CompTIA Security+ Practice Test (SY0-701)

Exposure Factor is the percentage of the asset's value that is estimated to be lost due to a security incident. It represents the magnitude of the impact should a security breach occur in terms of the asset's value. In this scenario, identifying the percentage of the $2 million in assets that would potentially be lost during a network compromise is a direct application of the 'Exposure Factor' concept.

Honeytokens are uniquely crafted bait elements embedded within data systems to detect unauthorized access. They can be any type of data, such as fake records or credentials, that appear legitimate but are monitored for interactions. When a honeytoken is accessed or used, it triggers an alert, allowing the security team to identify and respond to potential security breaches. While a honeyfile is a specific type of honeytoken in the form of a file, using honeytokens provides a broader approach, not limited to just files. Honeypots and honeynets involve setting up decoy systems or networks, which are more suited for detecting external attackers rather than monitoring interactions within data repositories.

The organization has implemented a detective control. Detective controls are designed to identify and alert when a security incident occurs. The scenario describes a monitoring system that flags unusual behavior, which aligns with the detection and alerting function of a detective control. Preventive controls aim to stop incidents from occurring before they happen, which is not the focus in this scenario. Corrective controls are instituted to limit the damage after an incident has occurred, which is again not the main function described. While compensating controls provide an alternative measure if primary controls fail or are not feasible, the scenario directly mentions the implementation was a response to a previous undetected breach, indicating it is a primary monitoring solution, not a compensatory one.

Global considerations are crucial when an organization operates across international borders. In this scenario, expanding to the European Union and South America requires adherence to multinational regulations like the GDPR and various other international data protection laws. This falls under the 'Global' category of external governance considerations. National or regional laws apply within a single country's borders, but the context of operating in multiple distinct international jurisdictions makes this a global issue.

Patch availability is important because patches fix security vulnerabilities and bugs in software, improving the security posture of the system. Without timely patch deployment, systems can remain susceptible to exploits and attacks.

Refining the correlation rules to establish more stringent alert criteria can significantly decrease the amount of false positive alerts generated by a Security Information and Event Management system. By defining more precise conditions for when an alert should be triggered, a SIEM can more accurately differentiate between standard operations and suspicious activities. Adjustments must be crafted carefully to minimize the risk of missing true security incidents. Altering system thresholds indiscriminately might suppress important warnings, while focus solely on historical data analysis may not take into account novel or evolving threats. Disabling alerts for activities that are considered to be low risk can be risky, as they might cumulatively indicate a security threat if analyzed in context.

Storing encrypted backups at a geographically separate, offsite location is the most effective strategy. This approach ensures that if a physical disaster like an earthquake destroys the primary data center, a complete copy of the data is safe and available for recovery at a different location. Onsite solutions like RAID or local snapshots would be destroyed along with the data center, and a fireproof safe in the same building would not protect against the building's collapse.

Data at rest is the term for data that is not actively moving from device to device or network to network. This includes data stored on media such as hard drives, SSDs, and backup tapes. Data in transit is data actively moving across a network. Data in use refers to data that is currently being processed by a CPU or is in memory.

The correct answer is 'Data in use'. Data in use refers to information that is currently being processed by an application, being in the immediate memory or CPU, and it is not at rest or in the process of being transmitted. 'Data at rest' describes data that is stored on a physical medium and is not actively being accessed or processed. 'Data in transit' refers to data that is moving through the network or telecommunication channels. 'Encrypted data' is a state that can apply to any of the three data states (at rest, in use, or in transit) and merely specifies that the data is encrypted, not that it is being processed by an application.

Regular self-assessments allow an organization to measure and analyze the effectiveness, efficiency, and compliance of its security governance against internal standards and regulatory requirements. This proactive approach serves to identify gaps or weaknesses before they can be exploited, providing an opportunity for improvements and risk mitigation strategies to be implemented. Assessments focused only on technology do not capture the full scope of security governance, and limiting assessments to after an incident occurs would not provide the proactive benefits of regular, preemptive analysis and adjustments.

A Blackmail motivation typically involves the threat of revealing sensitive information unless a demand (often for payment) is met, which aligns with the modus operandi of organized crime groups. Organized crime syndicates are known for seeking financial gain through coercion and intimidation, making them the most likely to engage in blackmail. Nation-state actors, while possessing the capability for such actions, are usually driven by espionage or political objectives. Unskilled attackers often lack the expertise to obtain and leverage sensitive information effectively, and hacktivists are generally motivated by political or social objectives, not financial gain through extortion.

Automation in security program management refers to the use of technology to perform repetitive and routine tasks without human intervention, which increases efficiency and consistency while reducing human error. Automation can encompass a wide range of processes, from compliance reporting to vulnerability management. For example, automating patch management ensures that systems are updated consistently without the need for manual oversight. In contrast, artificial intelligence would be focused on the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, social engineering is a manipulation technique that exploits human error to gain private information, and encryption standardization is about defining protocols for encrypting data, not automating processes.

A Code Signing certificate allows developers to sign software digitally, which verifies the integrity of the software and ensures that it has not been tampered with since being signed. Self-Signed certificates could be used but aren't typically trusted by users' operating systems or browsers by default, thereby potentially raising security warnings. An Email certificate is used for securing email communication and ensuring the authenticity of the sender, not for software integrity. A Root certificate is at the top of a certificate chain and signs other certificates rather than being directly used to sign software.

Tokenization transforms sensitive data into a token, which is a unique identifier that has no meaningful value outside of the tokenization system. Unlike encryption that can be reversed with the decryption key, tokenized data requires access to the original mapping in the tokenization system to convert it back, ensuring enhanced security by preventing reverse-engineering of the tokens if the database is compromised. In the case of protecting credit card information, tokenization is ideal because the tokens can be used for transactional processes without exposing actual credit card numbers.

The component designed to be integrated into a computing device for securing cryptographic keys is the Trusted Platform Module. It provides hardware-based security by managing keys within a protected environment, isolated from the operating system. A Hardware Security Module is a dedicated external device used for managing keys, not typically integrated directly on a computer's motherboard. Biometric sensors and secure boot are unrelated to the secure storage and handling of cryptographic keys. Biometric sensors are used for authentication purposes, while secure boot is a process ensuring the integrity of the operating system's boot process.