CAS-004 Practice Exam 2 — 20 Questions

Question 1

An organization is implementing a Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architecture to support remote workers. Which key capability does SASE provide that traditional VPNs lack?

Accepted Answer

Identity-based access with zero trust principles. SASE convergences network and security functions and includes identity-based access, allowing granular policy enforcement based on user identity, device posture, and context. Traditional VPNs typically provide network-layer access without identity-driven security policies. SD-WAN is a component of SASE, not a unique capability. Web filtering is available separately. DLP is also available separately.

Answer

Software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) functionality

Answer

Network-layer encryption using IPsec

Answer

Web content filtering and DLP

Question 2

A security analyst is writing a script to scan container images for known vulnerabilities before deployment. Which of the following best practices should the analyst implement to ensure the script runs securely?

Accepted Answer

Use parameterized queries or input sanitization for any user-supplied data. Input sanitization and parameterized queries prevent injection attacks when the script processes user-supplied data, such as image names or tags. In the context of container scanning, unsanitized input could lead to command injection or SQL injection if the script queries a vulnerability database. This aligns with secure coding practices for automation scripts, ensuring that the script does not inadvertently execute malicious commands or expose sensitive data.

Answer

Hardcode API keys into the script for simplicity

Answer

Run the script with root privileges to ensure it has access to all images

Answer

Store credentials in a world-readable configuration file

Question 3

A security assessor is evaluating an application that uses ChaCha20-Poly1305 for encryption. Which TWO of the following are true about this cryptographic algorithm?

Accepted Answer

It is a stream cipher. ChaCha20-Poly1305 is a stream cipher (ChaCha20) combined with a MAC (Poly1305). It is an AEAD cipher. It is not a block cipher, and it does not require padding.

Answer

It is based on the AES algorithm

Answer

It requires padding to achieve correct block sizes

Answer

It is a block cipher

Question 4

A company is designing a new data center with high availability requirements. The network team proposes using virtualized network functions (VNFs) on commodity hardware to reduce costs. Which security consideration is MOST important when implementing this design?

Accepted Answer

Isolate VNFs to prevent lateral movement if one VNF is compromised. Isolating VNFs is the most important security consideration because VNFs share the same hypervisor and commodity hardware, so a compromise in one VNF could allow an attacker to move laterally to other VNFs or the underlying host. Without proper isolation (e.g., using VLANs, VXLANs, or micro-segmentation), the entire multi-tenant environment is at risk, undermining the high-availability design.

Answer

Ensure VNFs are deployed across multiple physical hosts for redundancy

Answer

Encrypt all traffic between VNFs to prevent eavesdropping

Answer

Implement quality of service (QoS) to guarantee bandwidth for critical VNFs

Question 5

A company is deploying a cloud access security broker (CASB) to gain visibility into shadow IT. Which mode of operation would allow the CASB to inspect traffic without requiring proxy configuration on endpoints?

Accepted Answer

API-based mode. API-based mode uses cloud provider APIs to access logs and metadata, providing visibility without inline traffic interception or endpoint changes.

Answer

Reverse proxy mode

Answer

Inline mode

Answer

Forward proxy mode

Question 6

A security architect is selecting a cipher suite for TLS 1.3 to ensure forward secrecy and high performance. Which cipher suite should be recommended?

Accepted Answer

TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384. TLS 1.3 requires forward secrecy and uses AEAD ciphers. AES-256-GCM is a recommended AEAD cipher with strong security and performance.

Answer

TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA

Answer

TLS_DHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384

Answer

TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256

Question 7

A security analyst is reviewing TLS 1.3 configuration for a web server. The analyst wants to ensure that the configuration provides forward secrecy and prevents the reuse of session keys. Which of the following is a characteristic of TLS 1.3 that supports these goals?

Accepted Answer

Use of ephemeral Diffie-Hellman key exchange. TLS 1.3 mandates ephemeral Diffie-Hellman key exchange (ECDHE or DHE), which provides forward secrecy by generating unique session keys for each session.

Answer

0-RTT session resumption

Answer

Support for static RSA key exchange

Answer

Removal of CBC mode cipher suites

Question 8

A security architect is evaluating a new identity management solution. The requirement is to allow users to authenticate using their existing social media accounts while maintaining corporate control over access policies. Which architecture best meets this requirement?

