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SSCP Exam Prep Free

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  • SSCP Exam Prep Free – 50 Practice Questions to Get You Ready for Exam Day
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SSCP Exam Prep Free – 50 Practice Questions to Get You Ready for Exam Day

Getting ready for the SSCP certification? Our SSCP Exam Prep Free resource includes 50 exam-style questions designed to help you practice effectively and feel confident on test day

Effective SSCP exam prep free is the key to success. With our free practice questions, you can:

  • Get familiar with exam format and question style
  • Identify which topics you’ve mastered—and which need more review
  • Boost your confidence and reduce exam anxiety

Below, you will find 50 realistic SSCP Exam Prep Free questions that cover key exam topics. These questions are designed to reflect the structure and challenge level of the actual exam, making them perfect for your study routine.

Question 1

An Intrusion Detection System (IDS) is what type of control?

A. A preventive control.

B. A detective control.

C. A recovery control.

D. A directive control.

 


Suggested Answer: D

Community Answer: B

These controls can be used to investigate what happen after the fact. Your IDS may collect information on where the attack came from, what port was use, and other details that could be used in the investigation steps.
“Preventative control” is incorrect. Preventative controls preclude events or actions that might compromise a system or cause a policy violation. An intrusion prevention system would be an example of a preventative control.
“Recovery control” is incorrect. Recover controls include processes used to return the system to a secure state after the occurrence of a security incident.
Backups and redundant components are examples of recovery controls.
“Directive controls” is incorrect. Directive controls are administrative instruments such as policies, procedures, guidelines, and aggreements. An acceptable use policy is an example of a directive control.
References:
CBK, pp. 646 – 647

Question 2

A weakness or lack of a safeguard, which may be exploited by a threat, causing harm to the information systems or networks is called a ?

A. Vulnerability

B. Risk

C. Threat

D. Overflow

 


Suggested Answer: The Answer: Vulnerability; Vulnerability is a weakness or lack of a safeguard, which may be exploited by a threat, causing harm to the information systems or

Community Answer: A

networks.
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Pages 16,
32.

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT a type of motion detector?

A. Photoelectric sensor

B. Passive infrared sensors

C. Microwave Sensor.

D. Ultrasonic Sensor.

 


Suggested Answer: A

A photoelectric sensor does not “directly” sense motion there is a narrow beam that won’t set off the sensor unless the beam is broken. Photoelectric sensors, along with dry contact switches, are a type of perimeter intrusion detector.
All of the other answers are valid types of motion detectors types.
The content below on the different types of sensors is from Wikepedia:
Indoor Sensors –
These types of sensors are designed for indoor use. Outdoor use would not be advised due to false alarm vulnerability and weather durability.Passive infrared detectors
<img src=”https://www.examtopics.com/assets/media/exam-media/02070/0003000001.jpg” alt=”Reference Image” />
Passive Infrared Sensor –
The passive infrared detector (PIR) is one of the most common detectors found in household and small business environments because it offers affordable and reliable functionality. The term passive means the detector is able to function without the need to generate and radiate its own energy (unlike ultrasonic and microwave volumetric intrusion detectors that are “active” in operation). PIRs are able to distinguish if an infrared emitting object is present by first learning the ambient temperature of the monitored space and then detecting a change in the temperature caused by the presence of an object. Using the principle of differentiation, which is a check of presence or nonpresence, PIRs verify if an intruder or object is actually there. Creating individual zones of detection where each zone comprises one or more layers can achieve differentiation. Between the zones there are areas of no sensitivity (dead zones) that are used by the sensor for comparison.
Ultrasonic detectors –
Using frequencies between 15 kHz and 75 kHz, these active detectors transmit ultrasonic sound waves that are inaudible to humans. The Doppler shift principle is the underlying method of operation, in which a change in frequency is detected due to object motion. This is caused when a moving object changes the frequency of sound waves around it. Two conditions must occur to successfully detect a Doppler shift event:
There must be motion of an object either towards or away from the receiver.
The motion of the object must cause a change in the ultrasonic frequency to the receiver relative to the transmitting frequency.
The ultrasonic detector operates by the transmitter emitting an ultrasonic signal into the area to be protected. The sound waves are reflected by solid objects (such as the surrounding floor, walls and ceiling) and then detected by the receiver. Because ultrasonic waves are transmitted through air, then hard-surfaced objects tend to reflect most of the ultrasonic energy, while soft surfaces tend to absorb most energy.
When the surfaces are stationary, the frequency of the waves detected by the receiver will be equal to the transmitted frequency. However, a change in frequency will occur as a result of the Doppler principle, when a person or object is moving towards or away from the detector. Such an event initiates an alarm signal. This technology is considered obsolete by many alarm professionals, and is not actively installed.
Microwave detectors –
This device emits microwaves from a transmitter and detects any reflected microwaves or reduction in beam intensity using a receiver. The transmitter and receiver are usually combined inside a single housing (monostatic) for indoor applications, and separate housings (bistatic) for outdoor applications. To reduce false alarms this type of detector is usually combined with a passive infrared detector or “Dualtec” alarm.
Microwave detectors respond to a Doppler shift in the frequency of the reflected energy, by a phase shift, or by a sudden reduction of the level of received energy.
Any of these effects may indicate motion of an intruder.
Photo-electric beams –
Photoelectric beam systems detect the presence of an intruder by transmitting visible or infrared light beams across an area, where these beams may be obstructed. To improve the detection surface area, the beams are often employed in stacks of two or more. However, if an intruder is aware of the technology’s presence, it can be avoided. The technology can be an effective long-range detection system, if installed in stacks of three or more where the transmitters and receivers are staggered to create a fence-like barrier. Systems are available for both internal and external applications. To prevent a clandestine attack using a secondary light source being used to hold the detector in a ‘sealed’ condition whilst an intruder passes through, most systems use and detect a modulated light source.
Glass break detectors –
The glass break detector may be used for internal perimeter building protection. When glass breaks it generates sound in a wide band of frequencies. These can range from infrasonic, which is below 20 hertz (Hz) and can not be heard by the human ear, through the audio band from 20 Hz to 20 kHz which humans can hear, right up to ultrasonic, which is above 20 kHz and again cannot be heard. Glass break acoustic detectors are mounted in close proximity to the glass panes and listen for sound frequencies associated with glass breaking. Seismic glass break detectors are different in that they are installed on the glass pane. When glass breaks it produces specific shock frequencies which travel through the glass and often through the window frame and the surrounding walls and ceiling.
Typically, the most intense frequencies generated are between 3 and 5 kHz, depending on the type of glass and the presence of a plastic interlayer. Seismic glass break detectors “feel” these shock frequencies and in turn generate an alarm condition.
The more primitive detection method involves gluing a thin strip of conducting foil on the inside of the glass and putting low-power electrical current through it.
Breaking the glass is practically guaranteed to tear the foil and break the circuit.
Smoke, heat, and carbon monoxide detectors
<img src=”https://www.examtopics.com/assets/media/exam-media/02070/0003200001.jpg” alt=”Reference Image” />
Heat Detection System –
Most systems may also be equipped with smoke, heat, and/or carbon monoxide detectors. These are also known as 24 hour zones (which are on at all times).
Smoke detectors and heat detectors protect from the risk of fire and carbon monoxide detectors protect from the risk of carbon monoxide. Although an intruder alarm panel may also have these detectors connected, it may not meet all the local fire code requirements of a fire alarm system.
Other types of volumetric sensors could be:
Active Infrared –
Passive Infrared/Microware combined
Radar –
Accoustical Sensor/Audio –
Vibration Sensor (seismic)
Air Turbulence

Question 4

Which of the following recovery plan test results would be most useful to management?

A. elapsed time to perform various activities.

B. list of successful and unsuccessful activities.

C. amount of work completed.

D. description of each activity.

 


Suggested Answer: B

Community Answer: A

After a test has been performed the most useful test results for manangement would be knowing what worked and what didn’t so that they could correct the mistakes where needed.
The following answers are incorrect:
elapsed time to perform various activities. This is incorrect because it is not the best answer, these results are not as useful as list of successful and unsuccessful activities would be to managment. amount of work completed. This is incorrect because it is not the best answer, these results are not as useful as list of successful and unsuccessful activities would be to managment. description of each activity. This is incorrect because it is not the best answer, these results are not as useful as list of successful and unsuccessful activities would be to managment.

Question 5

Smart cards are an example of which type of control?

A. Detective control

B. Administrative control

C. Technical control

D. Physical control

 


Suggested Answer: C

Community Answer: C

Logical or technical controls involve the restriction of access to systems and the protection of information. Smart cards and encryption are examples of these types of control.
Controls are put into place to reduce the risk an organization faces, and they come in three main flavors: administrative, technical, and physical. Administrative controls are commonly referred to as “soft controls” because they are more management-oriented. Examples of administrative controls are security documentation, risk management, personnel security, and training. Technical controls (also called logical controls) are software or hardware components, as in firewalls, IDS, encryption, identification and authentication mechanisms. And physical controls are items put into place to protect facility, personnel, and resources.
Examples of physical controls are security guards, locks, fencing, and lighting.
Many types of technical controls enable a user to access a system and the resources within that system. A technical control may be a username and password combination, a Kerberos implementation, biometrics, public key infrastructure (PKI), RADIUS, TACACS +, or authentication using a smart card through a reader connected to a system. These technologies verify the user is who he says he is by using different types of authentication methods. Once a user is properly authenticated, he can be authorized and allowed access to network resources.
Reference(s) used for this question:
Harris, Shon (2012-10-25). CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, 6th Edition (p. 245). McGraw-Hill. Kindle Edition. and
KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter 2: Access control systems (page 32).

Question 6

In the context of network enumeration by an outside attacker and possible Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, which of the following firewall rules is not appropriate to protect an organization's internal network?

