312-85 Exam Dumps - ECCouncil CTIA Questions and Answers

The "related:" Google search operator is used to find websites that are similar or related to a specified URL. In the context provided, Moses wants to identify fake websites that may be posing as or are similar to his organization's official site. By using the "related:" operator followed by his organization's URL, Google will return a list of websites that Google considers to be similar to the specified site. This can help Moses identify potential impersonating websites that could be used for phishing or other malicious activities. The "info:", "link:", and "cache:" operators serve different purposes; "info:" provides information about the specified webpage, "link:" used to be used to find pages linking to a specific URL (but is now deprecated), and "cache:" shows the cached version of the specified webpage.

During the threat modeling process, Mr. Andrews is in the stage of threat profiling and attribution, where he is collecting important information about the threat actor and characterizing the analytic behavior of the adversary. This stage involves understanding the technological details, goals, motives, and potential capabilities of the adversaries, which is essential for building effective countermeasures. Threat profiling and attribution help in creating a detailed picture of the adversary, contributing to a more focused and effective defense strategy.

The description provided in the question directly matches the concept of Critical Path Analysis (CPA) as used in threat intelligence analysis.

In CTIA, Critical Path Analysis is a structured analytical technique used to determine the logical sequence of adversarial actions or events that could lead to a specific outcome. It helps analysts create a timeline or chain of likely activities based on adversary behavior, available vulnerabilities, and possible targets.

This method involves constructing a logical flow of actions that an attacker might take — such as reconnaissance, exploitation, lateral movement, and data exfiltration — and identifying key points in that chain where defenders can detect or disrupt the attack.

Key Characteristics of Critical Path Analysis:

It helps identify cause-and-effect relationships between adversarial actions.

It is assumption-driven, based on observed patterns, indicators, and adversary intent.

It allows prediction of future attacker behavior by modeling their likely paths and objectives.

It supports prioritization of defensive measures at critical stages of an attack.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

B. Linchpin analysis:Focuses on identifying the key individual, node, or factor that plays a pivotal role in an adversary’s operation. It is used for identifying the “weakest link” to disrupt the threat actor’s network, not for sequencing adversary actions.

C. Analogy analysis:Involves comparing current situations or attack patterns with previous known cases to infer potential behaviors or outcomes. It relies on historical similarities, not on logical event sequencing.

D. Opportunity analysis:Focuses on identifying areas where intelligence can create opportunities to mitigate or exploit a situation. It’s used for strategic planning, not constructing adversarial timelines.

Conclusion:

Sam used Critical Path Analysis to model the attacker’s likely actions and derive meaningful intelligence from large volumes of data.

Final Answer: A. Critical Path Analysis

Explanation Reference (Based on CTIA Study Concepts):

As per CTIA analysis techniques, Critical Path Analysis is used for building logical sequences of adversarial events to anticipate attacker behavior and improve prediction accuracy.

The key factor that enables a structured and automated process for investigating attacks, processing intelligence, and integrating it with internal controls is Workflow.

In a Threat Intelligence Platform (TIP), the workflow defines a structured sequence of steps or processes that analysts follow to collect, process, analyze, and act on intelligence data. It ensures that:

Intelligence is processed consistently and efficiently.

Alerts, investigations, and responses follow predefined automation rules.

Internal controls are linked with threat feeds for faster detection and mitigation.

A well-designed workflow also supports investigation automation, report generation, and integration with other security systems such as SIEM, SOAR, and EDR tools.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

A. Scoring: Refers to prioritizing or rating intelligence based on risk or severity but does not automate investigations.

B. Search: Involves querying the intelligence database for specific data but lacks structured investigation processes.

D. Open: Indicates an open architecture or API support, not workflow automation or process structuring.

Conclusion:

The correct factor that ensures structured, automated investigations in a Threat Intelligence Platform is Workflow.

Final Answer: C. Workflow

Explanation Reference (Based on CTIA Study Concepts):

CTIA defines workflow as a key element in threat intelligence platforms that organizes and automates intelligence-driven investigations across multiple security controls.

The attack described, where multiple connection requests from different geo-locations are received by a server within a short time span leading to stress and reduced performance, is indicative of a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack. In a DDoS attack, the attacker floods the target's resources (such as a server) with excessive requests from multiple sources, making it difficult for the server to handle legitimate traffic, leading to degradation or outright unavailability of service. The use of multiple geo-locations for the attack sources is a common characteristic of DDoS attacks, making them harder to mitigate.

Structured Threat Hunting uses predefined methodologies, frameworks, and processes to conduct proactive searches for adversaries within networks.

This approach relies on:

Established frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK or Diamond Model.

Standardized investigation workflows.

Defined hypotheses and repeatable steps for analysis.

