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CCNA Network Attacks And Defense Strategies Questions

37 questions · Network Attacks And Defense Strategies topic · All types, answers revealed

1
Multi-Selectmedium

An organization is hardening its network architecture against supply chain attacks targeting third-party software dependencies and vendor integrations. Which TWO best practices and controls should be implemented? (Choose TWO)

Select 2 answers
A.Disable all code signing requirements for internal and external software builds.
B.Maintain a comprehensive Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) and perform automated Software Composition Analysis (SCA) for third-party libraries.
C.Grant third-party vendor support accounts permanent, unmonitored Domain Administrator privileges.
D.Rely entirely on vendor self-assessments without conducting independent code audits or penetration testing.
E.Enforce strict vendor access controls, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and just-in-time (JIT) privileged access management.
AnswersB, E

SBOM and SCA tools track third-party dependencies and identify known vulnerabilities.

Why this answer

Supply chain security is reinforced by performing Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) tracking and software composition analysis (SCA) to identify vulnerable dependencies, alongside enforcing strict vendor risk management and access controls.

2
Multi-Selecthard

An attacker compromises an internal Active Directory domain and attempts to leverage Kerberos vulnerabilities and misconfigurations to elevate privileges or establish persistence. Which TWO attacks rely on Kerberos protocol mechanics? (Choose TWO)

Select 2 answers
A.Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) via injected JavaScript payloads executed in victim browsers.
B.Kerberoasting by requesting Service Tickets (TGS) for SPN-associated service accounts and cracking them offline.
C.SQL Injection (SQLi) by appending malicious query parameters to authentication web forms.
D.ARP Cache Poisoning to intercept local subnet Layer 2 Ethernet frames.
E.AS-REP Roasting by requesting Ticket Granting Service (TGS) tickets for accounts with 'Do not require Kerberos preauthentication' enabled.
AnswersB, E

Kerberoasting extracts TGS tickets for accounts with SPNs for offline password cracking.

Why this answer

Kerberoasting targets service accounts with SPNs to crack TGS tickets offline, while AS-REP Roasting targets user accounts that do not require Kerberos pre-authentication to obtain AS-REP tickets for offline cracking.

3
MCQmedium

During an incident response engagement, a security analyst discovers that an attacker executed a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability on an internal web application to access cloud instance metadata services (IMDS). Which remediation step should be applied immediately to the cloud application architecture to prevent future SSRF exploitation against IMDS?

A.Upgrade the web server operating system and apply all vendor-supplied kernel patches.
B.Implement a traditional Layer 3 network firewall rule to block all outbound TCP traffic on port 80.
C.Install a host-based intrusion detection system (HIDS) to monitor web application log directories.
D.Enforce Instance Metadata Service Version 2 (IMDSv2) requiring session tokens and configure strict URL parsing libraries on the web application.
AnswerD

IMDSv2 uses session tokens that cannot be easily spoofed via standard SSRF web request vectors.

Why this answer

Cloud providers (such as AWS) utilize IMDSv2, which requires session tokens, putting an explicit protection barrier against standard SSRF attacks. Additionally, restricting outbound application network calls and using IMDSv2 limits exposure.

4
MCQmedium

An organization's web application is vulnerable to SQL injection (SQLi). An attacker is using union-based queries to extract database contents. Which defensive technology placed in front of the web application can inspect HTTP parameters and block SQLi signatures dynamically?

A.Configure a reverse proxy load balancer with IP hashing persistence algorithms.
B.Enable Unicast Reverse Path Forwarding (uRPF) on the network edge routing equipment.
C.Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) configured with SQL injection signature rule sets and request anomaly scoring.
D.Implement a stateful network firewall configured with Layer 4 packet inspection rules.
AnswerC

A WAF inspects Layer 7 HTTP requests and blocks SQLi patterns before they reach the backend database.

Why this answer

A Web Application Firewall (WAF) inspects HTTP/HTTPS traffic specifically at Layer 7, utilizing signature matching, anomaly detection, and parser normalization to block attacks like SQL injection and XSS.

5
MCQmedium

An administrator notices unusual traffic volume exiting an internal server toward an unknown external IP address on TCP port 4443. Further investigation reveals data exfiltration. Which firewall feature should be configured at the perimeter to inspect and block unauthorized outbound application traffic and unknown protocols?

