Free Access CompTIA SY0-601 New Release

To prevent such a breach in the future, the BEST control to use would be Password complexity.

Password complexity is a security measure that requires users to create strong passwords that are difficult to guess or crack. It can help prevent unauthorized access to systems and data by making it more difficult for attackers to guess or crack passwords.

The best control to use to prevent a breach like the one shown in the logs is password complexity. Password complexity requires users to create passwords that are harder to guess, by including a mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. In the logs, the attacker was able to guess the user's password using a dictionary attack, which means that the password was not complex enough. References:

• CompTIA Security+ Certification Exam Objectives - Exam SY0-601

An incident response plan is a set of procedures and guidelines that defines how an organization should respond to a security incident. An incident response plan typically includes the following phases: preparation, identification, containment, eradication, recovery, and lessons learned.

If the help desk has received calls from users in multiple locations who are unable to access core network services, it could indicate that a network outage or a denial-of-service attack has occurred. The network team has identified and turned off the network switches using remote commands, which could be a containment measure to isolate the affected devices and prevent further damage.

The next action that the network team should take is to initiate the organization’s incident response plan, which would involve notifying the appropriate stakeholders, such as management, security team, legal team, etc., and following the predefined steps to investigate, analyze, document, and resolve the incident.

The other options are not correct because:

• A. Disconnect all external network connections from the firewall. This could be another containment measure to prevent external attackers from accessing the network, but it would also disrupt legitimate network traffic and services. This action should be taken only if it is part of the incident response plan and after notifying the relevant parties.
• B. Send response teams to the network switch locations to perform updates. This could be a recovery measure to restore normal network operations and apply patches or updates to prevent future incidents, but it should be done only after the incident has been properly identified, contained, and eradicated.
• C. Turn on all the network switches by using the centralized management software. This could be a recovery measure to restore normal network operations, but it should be done only after the incident has been properly identified, contained, and eradicated.

According to CompTIA Security+ SY0-601 Exam Objectives 1.5 Given a scenario, analyze indicators of compromise and determine the type of malware:

“An incident response plan is a set of procedures and guidelines that defines how an organization should respond to a security incident. An incident response plan typically includes the following phases: preparation, identification, containment, eradication, recovery, and lessons learned.”

References:

Symmetric encryption allows data to be encrypted and decrypted using the same key. This is useful when the data needs to be accessed and manipulated while still encrypted. References: CompTIA Security+ Study Guide, Exam SY0-601, Chapter 6

A security patch is a software update that fixes a vulnerability or bug that could be exploited by attackers. Security patches are essential for maintaining the security and functionality of systems and applications.

If the vulnerability that was used to exploit the server is present in historical vulnerability scan reports, and a patch is available for the vulnerability, it means that the patch was either not applied or was uninstalled at some point. A possible reason for uninstalling a security patch could be user impact, such as performance degradation, compatibility issues, or functionality loss.

The other options are not correct because:

• B. An adversary altered the vulnerability scan reports. This could be a possibility, but it is less likely than option A. An adversary would need to have access to the vulnerability scan reports and be able to modify them without being detected. Moreover, altering the reports would not prevent the patch from being applied or uninstalled.
• C. A zero-day vulnerability was used to exploit the web server. This is not correct because a zero-day vulnerability is a vulnerability that is unknown to the public or the vendor, and therefore has no patch available. The question states that a patch is available for the vulnerability that was used to exploit the server.
• D. The scan reported a false negative for the vulnerability. This is not correct because a false negative is when a scan fails to detect a vulnerability that is present. The question states that the vulnerability is present in historical vulnerability scan reports, which means that it was detected by previous scans.

According to CompTIA Security+ SY0-601 Exam Objectives 1.4 Given a scenario, analyze potential indicators to determine the type of attack:

“A security patch is a software update that fixes a vulnerability or bug that could be exploited by attackers.”

References: