ISC SSCP Exam Made Easy: Step-by-Step Preparation Guide

Unfortunately, anomaly detectors and the Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) based on them often produce a large number of false alarms, as normal patterns of user and system behavior can vary wildly. Being only able to identify correctly attacks they already know about is a characteristic of misuse detection (signature-based) IDSs. Application-based IDSs are a special subset of host-based IDSs that analyze the events transpiring within a software application. They are more vulnerable to attacks than host-based IDSs. Not being able to identify abnormal behavior would not cause false positives, since they are not identified.

Source: DUPUIS, Cl?ment, Access Control Systems and Methodology CISSP Open Study Guide, version 1.0, march 2002 (page 92).

Tripwire is an integrity checking product, triggering alarms when important files (e.g. system or configuration files) are modified.

This is a tool that is not likely to be used by hackers, other than for studying its workings in order to circumvent it.

Other programs are password-cracking programs and are likely to be used by security administrators as well as by hackers. More info regarding Tripwire available on the Tripwire, Inc. Web Site.

NOTE:

The biggest competitor to the commercial version of Tripwire is the freeware version of Tripwire. You can get the Open Source version of Tripwire at the following URL: http://sourceforge.net/projects/tripwire/

An issue with signature-based ID is that only attack signatures that are stored in their database are detected.

New attacks without a signature would not be reported. They do require constant updates in order to maintain their effectiveness.

Reference used for this question:

KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Page 49.

A host-based IDS can review the system and event logs in order to detect an attack on the host and to determine if the attack was successful.

Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Page 48.

Open Shortest Path First, Internet Protocol, and Routing Information Protocol are all protocols implemented in the Network Layer.

Domain: Telecommunications and Network Security

References: AIO 3rd edition. Page 429

Official Guide to the CISSP CBK. Page 411

Organizations should have a process for (1) requesting, establishing, issuing, and closing user accounts; (2) tracking users and their respective access authorizations; and (3) managing these functions.

Reviews should examine the levels of access each individual has, conformity with the concept of least privilege, whether all accounts are still active, whether management authorizations are up-to-date, whether required training has been completed, and so forth. These reviews can be conducted on at least two levels: (1) on an application-by-application basis, or (2) on a system wide basis.

The strength of user passwords is beyond the scope of a simple user account management review, since it requires specific tools to try and crack the password file/database through either a dictionary or brute-force attack in order to check the strength of passwords.

Reference(s) used for this question:

SWANSON, Marianne & GUTTMAN, Barbara, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), NIST Special Publication 800-14, Generally Accepted Principles and Practices for Securing Information Technology Systems, September 1996 (page 28).

Misuse detectors compare system activity, looking for events or sets of events that match a predefined pattern of events that describe a known attack. As the patterns corresponding to known attacks are called signatures, misuse detection is sometimes called "signature-based detection."

The most common form of misuse detection used in commercial products specifies each pattern of events corresponding to an attack as a separate signature. However, there are more sophisticated approaches to doing misuse detection (called "state-based" analysis techniques) that can leverage a single signature to detect groups of attacks.

As stated in SP 800-34 Rev. 1:

To be effective, the plan must be maintained in a ready state that accurately reflects system requirements, procedures, organizational structure, and policies. During the Operation/Maintenance phase of the SDLC, information systems undergo frequent changes because of shifting business needs, technology upgrades, or new internal or external policies.

As a general rule, the plan should be reviewed for accuracy and completeness at an organization-defined frequency (at least once a year for the purpose of the exam) or whenever significant changes occur to any element of the plan. Certain elements, such as contact lists, will require more frequent reviews.

Remember, there could be two good answers as specified above. Either once a year or whenever significant changes occur to the plan. You will of course get only one of the two presented within you exam.

Reference(s) used for this question:

NIST SP 800-34 Revision 1

Two points are important to consider when it comes to ethical hacking: integrity and independence.

By not using an ethical hacking firm that hires or subcontracts to ex-hackers of others who have criminal records, an entire subset of risks can be avoided by an organization. Also, it is not cost-effective for a single firm to fund the effort of the ongoing research and development, systems development, and maintenance that is needed to operate state-of-the-art proprietary and open source testing tools and techniques.

External penetration firms are more effective than internal penetration testers because they are not influenced by any previous system security decisions, knowledge of the current system environment, or future system security plans. Moreover, an employee performing penetration testing might be reluctant to fully report security gaps.

Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Appendix F: The Case for Ethical Hacking (page 517).