A.Configure a stateless packet filtering access control list on the core router interface.
B.Activate standard IP source guard on all internal user-facing switch access ports.
C.Enable Network Address Translation (NAT) overload (PAT) on the perimeter router.
D.Deploy a Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) with Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) and App-ID controls.
AnswerD

NGFW with DPI and App-ID inspects application payloads rather than relying solely on port numbers.

Why this answer

Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW) utilize Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) and App-ID features to identify applications regardless of port numbers, allowing administrators to enforce strict outbound application control policies.

6
Multi-Selecthard

A security team is implementing defense-in-depth controls to protect an enterprise wireless network against advanced attacks. Which TWO advanced hardening and security configurations should be deployed? (Choose TWO)

Select 2 answers
A.Using Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) with static 40-bit pre-shared keys.
B.Configuring hidden SSIDs across all access points as the primary perimeter defense mechanism.
C.Mandatory Protected Management Frames (PMF / 802.11w) to prevent forged deauthentication and disassociation attacks.
D.Disabling all encryption ciphers to maximize wireless throughput and signal range.
E.Wireless Intrusion Detection Systems (WIDS / wIPS) to monitor radio frequencies and alert on rogue APs or MAC spoofing.
AnswersC, E

PMF cryptographically protects management frames against spoofing and deauth attacks.

Why this answer

Enterprise wireless security is enhanced by implementing WPA3-Enterprise with Protected Management Frames (PMF) to prevent deauthentication spoofing, and deploying Wireless Intrusion Detection Systems (WIDS/wIPS) to detect rogue APs and attacks.

7
MCQmedium

An organization is implementing cloud security posture management (CSPM) for its multi-cloud environment. The security team needs to ensure that Amazon S3 storage buckets are not publicly accessible due to misconfigurations. Which automated preventive control should be enforced?

A.Enable Amazon S3 Block Public Access settings across all AWS accounts and buckets.
B.Deploy an AWS WAF web access control list on Amazon CloudFront distributions.
C.Configure AWS Security Hub with CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark compliance standards.
D.Install a host-based antivirus agent on all EC2 virtual machine instances.
AnswerA

S3 Block Public Access overrides policies and ACLs to prevent public exposure.

Why this answer

AWS S3 Block Public Access is a global or bucket-level setting that ensures public ACLs and bucket policies cannot be applied, preventing accidental data exposure via S3 misconfigurations.

8
MCQeasy

A wireless security audit reveals that an unauthorized rogue access point has been deployed within the corporate perimeter, configured with the exact same SSID as the corporate enterprise network to perform an evil twin attack. Which enterprise wireless feature should the network administrator configure on the Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) to automatically detect and contain this rogue AP?

A.Enable Rogue AP Detection and Automated Containment on the Wireless LAN Controller (WLC).
B.Migrate the enterprise wireless network from WPA2-Personal to WPA3-Enterprise (SAE).
C.Disable SSID broadcasting (hidden SSID) across all corporate wireless access points.
D.Configure MAC filtering to allow only corporate-approved wireless client hardware addresses.
AnswerA

WLC rogue detection and containment automatically identifies and neutralizes evil twin access points.

Why this answer

Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers feature Rogue AP Detection and Automatic Containment (using Rogue Management and Adaptive Wireless Intrusion Prevention System - wIPS) which detects unauthorized APs broadcasting corporate SSIDs and sends deauthentication frames to isolate associated clients.

9
Multi-Selecthard

An enterprise incident response team is analyzing a ransomware attack that encrypted network file shares and endpoints. Which TWO immediate containment and eradication actions should the team execute? (Choose TWO)

Select 2 answers
A.Immediately format all backup tape repositories to delete potentially corrupted backup indexes.
B.Immediately isolate infected endpoints from the network by disconnecting physical links or invoking EDR containment features.
C.Delete all firewall access control lists to allow unrestricted threat intelligence sharing.
D.Pay the ransom immediately to obtain decryption keys before beginning forensic analysis.
E.Revoke active user sessions and disable compromised user credentials in Active Directory.
AnswersB, E

Network isolation stops the ransomware from spreading laterally to other hosts and shares.

Why this answer

When ransomware strikes, immediate network isolation of infected hosts prevents lateral movement, and disabling compromised user credentials stops ongoing encryption sessions.