A. Allow echo reply outbound

B. Allow echo request outbound

C. Drop echo request inbound

D. Allow echo reply inbound

 


Suggested Answer: A

Community Answer: D

Echo replies outbound should be dropped, not allowed. There is no reason for any internet users to send ICMP ECHO Request to your interal hosts from the internet. If they wish to find out if a service is available, they can use a browser to connect to your web server or simply send an email if they wish to test your mail service.
Echo replies outbound could be used as part of the SMURF amplification attack where someone will send ICMP echo requests to gateways broadcast addresses in order to amplify the request by X number of users sitting behind the gateway.
By allowing inbound echo requests and outbound echo replies, it makes it easier for attackers to learn about the internal network as well by performing a simply ping sweep. ICMP can also be used to find out which host has been up and running the longest which would indicates which patches are missing on the host if a critical patch required a reboot.
ICMP can also be use for DDoS attacks, so you should strictly limit what type of ICMP traffic would be allowed to flow through your firewall.
On top of all this, tools such as LOKI could be use as a client-server application to transfer files back and forward between the internat and some of your internal hosts. LOKI is a client/server program published in the online publication Phrack . This program is a working proof-of-concept to demonstrate that data can be transmitted somewhat secretly across a network by hiding it in traffic that normally does not contain payloads. The example code can tunnel the equivalent of a
Unix RCMD/RSH session in either ICMP echo request (ping) packets or UDP traffic to the DNS port. This is used as a back door into a Unix system after root access has been compromised. Presence of LOKI on a system is evidence that the system has been compromised in the past.
The outbound echo request and inbound echo reply allow internal users to verify connectivity with external hosts.
The following answers are incorrect:
Allow echo request outbound The outbound echo request and inbound echo reply allow internal users to verify connectivity with external hosts.
Drop echo request inbound There is no need for anyone on the internet to attempt pinging your internal hosts.
Allow echo reply inbound The outbound echo request and inbound echo reply allow internal users to verify connectivity with external hosts.
Reference(s) used for this question:
http://www.phrack.org/issues.html?issue=49&id=6
STREBE, Matthew and PERKINS, Charles, Firewalls 24seven, Sybex 2000, Chapter 10: The Perfect Firewall.

Question 7

Which of the following IEEE standards defines the token ring media access method?

A. 802.3

B. 802.11

C. 802.5

D. 802.2

 


Suggested Answer: D

Community Answer: C

The IEEE 802.5 standard defines the token ring media access method. 802.3 refers to Ethernet’s CSMA/CD, 802.11 refers to wireless communications and 802.2 refers to the logical link control.
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter 3:
Telecommunications and Network Security (page 109).

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT an advantage that TACACS+ has over TACACS?

A. Event logging

B. Use of two-factor password authentication

C. User has the ability to change his password

D. Ability for security tokens to be resynchronized

 


Suggested Answer: A

Community Answer: C

Although TACACS+ provides better audit trails, event logging is a service that is provided with TACACS.
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter 3:
Telecommunications and Network Security (page 121).

Question 9

What is the difference between Access Control Lists (ACLs) and Capability Tables?

A. Access control lists are related/attached to a subject whereas capability tables are related/attached to an object.

B. Access control lists are related/attached to an object whereas capability tables are related/attached to a subject.

C. Capability tables are used for objects whereas access control lists are used for users.

D. They are basically the same.

 


Suggested Answer: B

Community Answer: B

Capability tables are used to track, manage and apply controls based on the object and rights, or capabilities of a subject. For example, a table identifies the object, specifies access rights allowed for a subject, and permits access based on the user’s posession of a capability (or ticket) for the object. It is a row within the matrix.
To put it another way, A capabiltiy table is different from an ACL because the subject is bound to the capability table, whereas the object is bound to the ACL.
CLEMENT NOTE:
If we wish to express this very simply:
Capabilities are attached to a subject and it describe what access the subject has to each of the objects on the row that matches with the subject within the matrix.
It is a row within the matrix.
ACL’s are attached to objects, it describe who has access to the object and what type of access they have. It is a column within the matrix.
The following are incorrect answers:
“Access control lists are subject-based whereas capability tables are object-based” is incorrect.
“Capability tables are used for objects whereas access control lists are used for users” is incorrect.
“They are basically the same” is incorrect.
References used for this question:
CBK, pp. 191 – 192 –
AIO3 p. 169

Question 10

In stateful inspection firewalls, packets are:

A. Inspected at only one layer of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model

B. Inspected at all Open System Interconnection (OSI) layers

C. Decapsulated at all Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) layers.

D. Encapsulated at all Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) layers.

 


Suggested Answer: B

Many times when a connection is opened, the firewall will inspect all layers of the packet. While this inspection is scaled back for subsequent packets to improve performance, this is the best of the four answers.
When packet filtering is used, a packet arrives at the firewall, and it runs through its ACLs to determine whether this packet should be allowed or denied. If the packet is allowed, it is passed on to the destination host, or to another network device, and the packet filtering device forgets about the packet. This is different from stateful inspection, which remembers and keeps track of what packets went where until each particular connection is closed. A stateful firewall is like a nosy neighbor who gets into peoples business and conversations. She keeps track of the suspicious cars that come into the neighborhood, who is out of town for the week, and the postman who stays a little too long at the neighbor ladys house. This can be annoying until your house is burglarized. Then you and the police will want to talk to the nosy neighbor, because she knows everything going on in the neighborhood and would be the one most likely to know something unusual happened.
“Inspected at only one Open Systems Interconnetion (OSI) layer” is incorrect. To perform stateful packet inspection, the firewall must consider at least the network and transport layers.
“Decapsulated at all Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) layers” is incorrect. The headers are not stripped (“decapsulated” if there is such a word) and are passed through in their entirety IF the packet is passed.
“Encapsulated at all Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) layers” is incorrect. Encapsulation refers to the adding of a layer’s header/trailer to the information received from the above level. This is done when the packet is assembled not at the firewall.
Reference(s) used for this question:
CBK, p. 466 –
Harris, Shon (2012-10-25). CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, 6th Edition (pp. 632-633). McGraw-Hill. Kindle Edition.

Question 11

What would BEST define a covert channel?

A. An undocumented backdoor that has been left by a programmer in an operating system

B. An open system port that should be closed.

C. A communication channel that allows transfer of information in a manner that violates the system’s security policy.

D. A trojan horse.

 


Suggested Answer: The Answer: A communication channel that allows transfer of information in a manner that violates the system’s security policy.

Community Answer: C

A covert channel is a way for an entity to receive information in an unauthorized manner. It is an information flow that is not controlled by a security mechanism.
This type of information path was not developed for communication; thus, the system does not properly protect this path, because the developers never envisioned information being passed in this way.
Receiving information in this manner clearly violates the systems security policy. The channel to transfer this unauthorized data is the result of one of the following conditions: Oversight in the development of the product
Improper implementation of access controls
Existence of a shared resource between the two entities
Installation of a Trojan horse
The following answers are incorrect:
An undocumented backdoor that has been left by a programmer in an operating system is incorrect because it is not a means by which unauthorized transfer of information takes place. Such backdoor is usually referred to as a Maintenance Hook.
An open system port that should be closed is incorrect as it does not define a covert channel.
A trojan horse is incorrect because it is a program that looks like a useful program but when you install it it would include a bonus such as a Worm, Backdoor, or some other malware without the installer knowing about it.
Reference(s) used for this question:
Shon Harris AIO v3 , Chapter-5 : Security Models & Architecture
AIOv4 Security Architecture and Design (pages 343 – 344)
AIOv5 Security Architecture and Design (pages 345 – 346)

Question 12

Which of the following is implemented through scripts or smart agents that replays the users multiple log-ins against authentication servers to verify a user's identity which permit access to system services?

A. Single Sign-On

B. Dynamic Sign-On

C. Smart cards

D. Kerberos

 


Suggested Answer: A

SSO can be implemented by using scripts that replay the users multiple log-ins against authentication servers to verify a user’s identity and to permit access to system services.
Single Sign on was the best answer in this case because it would include Kerberos.
When you have two good answers within the 4 choices presented you must select the BEST one. The high level choice is always the best. When one choice would include the other one that would be the best as well.
Reference(s) 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 40.

Question 13

In the days before CIDR (Classless Internet Domain Routing), networks were commonly organized by classes. Which of the following would have been true of a
Class B network?

A. The first bit of the IP address would be set to zero.

B. The first bit of the IP address would be set to one and the second bit set to zero.

C. The first two bits of the IP address would be set to one, and the third bit set to zero.

D. The first three bits of the IP address would be set to one.

 


Suggested Answer: C

Each Class B network address has a 16-bit network prefix, with the two highest order bits set to 1-0.
The following answers are incorrect:
The first bit of the IP address would be set to zero. Is incorrect because, this would be a Class A network address.
The first two bits of the IP address would be set to one, and the third bit set to zero. Is incorrect because, this would be a Class C network address.
The first three bits of the IP address would be set to one. Is incorrect because, this is a distractor. Class D & E have the first three bits set to 1. Class D the 4th bit is 0 and for Class E the 4th bit to 1.
Classless Internet Domain Routing (CIDR)
High Order bits are shown in bold below.
For Class A, the addresses are 0.0.0.0 – 127.255.255.255
The lowest Class A address is represented in binary as 00000000.00000000.0000000.00000000
For Class B networks, the addresses are 128.0.0.0 – 191.255.255.255.
The lowest Class B address is represented in binary as 10000000.00000000.00000000.00000000
For Class C, the addresses are 192.0.0.0 – 223.255.255.255
The lowest Class C address is represented in binary as 11000000.00000000.00000000.00000000
For Class D, the addresses are 224.0.0.0 – 239.255.255.255 (Multicast)
The lowest Class D address is represented in binary as 11100000.00000000.00000000.00000000
For Class E, the addresses are 240.0.0.0 – 255.255.255.255 (Reserved for future usage)
The lowest Class E address is represented in binary as 11110000.00000000.00000000.00000000
Classful IP Address Format –
Reference Image
References: alt=”Reference Image” />
References:
3Com http://www.3com.com/other/pdfs/infra/corpinfo/en_US/501302.pdf

AIOv3 Telecommunications and Networking Security (page 438)

Question 14

Remote Procedure Call (RPC) is a protocol that one program can use to request a service from a program located in another computer in a network.  Within which
OSI/ISO layer is RPC implemented?

