permissions to the minimum necessary and monitoring the use of administrative privileges.

References:The CREST CPTIA program emphasizes the importance of managing privileged access and ensuring accountability among users with elevated permissions to protect against insider threats and misuse of administrative rights.

In the trust model described, where trust between two organizations depends on the degree and quality of evidence provided by the first organization, the model in use is 'Validated Trust.' This model relies on the validation of evidence or credentials presented by one party to another to establish trust. The validation process assesses the credibility, reliability, and relevance of the information shared, forming the basis of the trust relationship between the sharing partners. This approach is common in threat intelligence sharing where the accuracy and reliability of shared information are critical.References:

"Building a Cybersecurity Culture," ISACA

"Trust Models in Information Security," Journal of Internet Services and Applications

An inappropriate usage incident involves misuse of the organization's resources or violations of its acceptable use policies. Sam's actions, where he sends emails to third-party organizations with a spoofed email address of his employer, constitute misuse of the organization's email system and misrepresentation of the organization. This behavior can harm the organization's reputation, violate policy, and potentially lead to legal consequences. Inappropriate usage incidents can range from unauthorized use of systems for personal gain to the dissemination of unapproved content.

References:The Incident Handler (CREST CPTIA) by EC-Council includes discussions on various types of security incidents, emphasizing the importance of addressing and mitigating not just external threats but also internal misuse and policy violations.

An Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) device placed inline is best suited to block attacks on a network actively. Being inline allows the IPS to analyze and take action on the traffic as it passes through the device, effectively preventing malicious traffic from reaching its target. The IPS can detect and block a wide range of attacks in real-time by using various detection methods, such as signature-based detection, anomaly detection, and policy-based detection. Unlike Host-based Intrusion Prevention Systems (HIPS), web proxies, or load balancers, an inline IPS is specifically designed to inspect and act on incoming and outgoing network traffic to prevent attacks before they reach network devices or applications.References:The Incident Handler (CREST CPTIA) certification materials discuss network security controls and emphasize the role of intrusion prevention systems in protecting networks against threats.

Incident triage is the stage in the incident response process where the incident handler, like Mike, performs an initial assessment of the reported incident to determine its validity, severity, and potential impact. This includes analyzing the incident to verify if it is a genuine threat or a false positive. The purpose of incident triage is to prioritize incidents based on their criticalityand ensure that resources are allocated effectively to address the most serious threats first. This stage is crucial for efficient incident management, as it helps in filtering out false alarms and focusing on real security incidents that require immediate attention.References:The CREST CPTIA curriculum covers the incident response lifecycle, including the importance of incident triage as a key step in ensuring that incident handling efforts are focused on genuine security incidents, thereby optimizing the response process.

In the cyber kill chain methodology, the phase where Jame is creating a tailored malicious deliverable that includes an exploit and a backdoor is known as 'Weaponization'. During this phase, the attacker prepares by coupling a payload, such as a virus or worm, with an exploit into a deliverable format, intending to compromise the target's system. This step follows the initial 'Reconnaissance' phase, where the attacker gathers information on the target, and precedes the 'Delivery' phase, where the weaponized bundle is transmitted to the target. Weaponization involves the preparation of the malware to exploit the identified vulnerabilities in the target system.References:

Lockheed Martin's Cyber Kill Chain framework

"Intelligence-Driven Computer Network Defense Informed by Analysis of Adversary Campaigns and Intrusion Kill Chains," leading to the development of the Cyber Kill Chain framework

For memory dump analysis, tools like Scylla and OllyDumpEx are more suited. These tools are designed to analyze and extract information from memory dumps, which can be crucial for understanding the state of a system at the time of an incident. Scylla is used for reconstructing imports in dumped binaries, while OllyDumpEx is an OllyDbg plugin used for dumping process memory. Both tools are valuable for incident handlers like Rinni who are performing memory dump analysis to uncover evidence or understand the behavior of malicious software.