10
Multi-Selectmedium

An organization's security engineer is configuring a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to protect against common web attacks. Which TWO attack types should the WAF rules be specifically tuned to detect and block? (Choose TWO)

Select 2 answers
A.ARP cache poisoning by validating ARP reply frames against DHCP snooping bindings.
B.Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) by inspecting parameters for malicious injected client-side script tags.
C.BGP route hijacking by verifying autonomous system path announcements.
D.DHCP starvation attacks by monitoring DHCP Discover message rates on edge switches.
E.SQL Injection (SQLi) by parsing request parameters for database command syntax.
AnswersB, E

WAF inspection blocks malicious script injections in HTTP requests.

Why this answer

WAFs are specifically designed to inspect HTTP traffic and mitigate web vulnerabilities such as Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) and SQL Injection (SQLi).

11
MCQeasy

A company's intrusion detection system (IDS) flags multiple suspicious packets containing shellcode signatures destined for an internal database server. However, the security team determines that the application was updated and the traffic was a false positive. Which action should the security analyst take within the Snort configuration to prevent this specific signature from generating future alerts?

A.Delete the rule definition entirely from the Snort local rules file.
B.Modify the Snort rule configuration file to add a 'suppress' rule specifying the event signature ID and target IP.
C.Disable all preprocessor inspection engines within the snort.conf configuration file.
D.Change the sensor mode from inline IPS mode to passive IDS sniffing mode.
AnswerB

A suppress rule silences specific IDS alerts for designated hosts without disabling the entire rule.

Why this answer

In Snort, the suppress rule configuration allows administrators to suppress specific alerts for specific IP addresses or subnets without completely disabling the signature rule globally. Alternatively, modifying rules using threshold or classification is used, but suppress is the direct action for silencing false positives.

12
MCQeasy

A network administrator observes continuous SYN flooding targeting a primary public-facing web server on a Cisco ASA 5500-X firewall. To mitigate this attack without disrupting legitimate traffic, which specific feature should the administrator enable globally via the command-line interface?

A.Configure a standard Access Control List (ACL) to block all inbound TCP traffic on port 80.
B.Enable TCP synproxy on the outside interface and apply it to the affected service policy.
C.Enable the Cisco ASA HTTP inspection engine under the global inspection policy.
D.Activate Unicast Reverse Path Forwarding (uRPF) in strict mode on the ingress interface.
AnswerB

TCP synproxy intercepts and validates the TCP handshake, mitigating SYN floods effectively.

Why this answer

Enabling TCP synproxy on the Cisco ASA intercepts the TCP handshake by sending a SYN-ACK cookie to the client. This ensures that the ASA only establishes a connection to the backend web server after the client successfully completes the three-way handshake, preventing resource exhaustion during a SYN flood.

13
MCQmedium

A security engineer is hardening a corporate Linux server against privilege escalation. A local user account executes a poorly written binary with the SUID (Set Owner User ID) permission set, gaining root privileges. Which command should the engineer run to locate and remove SUID permissions from unauthorized binaries across the filesystem?

A.Execute 'chmod -R 777 /' to reset all filesystem file permissions to secure defaults.
B.Run 'netstat -tulnp' to identify listening network ports associated with SUID processes.
C.Execute 'find / -perm /4000 -type f 2>/dev/null' to audit files with the SUID bit set.
D.Run 'iptables -A INPUT -m state --state ESTABLISHED -j ACCEPT' to lock down network access.
AnswerC

The find command with the SUID permission flag locates all SUID binaries for security auditing.

Why this answer

The 'find' command with the '-perm /4000' or '-perm -u=s' argument searches the filesystem for files with the SUID bit set, allowing administrators to audit and remove unauthorized SUID binaries.

14
MCQhard

An organization's Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system alerts on suspicious Active Directory enumeration activity. An internal workstation is executing frequent unauthenticated LDAP queries requesting large numbers of user and group attributes. Which protocol mechanism and defensive configuration should be implemented to mitigate this reconnaissance technique?

A.Enable Kerberos pre-authentication enforcement on all Domain Controller service principal accounts.
B.Configure SMB packet signing globally and disable SMBv1 across all domain member servers.
C.Enforce LDAP signing and channel binding while disabling anonymous LDAP enumeration via Group Policy.
D.Implement NT LAN Manager (NTLM) v2 exclusive authentication and disable NTLM fallback.
AnswerC

Enforcing LDAP signing and disabling anonymous binds prevents unauthorized harvesting of directory objects.