Poor password selection is frequently a major security problem for any system's security. Administrators should obtain and use password-guessing programs frequently to identify those users having easily guessed passwords.

Because password-cracking programs are very CPU intensive and can slow the system on which it is running, it is a good idea to transfer the encrypted passwords to a standalone (not networked) workstation. Also, by doing the work on a non-networked machine, any results found will not be accessible by anyone unless they have physical access to that system.

Out of the four choice presented above this is the best choice.

However, in real life you would have strong password policies that enforce complexity requirements and does not let the user choose a simple or short password that can be easily cracked or guessed. That would be the best choice if it was one of the choice presented.

Another issue with password cracking is one of privacy. Many password cracking tools can avoid this by only showing the password was cracked and not showing what the password actually is. It is masking the password being used from the person doing the cracking.

Source: National Security Agency, Systems and Network Attack Center (SNAC), The 60 Minute Network Security Guide, February 2002, page 8.

This type of IDS is called a network-based IDS because monitors network traffic in real time.

Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Page 48.

Conducting security awareness and technical training to ensure that end users and system users are aware of the rules of behaviour and their responsibilities in protecting the organization's mission is an example of a preventive management control, therefore not an operational control.

Source: STONEBURNER, Gary et al., NIST Special publication 800-30, Risk management Guide for Information Technology Systems, 2001 (page 37).

Audit trails maintain a record of system activity by system or application processes and by user activity. In conjunction with appropriate tools and procedures, audit trails can provide individual accountability, a means to reconstruct events, detect intrusions, and identify problems. Audit trail controls are considered technical controls. Monitoring and tracking of incidents is more an operational control related to incident response capability.

Reference(s) used for this question:

SWANSON, Marianne, NIST Special Publication 800-26, Security Self-Assessment Guide for Information Technology Systems, November 2001 (Pages A-50 to A-51).

NOTE: NIST SP 800-26 has been superceded By: FIPS 200, SP 800-53, SP 800-53A

You can find the new replacement at: http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsSPs.html

However, if you really wish to see the old standard, it is listed as an archived document at:

http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsSPArch.html

Response is the correct choice. A response would essentially be the action that is taken once an alarm has been produced by an IDS, but is not a fundamental component of the alarm.

The following are incorrect answers:

Communications is the component of an alarm that delivers alerts through a variety of channels such as email, pagers, instant messages and so on.

An Enunciator is the component of an alarm that uses business logic to compose the content and format of an alert and determine the recipients of that alert.

A sensor is a fundamental component of IDS alarms. A sensor detects an event and produces an appropriate notification.

Domain: Access Control

Accountability can actually be seen in two different ways:

1) Although audit trails are also needed for accountability, no user can be accountable for their actions unless properly authenticated.

2) Accountability is another facet of access control. Individuals on a system are responsible for their actions. This accountability property enables system activities to be traced to the proper individuals. Accountability is supported by audit trails that record events on the system and network. Audit trails can be used for intrusion detection and for the reconstruction of past events. Monitoring individual activities, such as keystroke monitoring, should be accomplished in accordance with the company policy and appropriate laws. Banners at the log-on time should notify the user of any monitoring that is being conducted.

The point is that unless you employ an appropriate auditing mechanism, you don't have accountability. Authorization only gives a user certain permissions on the network. Accountability is far more complex because it also includes intrusion detection, unauthorized actions by both unauthorized users and authorized users, and system faults. The audit trail provides the proof that unauthorized modifications by both authorized and unauthorized users took place. No proof, No accountability.

Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Page 50.

The Shon Harris AIO book, 4th Edition, on Page 243 also states:

Auditing Capabilities ensures users are accountable for their actions, verify that the secutiy policies are enforced,

and can be used as investigation tools. Accountability is tracked by recording user, system, and application activities.

This recording is done through auditing functions and mechanisms within an operating sytem or application.

Audit trail contain information about operating System activities, application events, and user actions.

It is a data integrity assurance software aimed at detecting and reporting accidental or malicious changes to data.

The following answers are incorrect :

Nessus is incorrect as it is a vulnerability scanner used by hackers in discovering vulnerabilities in a system.

Saint is also incorrect as it is also a network vulnerability scanner likely to be used by hackers.

Nmap is also incorrect as it is a port scanner for network exploration and likely to be used by hackers.

Reference :

Tripwire : http://www.tripwire.com

Nessus : http://www.nessus.org

Saint : http://www.saintcorporation.com/saint

Nmap : http://insecure.org/nmap