A. Session layer

B. Transport layer

C. Data link layer

D. Network layer

 


Suggested Answer: The Answer: Session layer, which establishes, maintains and manages sessions and synchronization of data flow. Session layer protocols control application-to-

Community Answer: B

application communications, which is what an RPC call is.
The following answers are incorrect:
Transport layer: The Transport layer handles computer-to computer communications, rather than application-to-application communications like RPC.
Data link Layer: The Data Link layer protocols can be divided into either Logical Link Control (LLC) or Media Access Control (MAC) sublayers. Protocols like
SLIP, PPP, RARP and L2TP are at this layer. An application-to-application protocol like RPC would not be addressed at this layer.
Network layer: The Network Layer is mostly concerned with routing and addressing of information, not application-to-application communication calls such as an
RPC call.
The following reference(s) were/was used to create this question:
The Remote Procedure Call (RPC) protocol is implemented at the Session layer, which establishes, maintains and manages sessions as well as synchronization of the data flow.
Source: Jason Robinett’s CISSP Cram Sheet: domain2.
Source: Shon Harris AIO v3 pg. 423

Question 15

The primary service provided by Kerberos is which of the following?

A. non-repudiation

B. confidentiality

C. authentication

D. authorization

 


Suggested Answer: The Answer: authentication. Kerberos is an authentication service. It can use single-factor or multi-factor authentication methods.

Community Answer: C

The following answers are incorrect:
non-repudiation. Since Kerberos deals primarily with symmetric cryptography, it does not help with non-repudiation. confidentiality. Once the client is authenticated by Kerberos and obtains its session key and ticket, it may use them to assure confidentiality of its communication with a server; however, that is not a Kerberos service as such. authorization. Although Kerberos tickets may include some authorization information, the meaning of the authorization fields is not standardized in the Kerberos specifications, and authorization is not a primary Kerberos service.
The following reference(s) were/was used to create this question:
ISC2 OIG,2007 p. 179-184 –
Shon Harris AIO v.3 152-155

Question 16

Which of the following control pairings include: organizational policies and procedures, pre-employment background checks, strict hiring practices, employment agreements, employee termination procedures, vacation scheduling, labeling of sensitive materials, increased supervision, security awareness training, behavior awareness, and sign-up procedures to obtain access to information systems and networks?

A. Preventive/Administrative Pairing

B. Preventive/Technical Pairing

C. Preventive/Physical Pairing

D. Detective/Administrative Pairing

 


Suggested Answer: The Answer: Preventive/Administrative Pairing: These mechanisms include organizational policies and procedures, pre-employment background checks, strict

Community Answer: A

hiring practices, employment agreements, friendly and unfriendly employee termination procedures, vacation scheduling, labeling of sensitive materials, increased supervision, security awareness training, behavior awareness, and sign-up procedures to obtain access to information systems and networks.
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Page 34.

Question 17

The three classic ways of authenticating yourself to the computer security software are by something you know, by something you have, and by something:

A. you need.

B. non-trivial

C. you are.

D. you can get.

 


Suggested Answer: C

This is more commonly known as biometrics and is one of the most accurate ways to authenticate an individual.
The rest of the answers are incorrect because they not one of the three recognized forms for Authentication.

Question 18

Which of the following are NOT a countermeasure to traffic analysis?

A. Padding messages.

B. Eavesdropping.

C. Sending noise.

D. Faraday Cage B

 


Suggested Answer: Explanation

Community Answer: B

Eavesdropping is not a countermeasure, it is a type of attack where you are collecting traffic and attempting to see what is being send between entities communicating with each other.
The following answers are incorrect:
Padding Messages. Is incorrect because it is considered a countermeasure you make messages uniform size, padding can be used to counter this kind of attack, in which decoy traffic is sent out over the network to disguise patterns and make it more difficult to uncover patterns.
Sending Noise. Is incorrect because it is considered a countermeasure, tansmitting non-informational data elements to disguise real data.
Faraday Cage Is incorrect because it is a tool used to prevent emanation of electromagnetic waves. It is a very effective tool to prevent traffic analysis.

Question 19

Unshielded Twisted Pair cabling is a:

A. four-pair wire medium that is used in a variety of networks.

B. three-pair wire medium that is used in a variety of networks.

C. two-pair wire medium that is used in a variety of networks.

D. one-pair wire medium that is used in a variety of networks.

 


Suggested Answer: A

Community Answer: C

Unshielded Twisted Pair cabling is a four-pair wire medium that is used in a variety of networks.
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Page 101.

Question 20

While using IPsec, the ESP and AH protocols both provides integrity services.   However when using AH, some special attention needs to be paid if one of the peers uses NAT for address translation service.  Which of the items below would affects the use of AH and its  Integrity Check Value (ICV) the most?

A. Key session exchange

B. Packet Header Source or Destination address

C. VPN cryptographic key size

D. Crypotographic algorithm used B

 


Suggested Answer: Explanation

Community Answer: B

It may seem odd to have two different protocols that provide overlapping functionality.
AH provides authentication and integrity, and ESP can provide those two functions and confidentiality.
Why even bother with AH then?
In most cases, the reason has to do with whether the environment is using network address translation (NAT). IPSec will generate an integrity check value (ICV), which is really the same thing as a MAC value, over a portion of the packet. Remember that the sender and receiver generate their own values. In IPSec, it is called an ICV value. The receiver compares her ICV value with the one sent by the sender. If the values match, the receiver can be assured the packet has not been modified during transmission. If the values are different, the packet has been altered and the receiver discards the packet.
The AH protocol calculates this ICV over the data payload, transport, and network headers. If the packet then goes through a NAT device, the NAT device changes the IP address of the packet. That is its job. This means a portion of the data (network header) that was included to calculate the ICV value has now changed, and the receiver will generate an ICV value that is different from the one sent with the packet, which means the packet will be discarded automatically.
The ESP protocol follows similar steps, except it does not include the network header portion when calculating its ICV value. When the NAT device changes the IP address, it will not affect the receivers ICV value because it does not include the network header when calculating the ICV.
Here is a tutorial on IPSEC from the Shon Harris Blog:
The Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) protocol suite provides a method of setting up a secure channel for protected data exchange between two devices. The devices that share this secure channel can be two servers, two routers, a workstation and a server, or two gateways between different networks. IPSec is a widely accepted standard for providing network layer protection. It can be more flexible and less expensive than end-to end and link encryption methods.
IPSec has strong encryption and authentication methods, and although it can be used to enable tunneled communication between two computers, it is usually employed to establish virtual private networks (VPNs) among networks across the Internet.
IPSec is not a strict protocol that dictates the type of algorithm, keys, and authentication method to use. Rather, it is an open, modular framework that provides a lot of flexibility for companies when they choose to use this type of technology. IPSec uses two basic security protocols: Authentication Header (AH) and
Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP). AH is the authenticating protocol, and ESP is an authenticating and encrypting protocol that uses cryptographic mechanisms to provide source authentication, confidentiality, and message integrity.
IPSec can work in one of two modes: transport mode, in which the payload of the message is protected, and tunnel mode, in which the payload and the routing and header information are protected. ESP in transport mode encrypts the actual message information so it cannot be sniffed and uncovered by an unauthorized entity. Tunnel mode provides a higher level of protection by also protecting the header and trailer data an attacker may find useful. Figure 8-26 shows the high- level view of the steps of setting up an IPSec connection.
Each device will have at least one security association (SA) for each VPN it uses. The SA, which is critical to the IPSec architecture, is a record of the configurations the device needs to support an IPSec connection. When two devices complete their handshaking process, which means they have agreed upon a long list of parameters they will use to communicate, these data must be recorded and stored somewhere, which is in the SA.
The SA can contain the authentication and encryption keys, the agreed-upon algorithms, the key lifetime, and the source IP address. When a device receives a packet via the IPSec protocol, it is the SA that tells the device what to do with the packet. So if device B receives a packet from device C via IPSec, device B will look to the corresponding SA to tell it how to decrypt the packet, how to properly authenticate the source of the packet, which key to use, and how to reply to the message if necessary.
SAs are directional, so a device will have one SA for outbound traffic and a different SA for inbound traffic for each individual communication channel. If a device is connecting to three devices, it will have at least six SAs, one for each inbound and outbound connection per remote device. So how can a device keep all of these
SAs organized and ensure that the right SA is invoked for the right connection? With the mighty secu rity parameter index (SPI), thats how. Each device has an
SPI that keeps track of the different SAs and tells the device which one is appropriate to invoke for the different packets it receives. The SPI value is in the header of an IPSec packet, and the device reads this value to tell it which SA to consult.
IPSec can authenticate the sending devices of the packet by using MAC (covered in the earlier section, “The One-Way Hash”). The ESP protocol can provide authentication, integrity, and confidentiality if the devices are configured for this type of functionality.
So if a company just needs to make sure it knows the source of the sender and must be assured of the integrity of the packets, it would choose to use AH. If the company would like to use these services and also have confidentiality, it would use the ESP protocol because it provides encryption functionality. In most cases, the reason ESP is employed is because the company must set up a secure VPN connection.
It may seem odd to have two different protocols that provide overlapping functionality. AH provides authentication and integrity, and ESP can provide those two functions and confidentiality. Why even bother with AH then? In most cases, the reason has to do with whether the environment is using network address translation (NAT). IPSec will generate an integrity check value (ICV), which is really the same thing as a MAC value, over a portion of the packet. Remember that the sender and receiver generate their own values. In IPSec, it is called an ICV value. The receiver compares her ICV value with the one sent by the sender. If the values match, the receiver can be assured the packet has not been modified during transmission. If the values are different, the packet has been altered and the receiver discards the packet.
The AH protocol calculates this ICV over the data payload, transport, and network headers. If the packet then goes through a NAT device, the NAT device changes the IP address of the packet. That is its job. This means a portion of the data (network header) that was included to calculate the ICV value has now changed, and the receiver will generate an ICV value that is different from the one sent with the packet, which means the packet will be discarded automatically.
The ESP protocol follows similar steps, except it does not include the network header portion when calculating its ICV value. When the NAT device changes the IP address, it will not affect the receivers ICV value because it does not include the network header when calculating the ICV.
Because IPSec is a framework, it does not dictate which hashing and encryption algorithms are to be used or how keys are to be exchanged between devices.
Key management can be handled manually or automated by a key management protocol. The de facto standard for IPSec is to use Internet Key Exchange (IKE), which is a combination of the ISAKMP and OAKLEY protocols. The Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol (ISAKMP) is a key exchange architecture that is independent of the type of keying mechanisms used. Basically, ISAKMP provides the framework of what can be negotiated to set up an IPSec connection (algorithms, protocols, modes, keys). The OAKLEY protocol is the one that carries out the negotiation process. You can think of ISAKMP as providing the playing field (the infrastructure) and OAKLEY as the guy running up and down the playing field (carrying out the steps of the negotiation).
IPSec is very complex with all of its components and possible configurations. This complexity is what provides for a great degree of flexibility, because a company has many different configuration choices to achieve just the right level of protection. If this is all new to you and still confusing, please review one or more of the following references to help fill in the gray areas.
The following answers are incorrect:
The other options are distractors.
The following reference(s) were/was used to create this question:
Shon Harris, CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide- fiveth edition, page 759 and https://neodean.wordpress.com/tag/security-protocol/

Question 21

In which layer of the OSI Model are connection-oriented protocols located in the TCP/IP suite of protocols?