Why this answer

Active Directory enumeration and enumeration tools like BloodHound rely on standard LDAP queries. Implementing LDAP signing and channel binding, combined with restricting unauthenticated or anonymous LDAP binds through Group Policy (NTDS settings), mitigates this vector.

15
MCQeasy

An enterprise wireless network uses WPA2-Enterprise for authentication. A security administrator wants to upgrade the security posture to protect against offline dictionary attacks on handshakes and provide enhanced cryptographic cipher suites. Which standard should be implemented?

A.Deploy MAC Authentication Bypass (MAB) with RADIUS accounting enabled.
B.Implement WEP encryption with dynamic 802.1X key rotation.
C.Configure WPA2-Personal with a pre-shared key (PSK) length exceeding 64 characters.
D.Upgrade the wireless infrastructure to WPA3-Enterprise using Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE) and Protected Management Frames (PMF).
AnswerD

WPA3-Enterprise with SAE and PMF eliminates vulnerable 4-way handshakes and management frame spoofing.

Why this answer

WPA3 replaces the vulnerable 4-way handshake of WPA2 with Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE), which protects against offline dictionary attacks even if weak passwords are chosen.

16
MCQhard

An attacker compromises an internal workstation and attempts to perform lateral movement using PsExec. The security team wants to detect and block this activity across the internal Windows domain. Which Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security rule or Group Policy setting should be deployed?

A.Configure IPsec tunnel-mode policies between all internal client workstations.
B.Restrict inbound SMB (TCP 445) and RPC access to authorized administrative jump hosts and enable Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC).
C.Disable Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and Terminal Services across all domain controllers.
D.Enforce User Account Control (UAC) remote restriction registry settings to disable all admin approval modes.
AnswerB

Restricting SMB/RPC access stops PsExec's lateral transport, and WDAC blocks unauthorized binaries.

Why this answer

PsExec relies heavily on ADMIN$ share access and remote service creation via SMB (TCP ports 445 and 139) and RPC. Restricting inbound SMB access to authorized administrative management subnets and enabling Windows Defender Firewall rules blocking remote service creation prevents PsExec execution.

17
MCQhard

An internal security assessment reveals that an attacker with access to a low-privilege domain user account can enumerate Active Directory group memberships and trust relationships using LDAP. To secure Active Directory against anonymous and excessive unauthenticated enumeration, which specific Active Directory feature and setting should be configured?

A.Enable Kerberos AES encryption enforcement and disable DES/RC4 ciphers.
B.Deploy fine-grained password policies requiring 15-character complex passphrases.
C.Configure Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) with ESC1 template restrictions.
D.Restrict anonymous access to the RootDSE and disable anonymous LDAP queries via Group Policy.
AnswerD

Restricting RootDSE access and anonymous binds stops unauthorized harvesting of directory metadata.

Why this answer

Disabling anonymous LDAP binds and restricting access to the root DSE (Directory System Agent) ensures that unauthenticated or low-privilege users cannot harvest directory structure and membership data.

18
Multi-Selectmedium

An organization's security team is designing a defense-in-depth network architecture to protect critical internal data zones. Which THREE architectural principles and controls should be implemented to align with an adaptive defense strategy? (Choose THREE)

Select 3 answers
A.Deploy behavioral anomaly detection and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions across all internal endpoints.
B.Disable all logging and auditing mechanisms to reduce SIEM ingestion noise and storage costs.
C.Enforce a Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) utilizing continuous identity and device health verification for all access requests.
D.Implement micro-segmentation using internal next-generation firewalls or software-defined networking to isolate critical data assets.
E.Rely exclusively on a strong perimeter firewall and demilitarized zone (DMZ) to secure internal assets.
AnswersA, C, D

EDR and behavioral analytics provide critical visibility and detection capabilities inside the network.

Why this answer

Adaptive defense-in-depth relies on micro-segmentation, Zero Trust network architecture (never trust, always verify), and continuous monitoring/behavioral analytics rather than relying solely on a single perimeter firewall.

19
MCQeasy

A security engineer is configuring a Snort Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) rule to detect ICMP echo requests with payloads larger than 1000 bytes, which may indicate covert channel data exfiltration. Which rule header and options combination is correct?