It ensures consistency and repeatability in the organization’s hunting efforts.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

A. Situational threat hunting: Focuses on specific incidents or triggers rather than predefined methodologies.

C. Entity-driven threat hunting: Centers on specific users, hosts, or IP addresses based on observed indicators.

D. Unstructured threat hunting: Ad-hoc and experience-driven, lacking standardized methods.

Conclusion:

The team is using Structured Threat Hunting, which employs standardized frameworks and processes.

Final Answer: B. Structured threat hunting

Explanation Reference (Based on CTIA Study Concepts):

Structured hunting is described in CTIA as a systematic, framework-based approach that uses defined methodologies for consistent and effective investigations.

The phase described where John, after gaining initial access, is attempting to obtain administrative credentials to further access systems within the network, is known as the 'Expansion' phase of an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) lifecycle. This phase involves the attacker expanding their foothold within the target's environment, often by escalating privileges, compromising additional systems, and moving laterally through the network. The goal is to increase control over the network and maintain persistence for ongoing access. This phase follows the initial intrusion and sets the stage for establishing long-term presence and eventual data exfiltration or other malicious objectives.

In this scenario, Jacob has copied the entire contents of a legitimate website to his local system to create a replica or duplicate version that looks exactly like the original. This process of duplicating a website by copying its structure, design, content, and files is known as website mirroring.

Website mirroring is a technique used to create an identical copy (mirror) of a real website for different purposes. In ethical use cases, organizations create mirror sites to ensure high availability, load balancing, or offline backup of web content. However, in malicious or unethical scenarios, attackers use website mirroring to replicate legitimate sites for phishing or social engineering attacks, tricking users into entering credentials, financial data, or other sensitive information.

By creating a mirrored version of an authentic site, an attacker can redirect unsuspecting victims to the fake version, which appears genuine. Victims then provide information that is captured by the attacker for malicious use. This method is commonly employed in phishing campaigns and credential harvesting operations.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

A. Data sampling:Data sampling refers to selecting a subset of data from a larger dataset for analysis or testing. It does not involve copying or cloning websites.

C. Tailgating:Tailgating is a physical security breach technique, where an unauthorized individual follows an authorized person into a secured area without proper authentication. It is unrelated to website replication.

D. Social engineering:Social engineering is a broader psychological manipulation technique that exploits human trust to gain confidential information. While Jacob’s goal is to perform a social engineering attack using the cloned website, the method he used to create the replica is website mirroring, not social engineering itself.

Conclusion:

Jacob used website mirroring to clone the online shopping website. The mirrored site will later serve as a platform to perform social engineering attacks by deceiving employees or customers into interacting with the fake site.

Final Answer: B. Website mirroring

Explanation Reference (Based on CTIA Study Concepts):

This explanation is based on EC-Council’s Certified Threat Intelligence Analyst (CTIA) study concepts under the topics of Adversary Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) and Threat Modeling of Infrastructure Attacks, which describe how attackers create cloned or mirrored websites to perform phishing and social engineering campaigns.

The scenario describes a trust establishment process where one organization bases its trust in another on the degree and quality of evidence that the second organization provides. This concept is known as Validated Trust.

Validated Trust is built through the verification and assessment of presented evidence such as certifications, security audits, compliance documentation, or past performance. The higher the credibility and quality of the evidence, the greater the level of trust established.

This type of trust is evidence-based, meaning it does not rely solely on previous interactions or third-party mediation but on verifiable proof provided directly between the entities involved.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

A. Mandated Trust:This is imposed by regulation, policy, or authority. It is not based on evidence but on obligation or requirement.

B. Direct Historical Trust:This trust is formed from prior experiences and a consistent history of interactions between the entities. It does not depend on new evidence or documentation.

D. Mediated Trust:This form of trust is established through an intermediary (such as a trusted third party or certificate authority) who vouches for the credibility of one organization to another.

Conclusion:

The process where trust is established based on the degree and quality of evidence provided by one party is known as Validated Trust.

Final Answer: C. Validated Trust

Explanation Reference (Based on CTIA Study Concepts):

According to the CTIA study topics under “Information Sharing and Trust Establishment,” validated trust is the level of confidence gained through verification of tangible evidence, certifications, or attestations demonstrating security assurance and reliability.

The Blueliv Threat Exchange Network is a collaborative platform designed for sharing and receiving threat intelligence among security professionals and organizations. It provides real-time information on global threats, helping participants to enhance their security posture by leveraging shared intelligence. The platform facilitates the exchange of information related to cybersecurity threats, including indicators of compromise (IoCs), tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) of threat actors, and other relevant data. This makes it an ideal choice for Kim, who is looking to gather and share threat information to develop security policies for his organization. In contrast, Cuckoo Sandbox is a malware analysis system, OmniPeek is a network analyzer, and PortDroid is a network analysis application, none of which are primarily designed for intelligence sharing.