A. Transport layer

B. Application layer

C. Physical layer

D. Network layer

 


Suggested Answer: A

Connection-oriented protocols such as TCP provides reliability.
It is the responsibility of such protocols in the transport layer to ensure every byte is accounted for. The network layer does not provide reliability. It only privides the best route to get the traffic to the final destination address.
For your exam you should know the information below about OSI model:
The Open Systems Interconnection model (OSI) is a conceptual model that characterizes and standardizes the internal functions of a communication system by partitioning it into abstraction layers. The model is a product of the Open Systems Interconnection project at the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO), maintained by the identification ISO/IEC 7498-1.
The model groups communication functions into seven logical layers. A layer serves the layer above it and is served by the layer below it. For example, a layer that provides error-free communications across a network provides the path needed by applications above it, while it calls the next lower layer to send and receive packets that make up the contents of that path. Two instances at one layer are connected by a horizontal.
OSI Model –
<img src=”https://www.examtopics.com/assets/media/exam-media/02070/0070100001.jpg” alt=”Reference Image” />
Image source: http://www.petri.co.il/images/osi_model.JPG
PHYSICAL LAYER –
The physical layer, the lowest layer of the OSI model, is concerned with the transmission and reception of the unstructured raw bit stream over a physical medium.
It describes the electrical/optical, mechanical, and functional interfaces to the physical medium, and carries the signals for all of the higher layers. It provides:
Data encoding: modifies the simple digital signal pattern (1s and 0s) used by the PC to better accommodate the characteristics of the physical medium, and to aid in bit and frame synchronization. It determines:
What signal state represents a binary 1
How the receiving station knows when a “bit-time” starts
How the receiving station delimits a frame
DATA LINK LAYER –
The data link layer provides error-free transfer of data frames from one node to another over the physical layer, allowing layers above it to assume virtually error- free transmission over the link. To do this, the data link layer provides:
Link establishment and termination: establishes and terminates the logical link between two nodes.
Frame traffic control: tells the transmitting node to “back-off” when no frame buffers are available.
Frame sequencing: transmits/receives frames sequentially.
Frame acknowledgment: provides/expects frame acknowledgments. Detects and recovers from errors that occur in the physical layer by retransmitting non- acknowledged frames and handling duplicate frame receipt.
Frame delimiting: creates and recognizes frame boundaries.
Frame error checking: checks received frames for integrity.
Media access management: determines when the node “has the right” to use the physical medium.
NETWORK LAYER –
The network layer controls the operation of the subnet, deciding which physical path the data should take based on network conditions, priority of service, and other factors. It provides:
Routing: routes frames among networks.
Subnet traffic control: routers (network layer intermediate systems) can instruct a sending station to “throttle back” its frame transmission when the router’s buffer fills up.
Frame fragmentation: if it determines that a downstream router’s maximum transmission unit (MTU) size is less than the frame size, a router can fragment a frame for transmission and re-assembly at the destination station.
Logical-physical address mapping: translates logical addresses, or names, into physical addresses.
Subnet usage accounting: has accounting functions to keep track of frames forwarded by subnet intermediate systems, to produce billing information.
Communications Subnet –
The network layer software must build headers so that the network layer software residing in the subnet intermediate systems can recognize them and use them to route data to the destination address.
This layer relieves the upper layers of the need to know anything about the data transmission and intermediate switching technologies used to connect systems. It establishes, maintains and terminates connections across the intervening communications facility (one or several intermediate systems in the communication subnet).
In the network layer and the layers below, peer protocols exist between a node and its immediate neighbor, but the neighbor may be a node through which data is routed, not the destination station. The source and destination stations may be separated by many intermediate systems.
TRANSPORT LAYER –
The transport layer ensures that messages are delivered error-free, in sequence, and with no losses or duplications. It relieves the higher layer protocols from any concern with the transfer of data between them and their peers.
The size and complexity of a transport protocol depends on the type of service it can get from the network layer. For a reliable network layer with virtual circuit capability, a minimal transport layer is required. If the network layer is unreliable and/or only supports datagrams, the transport protocol should include extensive error detection and recovery.
The transport layer provides:
Message segmentation: accepts a message from the (session) layer above it, splits the message into smaller units (if not already small enough), and passes the smaller units down to the network layer. The transport layer at the destination station reassembles the message.
Message acknowledgment: provides reliable end-to-end message delivery with acknowledgments.
Message traffic control: tells the transmitting station to “back-off” when no message buffers are available.
Session multiplexing: multiplexes several message streams, or sessions onto one logical link and keeps track of which messages belong to which sessions
(see session layer).
Typically, the transport layer can accept relatively large messages, but there are strict message size limits imposed by the network (or lower) layer. Consequently, the transport layer must break up the messages into smaller units, or frames, prepending a header to each frame.
The transport layer header information must then include control information, such as message start and message end flags, to enable the transport layer on the other end to recognize message boundaries. In addition, if the lower layers do not maintain sequence, the transport header must contain sequence information to enable the transport layer on the receiving end to get the pieces back together in the right order before handing the received message up to the layer above.
End-to-end layers –
Unlike the lower “subnet” layers whose protocol is between immediately adjacent nodes, the transport layer and the layers above are true “source to destination” or end-to-end layers, and are not concerned with the details of the underlying communications facility. Transport layer software (and software above it) on the source station carries on a conversation with similar software on the destination station by using message headers and control messages.
SESSION LAYER –
The session layer allows session establishment between processes running on different stations. It provides:
Session establishment, maintenance and termination: allows two application processes on different machines to establish, use and terminate a connection, called a session.
Session support: performs the functions that allow these processes to communicate over the network, performing security, name recognition, logging, and so on.
PRESENTATION LAYER –
The presentation layer formats the data to be presented to the application layer. It can be viewed as the translator for the network. This layer may translate data from a format used by the application layer into a common format at the sending station, then translate the common format to a format known to the application layer at the receiving station.
The presentation layer provides:
Character code translation: for example, ASCII to EBCDIC.
Data conversion: bit order, CR-CR/LF, integer-floating point, and so on.
Data compression: reduces the number of bits that need to be transmitted on the network.
Data encryption: encrypt data for security purposes. For example, password encryption.
APPLICATION LAYER –
The application layer serves as the window for users and application processes to access network services. This layer contains a variety of commonly needed functions:
Resource sharing and device redirection
Remote file access –
Remote printer access –
Inter-process communication –
Network management –
Directory services –
Electronic messaging (such as mail)
Network virtual terminals –
The following were incorrect answers:
Application Layer – The application layer serves as the window for users and application processes to access network services.
Network layer – The network layer controls the operation of the subnet, deciding which physical path the data should take based on network conditions, priority of service, and other factors.
Physical Layer – The physical layer, the lowest layer of the OSI model, is concerned with the transmission and reception of the unstructured raw bit stream over a physical medium. It describes the electrical/optical, mechanical, and functional interfaces to the physical medium, and carries the signals for all of the higher layers.
The following reference(s) were/was used to create this question:
CISA review manual 2014 Page number 260
and
Official ISC2 guide to CISSP CBK 3rd Edition Page number 287
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tcp_protocol

Question 22

A copy of evidence or oral description of its contents; which is not as reliable as best evidence is what type of evidence?

A. Direct evidence

B. Circumstantial evidence

C. Hearsay evidence

D. Secondary evidence

 


Suggested Answer: D

Community Answer: C

Secondary evidence is a copy of evidence or oral description of its contents; not as reliable as best evidence
Here are other types of evidence:
Best evidence original or primary evidence rather than a copy of duplicate of the evidence
Direct evidence proves or disproves a specific act through oral testimony based on information gathered through the witnesss five senses
Conclusive evidence incontrovertible; overrides all other evidence
Opinions two types: Expert may offer an opinion based on personal expertise and facts, Non-expert may testify only as to facts
Circumstantial evidence inference of information from other, immediate, relevant facts
Corroborative evidence supporting evidence used to help prove an idea or point; used as a supplementary tool to help prove a primary piece of evidence
Hearsay evidence (3rdparty) oral or written evidence that is presented in court that is second hand and has no firsthand proof of accuracy or reliability
(i) Usually not admissible in court
(ii) Computer generated records and other business records are in hearsay category
(iii) Certain exceptions to hearsay rule:
(1) Made during the regular conduct of business and authenticated by witnesses familiar with their use
(2) Relied upon in the regular course of business
(3) Made by a person with knowledge of records
(4) Made by a person with information transmitted by a person with knowledge
(5) Made at or near the time of occurrence of the act being investigated
(6) In the custody of the witness on a regular basis
Reference:
KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Page 310. and
CISSP for Dummies, Peter Gregory, page 270-271

Question 23

A central authority determines what subjects can have access to certain objects based on the organizational security policy is called:

A. Mandatory Access Control

B. Discretionary Access Control

C. Non-Discretionary Access Control

D. Rule-based Access control

 