A.log ip any any -> any any (msg:"ICMP Check"; length:1000; sid:1000001; rev:1;)
B.alert icmp any any -> any any (msg:"Large ICMP Payload Detected"; dsize:>1000; sid:1000001; rev:1;)
C.drop tcp any any -> any 80 (msg:"ICMP Large Payload"; payload_size:>1000; sid:1000001; rev:1;)
D.pass udp any any -> any 53 (msg:"ICMP Alert"; size:1000; sid:1000001; rev:1;)
AnswerB

This rule correctly specifies ICMP protocol and uses the dsize option to flag payloads over 1000 bytes.

Why this answer

A correct Snort rule structure requires the action (alert/drop), protocol (icmp), source/destination IPs and ports, and options such as dsize:1000 to check packet payload size.

20
MCQeasy

A security team receives alerts indicating that an attacker is performing ARP cache poisoning on the local subnet to conduct a Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack. Which switch feature should the network administrator enable to mitigate this threat?

A.Enable Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI) bound to the DHCP snooping database.
B.Activate Unicast Reverse Path Forwarding (uRPF) on the default gateway router.
C.Deploy IEEE 802.1Q VLAN trunking with native VLAN mismatch remediation.
D.Configure Port Fast and BPDU Guard on all access-layer switch interfaces.
AnswerA

DAI validates ARP packets against the DHCP snooping table to drop spoofed ARP frames.

Why this answer

DHCP snooping builds a trusted binding database of IP-to-MAC addresses. Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI) uses this DHCP snooping database to intercept, log, and discard ARP packets with invalid IP-to-MAC address bindings, effectively stopping ARP poisoning.

21
MCQmedium

An enterprise network is subjected to a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) volumetric UDP reflection and amplification attack utilizing Network Time Protocol (NTP) monlist queries. Which configuration change should be applied to enterprise NTP servers to prevent them from participating in amplification attacks?

A.Configure NTP authentication using symmetric cryptographic keys for time synchronization.
B.Enable Unicast Reverse Path Forwarding (uRPF) in strict mode on internal interfaces.
C.Disable the 'monlist' command and restrict external queries in the ntp.conf configuration file.
D.Implement ICMP rate-limiting on the enterprise perimeter routing devices.
AnswerC

Disabling monlist prevents the NTP server from returning large responses to spoofed small queries.

Why this answer

The NTP 'monlist' (monitor list) command returns the IP addresses of recent clients interacting with the NTP server, making it a prime vector for UDP amplification attacks. Disabling monlist or upgrading NTP to versions where monlist is disabled by default mitigates this risk.

22
MCQmedium

An organization is hardening its public-facing email infrastructure against spoofing and phishing attacks. The security engineer needs to configure a DNS record that specifies which mail servers are authorized to send email on behalf of the domain. Which DNS record type must be created?

A.Configure a DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) CNAME record.
B.Implement a Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) TXT record.
C.Create a Sender Policy Framework (SPF) TXT record specifying authorized sending IP addresses.
D.Deploy a Mail Exchange (MX) record pointing to the internal relay gateway.
AnswerC

SPF records list authorized sending mail servers for domain email validation.

Why this answer

Sender Policy Framework (SPF) is implemented as a DNS TXT record that lists all authorized IP addresses and mail servers permitted to send emails on behalf of a domain.

23
MCQmedium

A network security analyst observes an ongoing brute-force attack against an SSH service running on a Linux server. Which tool can the analyst configure to automatically inspect authentication failure logs and dynamically block attacker IP addresses via iptables?

A.Deploy Wireshark with a real-time command-line display filter for SSH packets.
B.Execute 'tcpdump' with a packet filter expression capturing TCP port 22 traffic.
C.Configure and run 'fail2ban' to parse authentication logs and dynamically insert iptables firewall drop rules.
D.Enable the Linux auditd daemon and review audit logs manually using the ausearch utility.
AnswerC

Fail2ban automates log analysis and dynamic firewall blocking for brute-force mitigation.

Why this answer

Fail2ban monitors log files (such as /var/log/auth.log) for patterns of failed authentication attempts and automatically updates firewall rules (iptables or nftables) to ban offending IP addresses for a set duration.

