SY0-701 Exam Dumps - CompTIA Security+ Questions and Answers

The scenario describes an attacker who obtained credentials from a compromised system's memory and used them without cracking to move laterally within the network. This technique is known as a "pass-the-hash" attack, where the attacker captures hashed credentials (e.g., NTLM hashes) and uses them to authenticate and gain access to other systems without needing to know the plaintext password. This is a common attack method in environments where weak security practices or outdated protocols are in use.

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CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Course Content: The course discusses credential-based attacks like pass-the-hash, emphasizing their impact and the importance of protecting credential stores​​.

Counterfeit hardware is hardware that is built or modified without the authorization of the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). It can pose serious risks to network quality, performance, safety, and reliability12. Counterfeit hardware can also contain malicious components that can compromise the security of the network and the data that flows through it3. To address the risks associated with procuring counterfeit hardware, a company should conduct a thorough analysis of the supply chain, which is the network of entities involved in the production, distribution, and delivery of the hardware. By analyzing the supply chain, the company can verify the origin, authenticity, and integrity of the hardware, and identify any potential sources of counterfeit or tampered products. A thorough analysis of the supply chain can include the following steps:

Establishing a trusted relationship with the OEM and authorized resellers

Requesting documentation and certification of the hardware from the OEM or authorized resellers

Inspecting the hardware for any signs of tampering, such as mismatched labels, serial numbers, or components

Testing the hardware for functionality, performance, and security

Implementing a tracking system to monitor the hardware throughout its lifecycle

Reporting any suspicious or counterfeit hardware to the OEM and law enforcement agencies References = 1: Identify Counterfeit and Pirated Products - Cisco, 2: What Is HardwareSecurity? Definition, Threats, and Best Practices, 3: Beware of Counterfeit Network Equipment - TechNewsWorld, : Counterfeit Hardware: The Threat and How to Avoid It

Peer review and approval is a practice that involves having other developers or experts review the code before it is deployed or released. Peer review and approval can help detect and prevent malicious code, errors, bugs, vulnerabilities, and poor quality in the development process. Peer review and approval can also enforce coding standards, best practices, and compliance requirements. Peer review and approval can be done manually or with the help of tools, such as code analysis, code review, and code signing. References: CompTIA Security+ Study Guide: Exam SY0-701, 9th Edition, Chapter 11: Secure Application Development, page 543 2

Input validation (D)is the most effective way to preventinjection attacks, such asSQL injection, XSS, etc. It ensures that only correctly formatted and expected inputs are processed by the application.

This is clearly identified underDomain 2.3: Application security techniques, whereinput validationis listed as aprimary defense against injection attacks.

Detailed Explanation:An unskilled attacker, often referred to as a script kiddie, is likely to engage in website defacement. This type of attack typically requires minimal expertise and is often conducted for notoriety. Reference: CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Study Guide, Domain 2: Threats, Section: "Threat Actors and Motivations"​​.

 Labeling all laptops with asset inventory stickers and associating them with employee IDs can provide several security benefits for a company. Two of these benefits are:

A. If a security incident occurs on the device, the correct employee can be notified. An asset inventory sticker is a label that contains a unique identifier for a laptop, such as a serial number, a barcode, or a QR code. By associating this identifier with an employee ID, the security team can easily track and locate the owner of the laptop in case of a security incident, such as a malware infection, a data breach, or a theft. This way, the security team can notify the correct employee about the incident, and provide them with the necessary instructions or actions to take,such as changing passwords, scanning for viruses, or reporting the loss. This can help to contain the incident, minimize the damage, and prevent further escalation.

F. Company data can be accounted for when the employee leaves the organization. When an employee leaves the organization, the company needs to ensure that all the company data and assets are returned or deleted from the employee’s laptop. By labeling the laptop with an asset inventory sticker and associating it with an employee ID, the company can easily identify and verify the laptop that belongs to the departing employee, and perform the appropriate data backup, wipe, or transfer procedures. This can help to protect the company data from unauthorized access, disclosure, or misuse by the former employee or any other party.

The other options are not correct because they are not related to the security benefits of labeling laptops with asset inventory stickers and associating them with employee IDs. B. The security team will be able to send user awareness training to the appropriate device. User awareness training is a type of security education that aims to improve the knowledge and behavior of users regarding security threats and best practices. The security team can send user awareness training to the appropriate device by using the email address, username, or IP address of the device, not the asset inventory sticker or the employee ID. C. Users can be mapped to their devices when configuring software MFA tokens. Software MFA tokens are a type of multi-factor authentication that uses a software application to generate a one-time password or a push notification for verifying the identity of a user. Users can be mapped to their devices when configuring software MFA tokens by using the device ID, phone number, or email address of the device, not the asset inventory sticker or the employee ID. D. User-based firewall policies can be correctly targeted to the appropriate laptops. User-based firewall policies are a type of firewall rules that apply to specific users or groups of users, regardless of the device or location they use to access the network. User-based firewall policies can be correctly targeted to the appropriate laptops by using the username, domain, or certificate of the user, not the asset inventory sticker or the employee ID. E. When conducting penetration testing, the security team will be able to target the desired laptops. Penetration testing is a type of security assessment that simulates a real-world attack on a network or system to identify and exploit vulnerabilities. When conducting penetration testing, the security team will be able to target the desired laptops by using the IP address, hostname, or MAC address of the laptop, not the asset inventory sticker or the employee ID. References = CompTIA Security+ Study Guide (SY0-701), Chapter 1: General Security Concepts, page 17. Professor Messer’s CompTIA SY0-701 Security+ Training Course, Section 1.4: Asset Management, video: Asset Inventory (6:12).