Suggested Answer: C

Community Answer: A

A central authority determines what subjects can have access to certain objects based on the organizational security policy.
The key focal point of this question is the ‘central authority’ that determines access rights.
Cecilia one of the quiz user has sent me feedback informing me that NIST defines MAC as: “MAC Policy means that Access Control Policy Decisions are made by a CENTRAL AUTHORITY. Which seems to indicate there could be two good answers to this question.
However if you read the NISTR document mentioned in the references below, it is also mentioned that: MAC is the most mentioned NDAC policy. So MAC is a form of NDAC policy.
Within the same document it is also mentioned: “In general, all access control policies other than DAC are grouped in the category of non- discretionary access control (NDAC). As the name implies, policies in this category have rules that are not established at the discretion of the user. Non-discretionary policies establish controls that cannot be changed by users, but only through administrative action.”
Under NDAC you have two choices:
Rule Based Access control and Role Base Access Control
MAC is implemented using RULES which makes it fall under RBAC which is a form of NDAC. It is a subset of NDAC.
This question is representative of what you can expect on the real exam where you have more than once choice that seems to be right. However, you have to look closely if one of the choices would be higher level or if one of the choice falls under one of the other choice. In this case NDAC is a better choice because
MAC is falling under NDAC through the use of Rule Based Access Control.
The following are incorrect answers:
MANDATORY ACCESS CONTROL –
In Mandatory Access Control the labels of the object and the clearance of the subject determines access rights, not a central authority. Although a central authority (Better known as the Data Owner) assigns the label to the object, the system does the determination of access rights automatically by comparing the
Object label with the Subject clearance. The subject clearance MUST dominate (be equal or higher) than the object being accessed.
The need for a MAC mechanism arises when the security policy of a system dictates that:
1. Protection decisions must not be decided by the object owner.
2. The system must enforce the protection decisions (i.e., the system enforces the security policy over the wishes or intentions of the object owner).
Usually a labeling mechanism and a set of interfaces are used to determine access based on the MAC policy; for example, a user who is running a process at the
Secret classification should not be allowed to read a file with a label of Top Secret. This is known as the “simple security rule,” or “no read up.”
Conversely, a user who is running a process with a label of Secret should not be allowed to write to a file with a label of Confidential. This rule is called the “*- property” (pronounced “star property”) or “no write down.” The *-property is required to maintain system security in an automated environment.
DISCRETIONARY ACCESS CONTROL –
In Discretionary Access Control the rights are determined by many different entities, each of the persons who have created files and they are the owner of that file, not one central authority.
DAC leaves a certain amount of access control to the discretion of the object’s owner or anyone else who is authorized to control the object’s access. For example, it is generally used to limit a user’s access to a file; it is the owner of the file who controls other users’ accesses to the file. Only those users specified by the owner may have some combination of read, write, execute, and other permissions to the file.
DAC policy tends to be very flexible and is widely used in the commercial and government sectors. However, DAC is known to be inherently weak for two reasons:
First, granting read access is transitive; for example, when Ann grants Bob read access to a file, nothing stops Bob from copying the contents of Anns file to an object that Bob controls. Bob may now grant any other user access to the copy of Anns file without Anns knowledge.
Second, DAC policy is vulnerable to Trojan horse attacks. Because programs inherit the identity of the invoking user, Bob may, for example, write a program for
Ann that, on the surface, performs some useful function, while at the same time destroys the contents of Anns files. When investigating the problem, the audit files would indicate that Ann destroyed her own files. Thus, formally, the drawbacks of DAC are as follows:
Discretionary Access Control (DAC) Information can be copied from one object to another; therefore, there is no real assurance on the flow of information in a system.
No restrictions apply to the usage of information when the user has received it.
The privileges for accessing objects are decided by the owner of the object, rather than through a system-wide policy that reflects the organizations security requirements.
ACLs and owner/group/other access control mechanisms are by far the most common mechanism for implementing DAC policies. Other mechanisms, even though not designed with DAC in mind, may have the capabilities to implement a DAC policy.
RULE BASED ACCESS CONTROL –
In Rule-based Access Control a central authority could in fact determine what subjects can have access when assigning the rules for access. However, the rules actually determine the access and so this is not the most correct answer.
RuBAC (as opposed to RBAC, role-based access control) allow users to access systems and information based on pre determined and configured rules. It is important to note that there is no commonly understood definition or formally defined standard for rule-based access control as there is for DAC, MAC, and RBAC.
“Rule-based access” is a generic term applied to systems that allow some form of organization-defined rules, and therefore rule-based access control encompasses a broad range of systems. RuBAC may in fact be combined with other models, particularly RBAC or DAC. A RuBAC system intercepts every access request and compares the rules with the rights of the user to make an access decision. Most of the rule-based access control relies on a security label system, which dynamically composes a set of rules defined by a security policy. Security labels are attached to all objects, including files, directories, and devices.
Sometime roles to subjects (based on their attributes) are assigned as well. RuBAC meets the business needs as well as the technical needs of controlling service access. It allows business rules to be applied to access controlfor example, customers who have overdue balances may be denied service access. As a mechanism for MAC, rules of RuBAC cannot be changed by users. The rules can be established by any attributes of a system related to the users such as domain, host, protocol, network, or IP addresses. For example, suppose that a user wants to access an object in another network on the other side of a router.
The router employs RuBAC with the rule composed by the network addresses, domain, and protocol to decide whether or not the user can be granted access. If employees change their roles within the organization, their existing authentication credentials remain in effect and do not need to be re configured. Using rules in conjunction with roles adds greater flexibility because rules can be applied to people as well as to devices. Rule-based access control can be combined with role- based access control, such that the role of a user is one of the attributes in rule setting. Some provisions of access control systems have rule- based policy engines in addition to a role-based policy engine and certain implemented dynamic policies [Des03]. For example, suppose that two of the primary types of software users are product engineers and quality engineers. Both groups usually have access to the same data, but they have different roles to perform in relation to the data and the application’s function. In addition, individuals within each group have different job responsibilities that may be identified using several types of attributes such as developing programs and testing areas. Thus, the access decisions can be made in real time by a scripted policy that regulates the access between the groups of product engineers and quality engineers, and each individual within these groups. Rules can either replace or complement role-based access control. However, the creation of rules and security policies is also a complex process, so each organization will need to strike the appropriate balance.
References used for this question:
http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistir/7316/NISTIR-7316.pdf and
AIO v3 p162-167 and OIG (2007) p.186-191
also
KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Page 33.

Question 24

Guards are appropriate whenever the function required by the security program involves which of the following?

A. The use of discriminating judgment

B. The use of physical force

C. The operation of access control devices

D. The need to detect unauthorized access

 


Suggested Answer: The Answer: The use of discriminating judgment, a guard can make the determinations that hardware or other automated security devices cannot make due to its

Community Answer: A

ability to adjust to rapidly changing conditions, to learn and alter recognizable patterns, and to respond to various conditions in the environment. Guards are better at making value decisions at times of incidents. They are appropriate whenever immediate, discriminating judgment is required by the security entity.
The following answers are incorrect:
The use of physical force This is not the best answer. A guard provides discriminating judgment, and the ability to discern the need for physical force.
The operation of access control devices A guard is often uninvolved in the operations of an automated access control device such as a biometric reader, a smart lock, mantrap, etc.
The need to detect unauthorized access The primary function of a guard is not to detect unauthorized access, but to prevent unauthorized physical access attempts and may deter social engineering attempts.
The following reference(s) were/was used to create this question:
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter
10: Physical security (page 339).
Source: ISC2 Offical Guide to the CBK page 288-289.

Question 25

In a hierarchical PKI the highest CA is regularly called Root CA, it is also referred to by which one of the following term?

A. Subordinate CA

B. Top Level CA

C. Big CA

D. Master CA B

 


Suggested Answer: Explanation

Community Answer: B

Reference: Arsenault, Turner, Internet X.509 Public Key Infrastructure: Roadmap, Chapter “Terminology”.
Also note that sometimes other terms such as Certification Authority Anchor (CAA) might be used within some government organization, Top level CA is another common term to indicate the top level CA, Top Level Anchor could also be used.

Question 26

External consistency ensures that the data stored in the database is:

A. in-consistent with the real world.

B. remains consistant when sent from one system to another.

C. consistent with the logical world.

D. consistent with the real world.

 


Suggested Answer: D

External consistency ensures that the data stored in the database is consistent with the real world.
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, page 33.

Question 27

Which of the following is not one of the three goals of Integrity addressed by the Clark-Wilson model?

A. Prevention of the modification of information by unauthorized users.

B. Prevention of the unauthorized or unintentional modification of information by authorized users.

C. Preservation of the internal and external consistency.

D. Prevention of the modification of information by authorized users.

 


Suggested Answer: A

Community Answer: D

There is no need to prevent modification from authorized users. They are authorized and allowed to make the changes. On top of this, it is also NOT one of the goal of Integrity within Clark-Wilson.
As it turns out, the Biba model addresses only the first of the three integrity goals which is Prevention of the modification of information by unauthorized users.
Clark-Wilson addresses all three goals of integrity.
The ClarkWilson model improves on Biba by focusing on integrity at the transaction level and addressing three major goals of integrity in a commercial environment. In addition to preventing changes by unauthorized subjects, Clark and Wilson realized that high-integrity systems would also have to prevent undesirable changes by authorized subjects and to ensure that the system continued to behave consistently. It also recognized that it would need to ensure that there is constant mediation between every subject and every object if such integrity was going to be maintained.
Integrity is addressed through the following three goals:
1. Prevention of the modification of information by unauthorized users.
2. Prevention of the unauthorized or unintentional modification of information by authorized users.
3. Preservation of the internal and external consistency.
The following reference(s) were used for this question:
Hernandez CISSP, Steven (2012-12-21). Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK, Third Edition ((ISC)2 Press) (Kindle Locations 17689-17694). Auerbach
Publications. Kindle Edition.
and
KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Page 31.

Question 28

Why would a memory dump be admissible as evidence in court?

A. Because it is used to demonstrate the truth of the contents.

B. Because it is used to identify the state of the system.

C. Because the state of the memory cannot be used as evidence.

D. Because of the exclusionary rule.

 


Suggested Answer: B

Community Answer: A

A memory dump can be admitted as evidence if it acts merely as a statement of fact. A system dump is not considered hearsay because it is used to identify the state of the system, not the truth of the contents. The exclusionary rule mentions that evidence must be gathered legally or it can’t be used. This choice is a distracter.
Source: ANDRESS, Mandy, Exam Cram CISSP, Coriolis, 2001, Chapter 10: Law, Investigation, and Ethics (page 187).

Question 29

In order to enable users to perform tasks and duties without having to go through extra steps it is important that the security controls and mechanisms that are in place have a degree of?