Accepted Answer

Federated identity management using Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML). Federated identity management using SAML enables users to authenticate via external identity providers (e.g., social media platforms) while the corporate system retains control over access policies through the exchange of SAML assertions. This architecture decouples authentication from authorization, allowing the corporate service provider to enforce its own rules based on trusted identity claims.

Answer

Privileged access management (PAM) solution

Answer

Single sign-on (SSO) using a corporate LDAP directory

Answer

Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) with digital signatures

Question 9

A penetration tester is in the post-exploitation phase and wants to maintain access to a compromised system. Which of the following techniques is most effective for establishing persistent access while evading detection?

Accepted Answer

Creating a scheduled task that executes a reverse shell. Creating a scheduled task that executes a backdoor is a common persistence mechanism. It can be disguised and runs at system startup or on a schedule, making it harder to detect.

Answer

Uploading a web shell to a publicly accessible directory

Answer

Creating a new local user account with administrative privileges

Answer

Installing a rogue certificate authority

Question 10

An organization wants to detect and respond to advanced threats that may evade traditional endpoint security solutions. They deploy an EDR solution that provides real-time visibility into endpoint activities. However, the security team is overwhelmed by alerts. Which technology can be integrated with EDR to automate response actions and reduce alert fatigue?

Accepted Answer

SOAR platform. SOAR platforms ingest alerts from various sources (including EDR) and use playbooks to automate incident response actions, such as isolating a host or blocking an IP. This reduces manual effort and alert fatigue.

Answer

SIEM with correlation rules

Answer

Network traffic analysis (NTA)

Answer

Deception technology

Question 11

Refer to the exhibit. A security engineer reviews the S3 bucket policy. Which of the following is the most concerning security issue?

Accepted Answer

The policy allows public read access to all objects in the bucket. The S3 bucket policy explicitly grants the `s3:GetObject` action to `"Principal": "*"`, which allows any unauthenticated user (public) to read all objects in the bucket. This is a critical misconfiguration that exposes sensitive data to the internet, often leading to data breaches. The policy does not restrict access by IP, referer, or any condition, making it a direct violation of the principle of least privilege.

Answer

The policy does not require encryption in transit

Answer

The policy uses the incorrect version of the policy language

Answer

The policy allows any user to list the objects in the bucket

Question 12

An organization needs to ensure consistent configuration across multiple Linux servers. They want to automate this process with a solution that requires minimal agent installation and uses push-based communication. Which approach is most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Use Ansible playbooks to define and enforce server configurations.. Ansible is the most appropriate choice because it is agentless (no agent installation required) and uses push-based communication over SSH to enforce configurations. It uses YAML-based playbooks to define desired states, making it ideal for automating consistent configuration across multiple Linux servers with minimal overhead.

Answer

Use PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC) with Linux extensions.

Answer

Run a Docker container on each server with a configuration management tool inside.

Answer

Deploy Puppet with a master server and agents on each system.

Question 13

A security architect is designing a cloud security strategy for a company that uses multiple cloud providers. The architect needs a solution that provides visibility into cloud application usage, enforces security policies, and protects data. Which technology is most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB). A Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) provides visibility, policy enforcement, and data protection across multiple cloud services.

Answer

Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP)

Answer

Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)

Answer

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)

Question 14

A company is migrating its monolithic application to a microservices architecture. The security team wants to implement controls to protect inter-service communication and ensure data integrity. Which THREE security controls should be implemented? (Select THREE.)

Accepted Answer

Deploy an API gateway to enforce rate limiting and authentication. An API gateway acts as a single entry point for all service calls, enforcing rate limiting to prevent abuse and authentication (e.g., OAuth2, JWT) to verify identity before requests reach backend microservices. This centralizes security policy enforcement and protects inter-service communication by reducing the attack surface.

Option C is correct because mutual TLS (mTLS) provides strong service-to-service authentication and encryption for data in transit. With mTLS, each service presents a certificate to verify its identity, and the TLS handshake ensures all communication is encrypted and integrity-protected, preventing eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks.

Option D is correct because a container orchestration platform (e.g., Kubernetes) can enforce network policies that restrict communication between services, ensuring only authorized service-to-service interactions. This provides an additional layer of security for inter-service communication beyond the API gateway and mTLS.

Answer

Encrypt data at rest using AES-256

Answer

Conduct static code analysis on all microservices

Question 15

An engineer reviews the TLS configuration for a web server, which includes the following line:
ssl_verify_client optional;
Which of the following is a security concern present in this configuration?