24
Multi-Selecthard

A security analyst is reviewing network traffic logs and discovers indicators of an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) utilizing covert command-and-control (C2) communication. Which TWO methods are commonly used by attackers to obfuscate C2 traffic through legitimate network services? (Choose TWO)

Select 2 answers
A.Standard FTP file transfers over TCP ports 20 and 21 using anonymous credentials.
B.Domain Fronting via Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to obscure the true destination of HTTPS C2 traffic.
C.Static IP routing table modifications on core border routers using BGP community strings.
D.DNS tunneling by encoding exfiltration data into subdomain queries destined for an attacker-controlled authoritative nameserver.
E.Cleartext HTTP communication over port 80 without encryption or encapsulation.
AnswersB, D

Domain fronting conceals the true backend C2 server behind a trusted CDN domain name.

Why this answer

Attackers frequently leverage DNS tunneling (embedding data in DNS query names) and Domain Fronting (using CDN infrastructure to hide the actual C2 destination domain behind a trusted domain) to bypass perimeter inspection.

25
MCQhard

A security engineer discovers that an attacker is exploiting a vulnerability in a web application's JSON Web Token (JWT) implementation by modifying the algorithm header to 'none' and bypassing signature verification. How should the application's JWT validation code be updated to fix this vulnerability?

A.Upgrade the JWT token expiration time (exp claim) to expire within five minutes of creation.
B.Explicitly enforce a whitelist of approved cryptographic signing algorithms (e.g., RS256) and explicitly reject the 'none' algorithm in the JWT validation function.
C.Implement JSON Web Encryption (JWE) to payload data without verifying headers.
D.Store JWT tokens in HTTP-only, Secure cookies instead of local browser storage.
AnswerB

Enforcing a whitelist of algorithms and rejecting 'none' prevents JWT signature bypasses.

Why this answer

Allowing the 'none' algorithm or omitting explicit algorithm verification in JWT libraries leads to signature bypass. The application code must explicitly enforce trusted cryptographic algorithms (e.g., HS256 or RS256) and reject tokens specifying 'none'.

26
MCQeasy

A security analyst notices unusual outbound traffic matching command-and-control (C2) beaconing patterns over HTTPS. The organization wants to inspect outbound encrypted traffic to detect malicious payloads without violating compliance policies. Which enterprise security architecture technique should be implemented?

A.Enforce strict client-side certificate pinning on all corporate web browsers.
B.Configure IPsec VPN tunnels between all endpoints and the corporate perimeter router.
C.Deploy a Layer 2 network tap connected to a passive intrusion detection sensor.
D.Implement SSL/TLS Decryption (SSL Inspection) on the Next-Generation Firewall or Secure Web Gateway.
AnswerD

SSL inspection decrypts and inspects outbound TLS traffic for malicious payloads and C2 beacons.

Why this answer

SSL/TLS Decryption (Forward Proxy / SSL Interception) allows a next-generation firewall or secure web gateway to inspect encrypted HTTPS traffic by resigning sessions with a trusted internal Certificate Authority (CA).

27
MCQmedium

A security analyst suspects that an internal host has been compromised and is communicating via an encrypted Command and Control (C2) channel utilizing DNS tunneling. Which Wireshark filter and analysis technique should the analyst employ to definitively identify this anomaly?

A.Filter for 'http.request.method == POST' and look for binary attachments.
B.Filter for 'tcp.port == 443' and inspect the TLS Server Name Indication (SNI) extension.
C.Filter for 'dns' and inspect query strings for abnormally high length, high entropy, or encoded character patterns.
D.Filter for 'icmp' and examine the payload size of Echo Request packets.
AnswerC

DNS tunneling manifests as unusually long and complex query names destined for recursive resolvers.

Why this answer

DNS tunneling embeds arbitrary data within DNS queries (typically in the subdomain labels). Filtering for DNS traffic and analyzing exceptionally long query names containing high entropy or Base64-encoded strings is the standard methodology to detect DNS tunneling.

28
Multi-Selecthard

An enterprise cloud security team is reviewing common cloud security vulnerabilities and misconfigurations that lead to data breaches. Which TWO threats are primary vectors in cloud environments? (Choose TWO)

Select 2 answers
A.Direct physical bus-sniffing attacks against hypervisor memory modules on multi-tenant hosts.
B.BIOS firmware flashing attacks against local endpoint motherboard EEPROMs.
C.Insecure Management APIs lacking proper authentication, rate limiting, and input validation.
D.Physical access tampering of rack-mounted server hardware within third-party data center cages.
E.Overly permissive Identity and Access Management (IAM) policies granting excessive administrative privileges.
AnswersC, E

Insecure APIs expose cloud infrastructure and data to unauthorized access and exploitation.