A. Complexity

B. Non-transparency

C. Transparency

D. Simplicity

 


Suggested Answer: C

Community Answer: D

The security controls and mechanisms that are in place must have a degree of transparency.
This enables the user to perform tasks and duties without having to go through extra steps because of the presence of the security controls. Transparency also does not let the user know too much about the controls, which helps prevent him from figuring out how to circumvent them. If the controls are too obvious, an attacker can figure out how to compromise them more easily.
Security (more specifically, the implementation of most security controls) has long been a sore point with users who are subject to security controls. Historically, security controls have been very intrusive to users, forcing them to interrupt their work flow and remember arcane codes or processes (like long passwords or access codes), and have generally been seen as an obstacle to getting work done. In recent years, much work has been done to remove that stigma of security controls as a detractor from the work process adding nothing but time and money. When developing access control, the system must be as transparent as possible to the end user. The users should be required to interact with the system as little as possible, and the process around using the control should be engineered so as to involve little effort on the part of the user.
For example, requiring a user to swipe an access card through a reader is an effective way to ensure a person is authorized to enter a room. However, implementing a technology (such as RFID) that will automatically scan the badge as the user approaches the door is more transparent to the user and will do less to impede the movement of personnel in a busy area.
In another example, asking a user to understand what applications and data sets will be required when requesting a system ID and then specifically requesting access to those resources may allow for a great deal of granularity when provisioning access, but it can hardly be seen as transparent. A more transparent process would be for the access provisioning system to have a role-based structure, where the user would simply specify the role he or she has in the organization and the system would know the specific resources that user needs to access based on that role. This requires less work and interaction on the part of the user and will lead to more accurate and secure access control decisions because access will be based on predefined need, not user preference.
When developing and implementing an access control system special care should be taken to ensure that the control is as transparent to the end user as possible and interrupts his work flow as little as possible.
The following answers were incorrect:
All of the other detractors were incorrect.
Reference(s) used for this question:
HARRIS, Shon, All-In-One CISSP Certification Exam Guide, 6th edition. Operations Security, Page 1239-1240
Harris, Shon (2012-10-25). CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, 6th Edition (Kindle Locations 25278-25281). McGraw-Hill. Kindle Edition.
Schneiter, Andrew (2013-04-15). Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK, Third Edition : Access Control ((ISC)2 Press) (Kindle Locations 713-729). Auerbach
Publications. Kindle Edition.

Question 30

Communications and network security relates to transmission of which of the following?

A. voice

B. voice and multimedia

C. data and multimedia

D. voice, data and multimedia

 


Suggested Answer: B

From the published (ISC)2 goals for the Certified Information Systems Security Professional candidate:
The CISSP candidate should be familiar to communications and network security as it relates to voice, data, multimedia, and facsimile transmissions in terms of local area, wide area, and remote access.
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Page 57.

Question 31

Within the realm of IT security, which of the following combinations best defines risk?

A. Threat coupled with a breach

B. Threat coupled with a vulnerability

C. Vulnerability coupled with an attack

D. Threat coupled with a breach of security

 


Suggested Answer: The Answer: Threat coupled with a vulnerability. Threats are circumstances or actions with the ability to harm a system. They can destroy or modify data or result

Community Answer: B

an a DoS. Threats by themselves are not acted upon unless there is a vulnerability that can be taken advantage of. Risk enters the equation when a vulnerability
(Flaw or weakness) exists in policies, procedures, personnel management, hardware, software or facilities and can be exploited by a threat agent. Vulnerabilities do not cause harm, but they leave the system open to harm. The combination of a threat with a vulnerability increases the risk to the system of an intrusion.
The following answers are incorrect:
Threat coupled with a breach. A threat is the potential that a particular threat-source will take advantage of a vulnerability. Breaches get around security. It does not matter if a breach is discovered or not, it has still occured and is not a risk of something occuring. A breach would quite often be termed as an incident or intrusion.
Vulnerability coupled with an attack. Vulnerabilities are weaknesses (flaws) in policies, procedures, personnel management, hardware, software or factilities that may result in a harmful intrusion to an IT system. An attack takes advantage of the flaw or vulnerability. Attacks are explicit attempts to violate security, and are more than risk as they are active.
Threat coupled with a breach of security. This is a detractor. Although a threat agent may take advantage of (Breach) vulnerabilities or flaws in systems security.
A threat coupled with a breach of security is more than a risk as this is active.
The following reference(s) may be used to research the Qs in this question:
ISC2 OIG, 2007 p. 66-67 –
Shon Harris AIO v3 p. 71-72

Question 32

Which of the following is the MOST important aspect relating to employee termination?

A. The details of employee have been removed from active payroll files.

B. Company property provided to the employee has been returned.

C. User ID and passwords of the employee have been deleted.

D. The appropriate company staff are notified about the termination.

 


Suggested Answer: D

Community Answer: C

Even though Logical access to information by a terminated employee is possible if the ID and password of the terminated employee has not been deleted this is only one part of the termination procedures. If user ID is not disabled or deleted, it could be possible for the employee without physical access to visit the companies networks remotely and gain access to the information.
Please note that this can also be seen in a different way: the most important thing to do could also be to inform others of the person’s termination, because even if user ID’s and passwords are deleted, a terminated individual could simply socially engineer their way back in by calling an individual he/she used to work with and ask them for access. He could intrude on the facility or use other weaknesses to gain access to information after he has been terminated.
By notifying the appropriate company staff about the termination, they would in turn intitiate account termination, ask the employee to return company property, and all credentials would be withdrawn for the individual concerned. This answer is more complete than simply disabling account.
It seems harsh and cold when this actually takes place , but too many companies have been hurt by vengeful employees who have lashed out at the company when their positions were revoked for one reason or another. If an employee is disgruntled in any way, or the termination is unfriendly, that employees accounts should be disabled right away, and all passwords on all systems changed.
For your exam you should know the information below:
Employee Termination Processes –
Employees join and leave organizations every day. The reasons vary widely, due to retirement,reduction in force, layoffs, termination with or without cause, relocation to another city, careeropportunities with other employers, or involuntary transfers. Terminations may be friendly or unfriendly and will need different levels of care as a result.
Friendly Terminations –
Regular termination is when there is little or no evidence or reason to believe that the termination is not agreeable to both the company and the employee. A standard set of procedures, typically maintained by the human resources department, governs the dismissal of the terminated employee to ensure that company property is returned, and all access is removed. These procedures may include exit interviews and return of keys, identification cards, badges, tokens, and cryptographic keys. Other property, such as laptops, cable locks, credit cards, and phone cards, are also collected. The user manager notifies the security department of the termination to ensure that access is revoked for all platforms and facilities. Some facilities choose to immediately delete the accounts, while others choose to disable the accounts for a policy defined period, for example, 30 days, to account for changes or extensions in the final termination date. The termination process should include a conversation with the departing associate about their continued responsibility for confidentiality of information.
Unfriendly Terminations –
Unfriendly terminations may occur when the individual is fired, involuntarily transferred, laid off,or when the organization has reason to believe that the individual has the means and intention to potentially cause harm to the system. Individuals with technical skills and higher levels of access, such as the systems administrators, computer programmers, database administrators, or any individual with elevated privileges, may present higher risk to the environment. These individuals could alter files, plant logic bombs to create system file damage at a future date, or remove sensitive information. Other disgruntled users could enter erroneous data into the system that may not be discovered for several months. In these situations, immediate termination of systems access is warranted at the time of termination or prior to notifying the employee of the termination. Managing the people aspect of security, from pre-employment to postemployment, is critical to ensure that trustworthy, competent resources are employed to further the business objectives that will protect company information. Each of these actions contributes to preventive, detective, or corrective personnel controls.
The following answers are incorrect:
The other options are less important.
Following reference(s) were/was used to create this question:
CISA review manual 2014 Page number 99
Harris, Shon (2012-10-18). CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, 6th Edition (p. 129). McGraw-Hill. Kindle Edition.

Question 33

Which of the following statements pertaining to packet switching is incorrect?

A. Most data sent today uses digital signals over network employing packet switching.

B. Messages are divided into packets.

C. All packets from a message travel through the same route.

D. Each network node or point examines each packet for routing.

 


Suggested Answer: C

When using packet switching, messages are broken down into packets. Source and destination address are added to each packet so that when passing through a network node, they can be examined and eventually rerouted through different paths as conditions change. All message packets may travel different paths and not arrive in the same order as sent. Packets need to be collected and reassembled into the original message at destination.
Source: TIPTON, Hal, (ISC)2, Introduction to the CISSP Exam presentation.

Question 34

Whose role is it to assign classification level to information?

A. Security Administrator

B. User

C. Owner

D. Auditor

 


Suggested Answer: C

Community Answer: C

The Data/Information Owner is ultimately responsible for the protection of the data. It is the Data/Information Owner that decides upon the classifications of that data they are responsible for.
The data owner decides upon the classification of the data he is responsible for and alters that classification if the business need arises.
The following answers are incorrect:
Security Administrator. Is incorrect because this individual is responsible for ensuring that the access right granted are correct and support the polices and directives that the Data/Information Owner defines.
User. Is Incorrect because the user uses/access the data according to how the Data/Information Owner defined their access.
Auditor. Is incorrect because the Auditor is responsible for ensuring that the access levels are appropriate. The Auditor would verify that the Owner classified the data properly.
References:
CISSP All In One Third Edition, Shon Harris, Page 121

Question 35

The viewing of recorded events after the fact using a closed-circuit TV camera is considered a

A. Preventative control.

B. Detective control

C. Compensating control

D. Corrective control B

 