Accepted Answer

The server does not require client certificates for authentication.. The TLS configuration sets ssl_verify_client to optional, allowing clients to connect without a certificate. This undermines mutual TLS (mTLS) enforcement, leaving the server vulnerable to unauthorized access if client authentication is expected. Option A is incorrect; perfect forward secrecy is provided by modern cipher suites, and its absence is not a concern here. Option B is incorrect; TLS 1.2 and 1.3 are industry-standard secure protocols. Option C is incorrect; the private key path is outside the document root and properly secured, which is a typical configuration.

Answer

The cipher suite does not include perfect forward secrecy (PFS).

Answer

The configuration supports outdated TLS 1.2 protocols.

Answer

The private key is stored in an accessible location.

Question 16

A security analyst discovers that a third-party vendor has been granted access to the company's production database for support purposes. The vendor's contract expires in two weeks. What is the BEST course of action to ensure compliance with the principle of least privilege and reduce risk?

Accepted Answer

Immediately revoke the vendor's database access and provide temporary access only if needed.. The principle of least privilege requires that access rights be granted only for the minimum necessary duration. Since the vendor's contract expires in two weeks, there is no ongoing business need for continued access. Immediately revoking access and providing temporary access only if needed ensures that the vendor cannot access the production database after the contract ends, reducing the risk of unauthorized data exposure or malicious activity.

Answer

Extend the contract for another year to maintain support continuity.

Answer

Wait until the contract expires and then revoke access.

Answer

Monitor the vendor's activities until the contract expires.

Question 17

A security analyst is reviewing alerts from a SIEM and notices multiple failed login attempts from a single IP address to different user accounts over a 5-minute window. What should the analyst do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Check the source IP and correlate with other logs to confirm suspicious activity.. In incident response, the first step is to verify the alert before taking any action. The analyst should check the source IP and correlate the failed login attempts with other logs (e.g., VPN logs, IDS alerts, or previous successful logins) to determine if this is a brute-force attack, a misconfigured application, or a false positive. Prematurely blocking the IP (option A) could disrupt legitimate traffic if the IP is a shared proxy or NAT. Isolating endpoints (option B) is excessive without confirmation that the attempts were successful or that the endpoints are compromised. Resetting all targeted accounts (option D) is disruptive and unnecessary without evidence of compromise. Therefore, the correct first step is to verify and correlate the alert (option C).

Answer

Block the IP address at the firewall.

Answer

Isolate all endpoints that received the login attempts.

Answer

Reset all user accounts that were targeted.

Question 18

An incident response team is handling a ransomware incident. The team has successfully contained the threat and is now in the eradication phase. Which THREE actions are appropriate for the eradication phase? (Select THREE.)

Accepted Answer

Apply security patches to the vulnerability that allowed initial access. Eradication involves removing the threat completely: deleting malware, revoking compromised credentials, and patching vulnerabilities.

Answer

Restore systems from clean backups

Answer

Conduct a lessons learned meeting

Question 19

A DevOps team is automating the deployment of a containerized application to production. Which THREE practices are essential for maintaining security and reliability? (Select THREE.)

Accepted Answer

Use Helm charts to package and deploy Kubernetes applications.. Helm charts are essential for packaging and deploying Kubernetes applications because they provide a standardized, version-controlled way to manage complex Kubernetes manifests. Helm simplifies deployment, rollback, and dependency management, which is critical for maintaining security and reliability in production environments.

Answer

Use Docker Compose files for production deployments.

Answer

Manually configure each environment to handle unique settings.

Question 20

Which THREE of the following are effective techniques for detecting advanced persistent threats (APTs) within a network? (Select exactly 3.)

Accepted Answer

Conducting behavioral analysis of endpoint and network activity to detect unusual patterns.. Behavioral analysis (option B) is effective against APTs because it establishes a baseline of normal activity and flags deviations, such as unusual lateral movement or data exfiltration patterns, which APTs often exhibit. Unlike signature-based methods, behavioral analysis can detect novel or zero-day attack techniques that do not match known signatures, making it a critical component of an advanced threat detection strategy.

Answer

Using signature-based intrusion detection systems (IDS) to match known attack patterns.

Answer

Deploying honeypots to attract and analyze attacker behavior.