Why this answer

According to cloud security frameworks (such as the OWASP Cloud Top 10 and CSA), Insecure APIs and Insecure IAM / Excessive Privileges are primary cloud threat vectors.

29
MCQhard

An enterprise network utilizes 802.1X port-based authentication with a RADIUS server. An attacker performs a port-stealing attack by spoofing the MAC address of an authenticated, active wired client to gain network access on a different switch port. Which switch security feature should be enabled to prevent this attack?

A.Implement Private VLANs (PVLANs) to isolate user switch ports from communicating with one another.
B.Configure Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI) using the trusted DHCP snooping binding database.
C.Enable BPDU Guard and Root Guard on all designated edge switch ports.
D.Enable Port Security on access switch ports with a maximum MAC address limit of one and sticky learning.
AnswerD

Port security restricts port access to a single learned MAC address, preventing port stealing.

Why this answer

Port security on Cisco switches allows an administrator to limit the number of valid MAC addresses allowed on a port and secure it against MAC spoofing and port stealing by learning specific addresses or setting maximum limits. Additionally, Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI) and IP Source Guard help, but port security specifically addresses MAC duplication and port stealing across switch ports.

30
MCQhard

An attacker performs a pass-the-hash attack to move laterally across an enterprise network using compromised NTLM hashes. The security architecture team wants to implement host-based mitigations to render harvested NTLM hashes unusable for authentication. Which Windows security feature should be enabled?

A.Enforce User Account Control (UAC) with highest privilege elevation prompts.
B.Enable Windows Defender Credential Guard utilizing Virtualization-based Security (VBS).
C.Configure Windows Defender Exploit Guard with Network Protection enabled.
D.Deploy BitLocker Drive Encryption with TPM 2.0 hardware backing on all endpoints.
AnswerB

Credential Guard isolates NTLM hashes and Kerberos tickets in a secure virtualized environment.

Why this answer

Credential Guard utilizes virtualization-based security (VBS) to isolate secrets (such as NTLM hashes and Kerberos tickets) so that they cannot be stolen or reused even if the LSASS process is compromised.

31
MCQhard

An attacker targets an enterprise Active Directory domain by performing a DCSync attack, successfully replicating domain controller password data without being a domain controller. Which Active Directory access control rights must be audited and protected to prevent non-administrative users from executing DCSync?

A.Audit and restrict the 'Replicating Directory Changes' and 'Replicating Directory Changes All' extended access rights on the domain object.
B.Enforce LDAP signing and channel binding on all domain controller NTDS settings.
C.Monitor the 'GenericAll' and 'WriteDacl' permissions on all computer account objects.
D.Disable NT LAN Manager (NTLM) authentication and enforce Kerberos ticket granting settings.
AnswerA

DCSync requires these specific domain-level replication rights to impersonate a domain controller.

Why this answer

DCSync relies on specific Active Directory replication rights: 'Replicating Directory Changes' (GUID 11f46d12-861c-4d42-b41c-50f443a82f7f) and 'Replicating Directory Changes All'. Ensuring that only authorized Domain Controllers hold these extended rights is critical.

32
Multi-Selectmedium

A network administrator is hardening a Cisco switch infrastructure against Layer 2 attacks. Which THREE features should be enabled and configured on the access and distribution layers? (Choose THREE)

Select 3 answers
A.Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI) leveraging the DHCP snooping database to drop spoofed ARP packets.
B.Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) Route Flap Damping to stabilize wide-area inter-domain routing.
C.Port Security to limit the number of learned MAC addresses per switch port and specify violation actions.
D.Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule sets for HTTP parameter parsing and inspection.
E.DHCP Snooping to maintain a binding database of legitimate IP-to-MAC addresses and block rogue DHCP servers.
AnswersA, C, E

DAI prevents ARP spoofing and poisoning attacks.

Why this answer

Layer 2 hardening includes Port Security (limiting MAC addresses), DHCP Snooping (blocking rogue DHCP), and Dynamic ARP Inspection (stopping ARP poisoning).