Suggested Answer: Explanation

Community Answer: B

Detective security controls are like a burglar alarm. They detect and report an unauthorized or undesired event (or an attempted undesired event). Detective security controls are invoked after the undesirable event has occurred. Example detective security controls are log monitoring and review, system audit, file integrity checkers, and motion detection.
Visual surveillance or recording devices such as closed circuit television are used in conjunction with guards in order to enhance their surveillance ability and to record events for future analysis or prosecution.
When events are monitored, it is considered preventative whereas recording of events is considered detective in nature.
Below you have explanations of other types of security controls from a nice guide produce by James Purcell (see reference below):
Preventive security controls are put into place to prevent intentional or unintentional disclosure, alteration, or destruction (D.A.D.) of sensitive information. Some example preventive controls follow:
Policy Unauthorized network connections are prohibited.
Firewall Blocks unauthorized network connections.
Locked wiring closet Prevents unauthorized equipment from being physically plugged into a network switch.
Notice in the preceding examples that preventive controls crossed administrative, technical, and physical categories discussed previously. The same is true for any of the controls discussed in this section.
Corrective security controls are used to respond to and fix a security incident. Corrective security controls also limit or reduce further damage from an attack.
Examples follow:
Procedure to clean a virus from an infected system
A guard checking and locking a door left unlocked by a careless employee
Updating firewall rules to block an attacking IP address
Note that in many cases the corrective security control is triggered by a detective security control.
Recovery security controls are those controls that put a system back into production after an incident. Most Disaster Recovery activities fall into this category. For example, after a disk failure, data is restored from a backup tape.
Directive security controls are the equivalent of administrative controls. Directive controls direct that some action be taken to protect sensitive organizational information. The directive can be in the form of a policy, procedure, or guideline.
Deterrent security controls are controls that discourage security violations. For instance, “Unauthorized Access Prohibited” signage may deter a trespasser from entering an area. The presence of security cameras might deter an employee from stealing equipment. A policy that states access to servers is monitored could deter unauthorized access.
Compensating security controls are controls that provide an alternative to normal controls that cannot be used for some reason. For instance, a certain server cannot have antivirus software installed because it interferes with a critical application. A compensating control would be to increase monitoring of that server or isolate that server on its own network segment.
Note that there is a third popular taxonomy developed by NIST and described in NIST Special Publication 800-53, “Recommended Security Controls for Federal
Information Systems.” NIST categorizes security controls into 3 classes and then further categorizes the controls within the classes into 17 families. Within each security control family are dozens of specific controls. The NIST taxonomy is not covered on the CISSP exam but is one the CISSP should be aware of if you are employed within the US federal workforce.
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter
10: Physical security (page 340).
and
CISSP Study Guide By Eric Conrad, Seth Misenar, Joshua Feldman, page 50-52 and
Security Control Types and Operational Security, James E. Purcell, http://www.giac.org/cissp-papers/207.pdf

Question 36

Which of the following protects a password from eavesdroppers and supports the encryption of communication?

A. Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP)

B. Challenge Handshake Identification Protocol (CHIP)

C. Challenge Handshake Encryption Protocol (CHEP)

D. Challenge Handshake Substitution Protocol (CHSP) A

 


Suggested Answer: Explanation

Community Answer: A

CHAP: A protocol that uses a three way hanbdshake The server sends the client a challenge which includes a random value(a nonce) to thwart replay attacks.
The client responds with the MD5 hash of the nonce and the password.
The authentication is successful if the client’s response is the one that the server expected.
Reference: Page 450, OIG 2007.
CHAP protects the password from eavesdroppers and supports the encryption of communication.
Reference: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Page
44.

Question 37

Which of the following is NOT true about IPSec Tunnel mode?

A. Fundamentally an IP tunnel with encryption and authentication

B. Works at the Transport layer of the OSI model

C. Have two sets of IP headers

D. Established for gateway service

 


Suggested Answer: B

Community Answer: B

IPSec can be run in either tunnel mode or transport mode. Each of these modes has its own particular uses and care should be taken to ensure that the correct one is selected for the solution:
Tunnel mode is most commonly used between gateways, or at an end-station to a gateway, the gateway acting as a proxy for the hosts behind it.
Transport mode is used between end-stations or between an end-station and a gateway, if the gateway is being treated as a hostfor example, an encrypted
Telnet session from a workstation to a router, in which the router is the actual destination.
As Figure 1 shows, basically transport mode should be used for end-to-end sessions and tunnel mode should be used for everything else. (Refer to the figure for the following discussion.)
Figure 1 Tunnel and transport modes in IPSec.
Figure 1 displays some examples of when to use tunnel versus transport mode:
Tunnel mode is most commonly used to encrypt traffic between secure IPSec gateways, such as between the Cisco router and PIX Firewall (as shown in example A in Figure 1). The IPSec gateways proxy IPSec for the devices behind them, such as Alice’s PC and the HR servers in Figure 1. In example A, Alice connects to the HR servers securely through the IPSec tunnel set up between the gateways.
Tunnel mode is also used to connect an end-station running IPSec software, such as the Cisco Secure VPN Client, to an IPSec gateway, as shown in example
B.
In example C, tunnel mode is used to set up an IPSec tunnel between the Cisco router and a server running IPSec software. Note that Cisco IOS software and the PIX Firewall sets tunnel mode as the default IPSec mode.
Transport mode is used between end-stations supporting IPSec, or between an end-station and a gateway, if the gateway is being treated as a host. In example
D, transport mode is used to set up an encrypted Telnet session from Alice’s PC running Cisco Secure VPN Client software to terminate at the PIX Firewall, enabling Alice to remotely configure the PIX Firewall securely.
AH Tunnel Versus Transport Mode –
Figure 2 shows the differences that the IPSec mode makes to AH. In transport mode, AH services protect the external IP header along with the data payload. AH services protect all the fields in the header that don’t change in transport. The header goes after the IP header and before the ESP header, if present, and other higher-layer protocols.
In tunnel mode, the entire original header is authenticated, a new IP header is built, and the new IP header is protected in the same way as the IP header in transport mode.
Figure 2 AH tunnel versus transport mode.
AH is incompatible with Network Address Translation (NAT) because NAT changes the source IP address, which breaks the AH header and causes the packets to be rejected by the IPSec peer.
ESP Tunnel Versus Transport Mode
Figure 3 shows the differences that the IPSec mode makes to ESP. In transport mode, the IP payload is encrypted and the original headers are left intact. The
ESP header is inserted after the IP header and before the upper-layer protocol header. The upper-layer protocols are encrypted and authenticated along with the
ESP header. ESP doesn’t authenticate the IP header itself.
NOTE –
Higher-layer information is not available because it’s part of the encrypted payload.
When ESP is used in tunnel mode, the original IP header is well protected because the entire original IP datagram is encrypted. With an ESP authentication mechanism, the original IP datagram and the ESP header are included; however, the new IP header is not included in the authentication.
When both authentication and encryption are selected, encryption is performed first, before authentication. One reason for this order of processing is that it facilitates rapid detection and rejection of replayed or bogus packets by the receiving node. Prior to decrypting the packet, the receiver can detect the problem and potentially reduce the impact of denial-of-service attacks.
Figure 3 ESP tunnel versus transport mode.
ESP can also provide packet authentication with an optional field for authentication. Cisco IOS software and the PIX Firewall refer to this service as ESP hashed message authentication code (HMAC). Authentication is calculated after the encryption is done. The current IPSec standard specifies SHA-1 and MD5 as the mandatory HMAC algorithms.
The main difference between the authentication provided by ESP and AH is the extent of the coverage. Specifically, ESP doesn’t protect any IP header fields unless those fields are encapsulated by ESP (tunnel mode). Figure 4 illustrates the fields protected by ESP HMAC.
Figure 4 ESP encryption with a keyed HMAC.
IPSec Transforms –
An IPSec transform specifies a single IPSec security protocol (either AH or ESP) with its corresponding security algorithms and mode. Example transforms include the following:
The AH protocol with the HMAC with MD5 authentication algorithm in tunnel mode is used for authentication.
The ESP protocol with the triple DES (3DES) encryption algorithm in transport mode is used for confidentiality of data.
The ESP protocol with the 56-bit DES encryption algorithm and the HMAC with SHA-1 authentication algorithm in tunnel mode is used for authentication and confidentiality.
Transform Sets –
A transform set is a combination of individual IPSec transforms designed to enact a specific security policy for traffic. During the ISAKMP IPSec security association negotiation that occurs in IKE phase 2 quick mode, the peers agree to use a particular transform set for protecting a particular data flow. Transform sets combine the following IPSec factors:
Mechanism for payload authenticationAH transform
Mechanism for payload encryptionESP transform
IPSec mode (transport versus tunnel)
Transform sets equal a combination of an AH transform, plus an ESP transform, plus the IPSec mode (either tunnel or transport mode).
This brings us to the end of the second part of this five-part series of articles covering IPSec. Be sure to catch the next installment.
Cisco Press at: http://www.ciscopress.com/articles/printerfriendly.asp?p=25477 and
Source: TIPTON, Harold F. & KRAUSE, MICKI, Information Security Management Handbook, 4th Edition, Volume 2, 2001, CRC Press, NY, Pages 166-167.

Question 38

Which of the following access control models requires defining classification for objects?

A. Role-based access control

B. Discretionary access control

C. Identity-based access control

D. Mandatory access control

 


Suggested Answer: D

Community Answer: D

With mandatory access control (MAC), the authorization of a subject’s access to an object is dependant upon labels, which indicate the subject’s clearance, and classification of objects.
The Following answers were incorrect:
Identity-based Access Control is a type of Discretionary Access Control (DAC), they are synonymous.
Role Based Access Control (RBAC) and Rule Based Access Control (RuBAC or RBAC) are types of Non Discretionary Access Control (NDAC).
Tip:
When you have two answers that are synonymous they are not the right choice for sure.
There is only one access control model that makes use of Label, Clearances, and Categories, it is Mandatory Access Control, none of the other one makes use of those items.
Reference(s) used for this question:
KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter 2: Access control systems (page 33).

Question 39

Which of the following rules is least likely to support the concept of least privilege?

A. The number of administrative accounts should be kept to a minimum.

B. Administrators should use regular accounts when performing routine operations like reading mail.

C. Permissions on tools that are likely to be used by hackers should be as restrictive as possible.

D. Only data to and from critical systems and applications should be allowed through the firewall.

 


Suggested Answer: D

Community Answer: B

Only data to and from critical systems and applications should be allowed through the firewall is a detractor. Critical systems or applications do not necessarily need to have traffic go through a firewall. Even if they did, only the minimum required services should be allowed. Systems that are not deemed critical may also need to have traffic go through the firewall.
Least privilege is a basic tenet of computer security that means users should be given only those rights required to do their jobs or tasks. Least privilege is ensuring that you have the minimum privileges necessary to do a task. An admin NOT using his admin account to check email is a clear example of this.
Reference(s) used for this question:
National Security Agency, Systems and Network Attack Center (SNAC), The 60 Minute Network Security Guide, February 2002, page 9.

Question 40

What is called the percentage of valid subjects that are falsely rejected by a Biometric Authentication system?

A. False Rejection Rate (FRR) or Type I Error

B. False Acceptance Rate (FAR) or Type II Error

C. Crossover Error Rate (CER)

D. True Rejection Rate (TRR) or Type III Error A

 


Suggested Answer: Explanation

Community Answer: A

The percentage of valid subjects that are falsely rejected is called the False Rejection Rate (FRR) or Type I Error.
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Page 38.

Question 41

Which of the following protects Kerberos against replay attacks?