An image backup, also known as a full system backup, captures the entire contents of a system, including the operating system, applications, settings, and all data. This type of backup allows for a complete recovery of the system in case of a disaster, as it includes everything needed to restore the system to its previous state. This makes it the ideal choice for a systems administrator who needs to ensure the ability to recover the entire system, including the OS.

References = CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 study materials, domain on Security Operations​​.

A dashboard is a graphical user interface that provides a visual representation of key performance indicators, metrics, and trends related to security events and incidents. A dashboard can help the board of directors to understand the number and impact of incidents that affected the organization in a given period, as well as the status and effectiveness of the security controls and processes. A dashboard can also allow the board of directors to drill down into specific details or filter the data by various criteria12.

A packet capture is a method of capturing and analyzing the network traffic that passes through a device or a network segment. A packet capture can provide detailed information about the source, destination, protocol, and content of each packet, but it is not a suitable way to present a summary of incidents to the board of directors13.

A vulnerability scan is a process of identifying and assessing the weaknesses and exposures in a system or a network that could be exploited by attackers. A vulnerability scan can help the organization to prioritize and remediate the risks and improve the security posture, but it is not a relevant way to report the number of incidents that occurred in a quarter14.

Metadata is data that describes other data, such as its format, origin, structure, or context. Metadata can provide useful information about the characteristics and properties of data, but it is not a meaningful way to communicate the impact and frequency of incidents to the board of directors. References = 1: CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Study Guide, page 3722: SIEM Dashboards – SY0-601 CompTIA Security+ : 4.3, video by Professor Messer3: CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Study Guide, page 3464: CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Study Guide, page 362. : CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Study Guide, page 97.

A Secure Web Gateway (SWG) protects users by filtering unwanted software/malware from user-initiated web traffic and enforcing corporate and regulatory policy compliance. This technology allows the company to secure remote users' data and web traffic without relying on a VPN, making it ideal for organizations supporting remote work.

References = CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 study materials, particularly in the domain of network security and remote access technologies​​.

Dynamic analysis is performed on software during execution to identify vulnerabilities based on how the software behaves in real-world scenarios. It is useful in detecting security issues that only appear when the application is running.References: CompTIA SY0-701 Course Content​.

Safety controls are security controls that are designed to protect human life and physical assets from harm or damage. Examples of safety controls include fire alarms, sprinklers, emergency exits, backup generators, and surge protectors. Safety controls should fail open, which means that they should remain operational or allow access when a failure or error occurs. Failing open can prevent or minimize the impact of a disaster, such as a fire, flood, earthquake, or power outage, on human life and physical assets. For example, if a fire alarm fails, it should still triggerthe sprinklers and unlock the emergency exits, rather than remain silent and locked. Failing open can also ensure that essential services, such as healthcare, transportation, or communication, are available during a crisis. Remote access points, logging controls, and logical security controls are other types of security controls, but they should not fail open in a data center. Remote access points are security controls that allow users or systems to access a network or a system from a remote location, such as a VPN, a web portal, or a wireless access point. Remote access points should fail closed, which means that they should deny access when a failure or error occurs. Failing closed can prevent unauthorized or malicious access to the data center’s network or systems, such as by hackers, malware, or rogue devices. Logging controls are security controls that record and monitor the activities and events that occur on a network or a system, such as user actions, system errors, security incidents, or performance metrics. Logging controls should also fail closed, which means that they should stop or suspend the activities or events when a failure or error occurs. Failing closed can prevent data loss, corruption, or tampering, as well as ensure compliance with regulations and standards. Logical security controls are security controls that use software or code to protect data and systems from unauthorized or malicious access, modification, or destruction, such as encryption, authentication, authorization, or firewall. Logical security controls should also fail closed, which means that they should block or restrict access when a failure or error occurs. Failing closed can prevent data breaches, cyberattacks, or logical flaws, as well as ensure confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data and systems. References: CompTIA Security+ Study Guide: Exam SY0-701, 9th Edition, page 142-143, 372-373, 376-377

Comprehensive and Detailed In-Depth Explanation:

AWeb Application Firewall (WAF)is designed toprotect web applications from attackssuch asCross-Site Scripting (XSS)by filtering and monitoring HTTP traffic between the internet and a web application.

Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW) (A)provide advanced network security but are not specifically designed to protect web applications from XSS attacks.

Unified Threat Management (UTM) (B)provides multiple security functions but lacks the specialized application-layer protection needed to mitigate XSS.

Network Access Control (NAC) (D)controls device access to the network but does not prevent web-based attacks.

AWAF is the best solutionfor protecting web servers fromXSS, SQL injection, and other web-based threats.

Air-gapping is the most effective way to protect an application server running unsupported software from network threats. By physically isolating the server from any network connection (no wired or wireless communication), it is protected from external cyber threats. While other options like port security or a screened subnet can provide some level of protection, an air gap offers the highest level of security by preventing any network-based attacks entirely.

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CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Course Content: Domain 03 Security Architecture​.

CompTIA Security+ SY0-601 Study Guide: Chapter on Secure System Design​.