CompTIA Security+ Practice Test (SY0-701)

Implementing a VPN would provide encrypted connections from remote locations to the data center, allowing for secure communication while limiting exposure to attacks. A proxy server primarily acts as an intermediary for users seeking resources from other servers and might not provide the necessary encryption for all communications. Intrusion detection systems (IDS) are crucial for monitoring and detecting potential threats but do not directly provide secure access for remote users. While a jump server can provide a controlled entry point into a network, it's not as comprehensive for remote access security as a VPN, which also encrypts the data in transit.

The primary goal of a tabletop exercise is to verify the effectiveness of an organization's incident response plan through a facilitated discussion on how to address and manage hypothetical security incidents. This non-technical assessment focuses on communication, coordination, and decision-making processes, distinguishing it from other forms of response drills that involve active technical engagement.

The pattern described suggests a reconnaissance action, possibly an attacker performing a directory traversal to uncover hidden files, directories, or exploit potential vulnerabilities. Normal browsing behavior usually involves fewer requests and focuses on typical, user-facing paths. Client-side scripting refers to scripts running in a user's browser, generally not visible on server logs. A misconfigured scheduled task might repeatedly access the same path, not different uncommon ones.

Role-based access control (RBAC) is effective for restricting access to data within an application based on a user's role within an organization. RBAC policies ensure that only authorized users are granted the permissions necessary to access, modify, or interact with sensitive data, thus maintaining the principle of least privilege. It simplifies management and helps in effectively enforcing enterprise security policies.

While mandatory access control (MAC) and discretionary access control (DAC) are valid access control models, MAC is more commonly used in environments requiring high security and enforces access based on classified levels, which may be overly complex for a web application in a business setting. DAC, on the other hand, is based on the discretion of the owner, which could lead to a lack of consistent policy enforcement.

Username and password authentication, although necessary for verifying identity, does not inherently restrict actions based on user roles, hence it would not be effective on its own in this scenario for controlling permissions.

Tokenization is the best answer because it substitutes the sensitive data with non-sensitive equivalents, known as tokens, which have no exploitable value. This allows the company to process transactions without exposing actual credit card data, significantly reducing the risk of breaches while still enabling business functionality.

This statement is correct. In the cloud shared responsibility model, particularly for IaaS, the customer retains responsibility for securing their own data. This includes classifying the data, deciding what to encrypt, and managing the encryption configurations and keys. While the cloud provider is responsible for the security of the cloud (the physical infrastructure), the customer is responsible for security in the cloud, which encompasses their data, applications, and guest operating systems. The provider offers encryption tools, but the customer must choose to implement and manage them for their data.

The primary role of monitoring in relation to indicators within a security infrastructure is to identify unusual patterns or behavior that may signify a security incident. While it might also help in enforcing policy by triggering alerts when anomalies are detected, and can be instrumental in retrospective analysis after an incident, its essential function centers on the prompt detection of potentially malicious activity. Understanding the nuances of monitoring's main role is important in distinguishing it from ancillary benefits such as policy enforcement or post-incident analysis.

Media sanitization is defined by NIST SP 800-88 as a process that makes access to the data infeasible. Sanitization can be accomplished by methods such as overwriting, cryptographic erase, degaussing (for magnetic media), or physical destruction, depending on the device. Simply formatting, deleting files, or disabling hardware does not guarantee that residual data cannot be recovered.

Implementing an application allow list involves creating a list of approved software that is permitted to run on company systems, effectively preventing any non-approved software from executing. This method enhances security by ensuring that only trusted applications are allowed to operate, thus minimizing the likelihood of malicious software running on the network. Options suggesting users decide on the software or only listing unapproved software do not conform to the concept of an application allow list. Allowing any installed software to run would defeat the security benefits of an allow list.

Blackmail involves threatening to reveal sensitive or damaging information unless specific demands are met. In this scenario, the attacker is leveraging confidential documents to coerce the company. Espionage involves gathering information for intelligence purposes, typically for a foreign entity. Revenge is motivated by a desire to retaliate for a perceived wrong, and sabotage aims to deliberately destroy or damage assets. Therefore, blackmail is the primary motivation described.

The documentation should be updated whenever changes are made to the security infrastructure. This includes major upgrades such as the implementation of a new firewall. Updating the documentation ensures that accurate information is available for the operation and maintenance of the security controls, as well as for audit purposes. Failing to update documentation can lead to confusion, improper configuration, and weaknesses in security. The incorrect options, while they may be important in other contexts, do not directly address the primary need for keeping an accurate historical record of system configurations and policy changes that affect security operations.

Benchmarks are collections of security configuration settings that provide guidance for the secure setup of systems and applications. They are often developed by communities of cybersecurity experts and provide a standard set of practices for ensuring that a technology is deployed securely.

The most effective method to ensure that critical alarms are not missed and are responded to promptly is to have them sent directly to a dedicated communication channel for the cybersecurity team. This could include push notifications on their phones or messaging apps specifically designated for immediate cybersecurity alerts. Adjusting the notification parameters to reduce noise would not be as effective without a direct line of communication. Scheduling daily reviews of logs could lead to delays in response time, which can be detrimental in case of an emergency response. Lastly, setting up an automated ticketing system adds unnecessary delay in a situation that may require an immediate reaction.

The correct answer is to subscribe to and analyze threat intelligence feeds. Threat intelligence feeds provide up-to-date information on emerging threats, new attack vectors, malware, and adversary tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs). This allows security professionals to proactively adjust defenses against new threats. While the other options are valid security practices, they are not the most effective for identifying emerging threats. Regular vulnerability scanning is crucial for finding known vulnerabilities in the current environment but is reactive to what is already known. Enforcing stronger password policies is a fundamental security control but does not provide insight into new attack methods. Annual penetration testing validates existing defenses against known attack types but is a point-in-time assessment and less effective for continuous monitoring of new, evolving threats.

An independent third-party audit provides an unbiased review of security controls and practices. It is frequently required by regulatory standards in sensitive industries, such as finance, to ensure controls are up to the required effectiveness because internal teams may have inherent biases or conflicts of interest. A self-assessment, while valuable, can be biased due to internal influence. Penetration testing is a proactive security measure but does not constitute an independent review of all operational security processes. Monitoring by an internal audit committee will not fulfill the requirement for an unbiased and independent evaluation as required by many regulatory frameworks.