A. Tokens

B. Passwords

C. Cryptography

D. Time stamps D

 


Suggested Answer: Explanation

Community Answer: D

A replay attack refers to the recording and retransmission of packets on the network. Kerberos uses time stamps, which protect against this type of attack.
Source: HARRIS, Shon, All-In-One CISSP Certification Exam Guide, McGraw-Hill/Osborne, 2002, chapter 8: Cryptography (page 581).

Question 42

Examples of types of physical access controls include all EXCEPT which of the following?

A. badges

B. locks

C. guards

D. passwords

 


Suggested Answer: D

Passwords are considered a Preventive/Technical (logical) control.
The following answers are incorrect:
badges Badges are a physical control used to identify an individual. A badge can include a smart device which can be used for authentication and thus a
Technical control, but the actual badge itself is primarily a physical control. locks Locks are a Preventative Physical control and has no Technical association. guards Guards are a Preventative Physical control and has no Technical association.
The following reference(s) were/was used to create this question:
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter 2:
Access control systems (page 35).

Question 43

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic or shortcoming of packet filtering gateways?

A. The source and destination addresses, protocols, and ports contained in the IP packet header are the only information that is available to the router in making a decision whether or not to permit traffic access to an internal network.

B. They don’t protect against IP or DNS address spoofing.

C. They do not support strong user authentication.

D. They are appropriate for medium-risk environment.

 


Suggested Answer: D

Packet filtering firewalls use routers with packet filtering rules to grant or deny access based on source address, destination address, and port.
They offer minimum security but at a very low cost, and can be an appropriate choice for a low-risk environment.
Source: TIPTON, Harold F. & KRAUSE, Micki, Information Security Management Handbook, 4th edition (volume 1), 2000, CRC Press, Chapter 3, Secured
Connections to External Networks (page 60).

Question 44

Which of the following security modes of operation involves the highest risk?

A. Compartmented Security Mode

B. Multilevel Security Mode

C. System-High Security Mode

D. Dedicated Security Mode

 


Suggested Answer: B

In multilevel mode, two or more classification levels of data exist, some people are not cleared for all the data on the system.
Risk is higher because sensitive data could be made available to someone not validated as being capable of maintaining secrecy of that data (i.e., not cleared for it).
In other security modes, all users have the necessary clearance for all data on the system.
Source: LaROSA, Jeanette (domain leader), Application and System Development Security CISSP Open Study Guide, version 3.0, January 2002.

Question 45

What are the components of an object's sensitivity label?

A. A Classification Set and a single Compartment.

B. A single classification and a single compartment.

C. A Classification Set and user credentials.

D. A single classification and a Compartment Set.

 


Suggested Answer: D

Both are the components of a sensitivity label.
The following are incorrect:
A Classification Set and a single Compartment. Is incorrect because the nomenclature “Classification Set” is incorrect, there only one classifcation and it is not a
“single compartment” but a Compartment Set.
A single classification and a single compartment. Is incorrect because while there only is one classifcation, it is not a “single compartment” but a Compartment Set.
A Classification Set and user credentials. Is incorrect because the nomenclature “Classification Set” is incorrect, there only one classifcation and it is not “user credential” but a Compartment Set. The user would have their own sensitivity label.

Question 46

Like the Kerberos protocol, SESAME is also subject to which of the following?

A. timeslot replay

B. password guessing

C. symmetric key guessing

D. asymmetric key guessing

 


Suggested Answer: B

Community Answer: C

Sesame is an authentication and access control protocol, that also supports communication confidentiality and integrity. It provides public key based authentication along with the Kerberos style authentication, that uses symmetric key cryptography. Sesame supports the Kerberos protocol and adds some security extensions like public key based authentication and an ECMA-style Privilege Attribute Service.
The users under SESAME can authenticate using either symmetric encryption as in Kerberos or Public Key authentication. When using Symmetric Key authentication as in Kerberos, SESAME is also vulnerable to password guessing just like Kerberos would be. The Symmetric key being used is based on the password used by the user when he logged on the system. If the user has a simple password it could be guessed or compromise. Even thou Kerberos or
SESAME may be use, there is still a need to have strong password discipline.
The Basic Mechanism in Sesame for strong authentication is as follow:
The user sends a request for authentication to the Authentication Server as in Kerberos, except that SESAME is making use of public key cryptography for authentication where the client will present his digital certificate and the request will be signed using a digital signature. The signature is communicated to the authentication server through the preauthentication fields. Upon receipt of this request, the authentication server will verifies the certificate, then validate the signature, and if all is fine the AS will issue a ticket granting ticket (TGT) as in Kerberos. This TGT will be use to communicate with the privilage attribute server
(PAS) when access to a resource is needed.
Users may authenticate using either a public key pair or a conventional (symmetric) key. If public key cryptography is used, public key data is transported in preauthentication data fields to help establish identity.
Kerberos uses tickets for authenticating subjects to objects and SESAME uses Privileged Attribute Certificates (PAC), which contain the subjects identity, access capabilities for the object, access time period, and lifetime of the PAC. The PAC is digitally signed so that the object can validate that it came from the trusted authentication server, which is referred to as the privilege attribute server (PAS). The PAS holds a similar role as the KDC within Kerberos. After a user successfully authenticates to the authentication service (AS), he is presented with a token to give to the PAS. The PAS then creates a PAC for the user to present to the resource he is trying to access.
Reference(s) used for this question:
http://srg.cs.uiuc.edu/Security/nephilim/Internal/SESAME.txt
and
KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Page 43.

Question 47

Which of the following would constitute the best example of a password to use for access to a system by a network administrator?

A. holiday

B. Christmas12

C. Jenny

D. GyN19Za!

 


Suggested Answer: D

Community Answer: D

GyN19Za! would be the the best answer because it contains a mixture of upper and lower case characters, alphabetic and numeric characters, and a special character making it less vulnerable to password attacks.
All of the other answers are incorrect because they are vulnerable to brute force or dictionary attacks. Passwords should not be common words or names. The addition of a number to the end of a common word only marginally strengthens it because a common password attack would also check combinations of words:
Christmas23 –
Christmas123 –
etc…

Question 48

Which of the following choice is NOT normally part of the questions that would be asked in regards to an organization's information security policy?

A. Who is involved in establishing the security policy?

B. Where is the organization’s security policy defined?

C. What are the actions that need to be performed in case of a disaster?

D. Who is responsible for monitoring compliance to the organization’s security policy? C

 


Suggested Answer: Explanation

Community Answer: C

Actions to be performed in case of a disaster are not normally part of an information security policy but part of a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP).
Only personnel implicated in the plan should have a copy of the Disaster Recovery Plan whereas everyone should be aware of the contents of the organization’s information security policy.
Source: ALLEN, Julia H., The CERT Guide to System and Network Security Practices, Addison-Wesley, 2001, Appendix B, Practice-Level Policy Considerations
(page 398).

Question 49

Which of the following is NOT a technique used to perform a penetration test?

A. traffic padding

B. scanning and probing

C. war dialing

D. sniffing

 


Suggested Answer: A

Community Answer: D

Traffic padding is a countermeasure to traffic analysis.
Even if perfect cryptographic routines are used, the attacker can gain knowledge of the amount of traffic that was generated. The attacker might not know what
Alice and Bob were talking about, but can know that they were talking and how much they talked. In certain circumstances this can be very bad. Consider for example when a military is organising a secret attack against another nation: it may suffice to alert the other nation for them to know merely that there is a lot of secret activity going on.
As another example, when encrypting Voice Over IP streams that use variable bit rate encoding, the number of bits per unit of time is not obscured, and this can be exploited to guess spoken phrases.
Padding messages is a way to make it harder to do traffic analysis. Normally, a number of random bits are appended to the end of the message with an indication at the end how much this random data is. The randomness should have a minimum value of 0, a maximum number of N and an even distribution between the two extremes. Note, that increasing 0 does not help, only increasing N helps, though that also means that a lower percentage of the channel will be used to transmit real data. Also note, that since the cryptographic routine is assumed to be uncrackable (otherwise the padding length itself is crackable), it does not help to put the padding anywhere else, e.g. at the beginning, in the middle, or in a sporadic manner.
The other answers are all techniques used to do Penetration Testing.
References:
KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, pages 233, 238. and https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Padding_%28cryptography%29#Traffic_analysis

Question 50

Which of the following is the act of performing tests and evaluations to test a system's security level to see if it complies with the design specifications and security requirements?

A. Validation

B. Verification

C. Assessment

D. Accuracy

 


Suggested Answer: B

Community Answer: C

Verification vs. Validation:
Verification determines if the product accurately represents and meets the specifications. A product can be developed that does not match the original specifications. This step ensures that the specifications are properly met.
Validation determines if the product provides the necessary solution intended real-world problem. In large projects, it is easy to lose sight of overall goal. This exercise ensures that the main goal of the project is met.
From DITSCAP:
6.3.2. Phase 2, Verification. The Verification phase shall include activities to verify compliance of the system with previously agreed security requirements. For each life-cycle development activity, DoD Directive 5000.1 (reference (i)), there is a corresponding set of security activities, enclosure 3, that shall verify compliance with the security requirements and evaluate vulnerabilities.
6.3.3. Phase 3, Validation. The Validation phase shall include activities to evaluate the fully integrated system to validate system operation in a specified computing environment with an acceptable level of residual risk. Validation shall culminate in an approval to operate.
You must also be familiar with Verification and Validation for the purpose of the exam. A simple definition for Verification would be whether or not the developers followed the design specifications along with the security requirements. A simple definition for Validation would be whether or not the final product meets the end user needs and can be use for a specific purpose.
Wikipedia has an informal description that is currently written as: Validation can be expressed by the query “Are you building the right thing?” and Verification by
“Are you building it right?
NOTE:
DITSCAP was replaced by DIACAP some time ago (2007). While DITSCAP had defined both a verification and a validation phase, the DIACAP only has a validation phase. It may not make a difference in the answer for the exam; however, DIACAP is the cornerstone policy of DOD C&A and IA efforts today. Be familiar with both terms just in case all of a sudden the exam becomes updated with the new term.
Reference(s) used for this question:
Harris, Shon (2012-10-18). CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, 6th Edition (p. 1106). McGraw-Hill. Kindle Edition. http://iase.disa.mil/ditscap/DITSCAP.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verification_and_validation
For the definition of “validation” in DIACAP, Click Here
Further sources for the phases in DIACAP, Click Here

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