33
MCQhard

An attacker attempts a Kerberoasting attack by requesting a Service Ticket (TGS) for a service account running with a Service Principal Name (SPN) from a compromised domain user account, then attempts to crack the service account's password offline. Which security hardening practice should be implemented in Active Directory to mitigate this risk?

A.Implement SMB signing enforcement and disable NTLMv1 authentication protocol.
B.Deploy Group Managed Service Accounts (gMSAs) and enforce strong, complex passwords (minimum 25 characters) for all service accounts.
C.Configure Account Lockout Policies to lock accounts after three failed login attempts.
D.Enable Kerberos pre-authentication requirement on all domain user and computer accounts.
AnswerB

gMSAs eliminate manual password management and use automatic, complex, frequently rotated passwords.

Why this answer

Kerberoasting targets service accounts with weak passwords. Mitigation involves enforcing strong, complex passwords (12+ characters) or utilizing Group Managed Service Accounts (gMSAs), which automatically manage complex passwords and rotate them frequently.

34
MCQmedium

An organization wants to protect its internal network against unauthorized DHCP servers (DHCP spoofing and rogue DHCP starvation attacks). Which switch security feature should be enabled on all untrusted access switch ports?

A.Enable DHCP Snooping globally and configure untrusted user access ports as untrusted.
B.Activate IP Source Guard with static binding entries on all edge switch ports.
C.Configure Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI) on all trunk ports connecting to core switches.
D.Enable Port Security with maximum MAC address limits and restrict violation actions.
AnswerA

DHCP snooping blocks rogue DHCP servers on untrusted ports and tracks IP-to-MAC bindings.

Why this answer

DHCP snooping acts as a firewall between trusted and untrusted DHCP servers. It drops DHCP offer/ack messages coming from untrusted ports while building a trusted DHCP binding database.

35
Multi-Selectmedium

A security operations center (SOC) analyst is investigating a compromised Linux web server. Which TWO log files and forensic artifacts should the analyst examine to determine the initial access vector and persistence mechanisms used by the attacker? (Choose TWO)

Select 2 answers
A.Cron job tables and spool directories (/etc/crontab and /var/spool/cron) to check for unauthorized scheduled tasks.
B.Active Directory SYSVOL replication logs for Group Policy object modifications.
C.Master Boot Record (MBR) partition table geometry and cylinder sector metrics.
D.Windows Registry hives (SAM, SYSTEM, SOFTWARE) for user credential artifacts.
E.Authentication logs (/var/log/auth.log or /var/log/secure) to inspect login attempts and sudo usage.
AnswersA, E

Attackers frequently establish persistence on Linux by creating unauthorized cron jobs.

Why this answer

Investigating Linux compromises involves reviewing authentication logs (/var/log/auth.log) for logins and cron job schedules (/var/spool/cron or /etc/crontab) for persistence mechanisms.

36
MCQeasy

A security analyst is hardening a Linux-based web server and wants to implement mandatory access control (MAC) to restrict processes to only the resources necessary for their function. Which built-in Linux kernel security module should the analyst configure?

A.Configure Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) or AppArmor in enforcing mode.
B.Modify standard Linux file permission bits (chmod and chown) for all application binaries.
C.Enable the Linux audit daemon (auditd) to log all system call activities.
D.Install and configure a host-based firewall using iptables or nftables.
AnswerA

SELinux and AppArmor provide Mandatory Access Control to restrict process permissions.

Why this answer

SELinux (Security-Enhanced Linux) and AppArmor are Linux Security Modules (LSM) that provide Mandatory Access Control (MAC) policies. SELinux uses security contexts and policies to constrain process privileges.

37
Multi-Selecteasy

An enterprise is updating its email security controls to prevent phishing, credential harvesting, and spoofing attacks. Which THREE protocols and DNS records should be implemented and strictly enforced? (Choose THREE)

Select 3 answers
A.DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) to cryptographically sign outbound emails and verify integrity.
B.Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) snooping for IP-to-MAC address allocation tracking.
C.Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) to specify handling policies for failed SPF/DKIM checks.
D.Unicast Reverse Path Forwarding (uRPF) for IP routing packet verification on routers.
E.Sender Policy Framework (SPF) to define authorized sending mail servers for the domain.
AnswersA, C, E

DKIM adds cryptographic signatures to validate email integrity and sender domain.

Why this answer

Modern email authentication and hardening rely on Sender Policy Framework (SPF), DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), and Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC).

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