CompTIA CompTIA CySA+ CS0-003 Questions & Answers

• Question 1:

  Results of a SOC customer service evaluation indicate high levels of dissatisfaction with the inconsistent services provided after regular work hours. To address this, the SOC lead drafts a document establishing customer expectations regarding the SOC's performance and quality of services.

  Which of the following documents most likely fits this description?

  A. Risk management plan

  B. Vendor agreement

  C. Incident response plan

  D. Service-level agreement

  Correct Answer: D

  A Service-Level Agreement (SLA) is a document that establishes customer expectations regarding the performance and quality of services provided by the SOC (Security Operations Center). It defines the level of service expected, including aspects like response times, availability, and support after regular work hours. An SLA helps in setting clear expectations and improving customer satisfaction by outlining the standards and commitments of the service provider.

• Question 2:

  A list of loCs released by a government security organization contains the SHA-256 hash for a Microsoft-signed legitimate binary, svchost.exe. Which of the following best describes the result if security teams add this indicator to their detection signatures?

  A. This indicator would fire on the majority of Windows devices.

  B. Malicious files with a matching hash would be detected.

  C. Security teams would detect rogue svchost. exe processesintheirenvironment.

  D. Security teams would detect event entries detailing executionofknown-malicioussvchost.exe processes.

  Correct Answer: A

  Adding the SHA-256 hash of a legitimate Microsoft-signed binary like svchost.exe to detection signatures would result in the indicator firing on the majority of Windows devices. Svchost.exe is a common and legitimate system process used by Windows, and using its hash as an indicator of compromise (IOC) would generate numerous false positives, as it would match the legitimate instances of svchost.exe running on all Windows systems.

• Question 3:

  Which of the following best describes the key goal of the containment stage of an incident response process?

  A. To limit further damage from occurring

  B. To get services back up and running

  C. To communicate goals and objectives of theincidentresponse plan

  D. To prevent data follow-on actions by adversary exfiltration

  Correct Answer: A

  The key goal of the containment stage in an incident response process is to limit further damage from occurring. This involves taking immediate steps to isolate the affected systems or network segments to prevent the spread of the incident and mitigate its impact. Containment strategies can be short-term, to quickly stop the incident, or long-term, to prepare for the eradication and recovery phases.

• Question 4:

  A development team is preparing to roll out a beta version of a web application and wants to quickly test for vulnerabilities, including SQL injection, path traversal, and cross-site scripting. Which of the following tools would the security team most likely recommend to perform this test?

  A. Has heat

  B. OpenVAS

  C. OWASP ZAP

  D. Nmap

  Correct Answer: C

  OWASP ZAP (Zed Attack Proxy) is a tool recommended for quickly testing web applications for vulnerabilities, including SQL injection, path traversal, and cross-site scripting. It is an open-source web application security scanner that helps identify security issues in web applications during the development and testing phases.

• Question 5:

  Which of the following will most likely cause severe issues with authentication and logging?

  A. Virtualization

  B. Multifactor authentication

  C. Federation

  D. Time synchronization

  Correct Answer: D

  Time synchronization issues can cause severe problems with authentication and logging. If system clocks are not properly synchronized, it can lead to discrepancies in log timestamps, making it difficult to correlate events across different systems. Additionally, time-related discrepancies can affect authentication mechanisms that rely on time-based tokens, such as those used in multifactor authentication, leading to failures and security gaps.

• Question 6:

  An organization has a critical financial application hosted online that does not allow event logging to send to the corporate SIEM. Which of the following is the best option for the security analyst to configure to improve the efficiency of security operations?

  A. Configure a new SIEM specific to the management of the hosted environment.

  B. Subscribe to a threat feed related to the vendor's application.

  C. Use a vendor-provided API to automate pulling the logs in real time.

  D. Download and manually import the logs outside of business hours.

  Correct Answer: C

  Using a vendor-provided API to automate pulling logs in real-time is the best option for improving the efficiency of security operations when the financial application does not allow event logging to send to the corporate SIEM. This approach ensures that logs are consistently and promptly integrated into the security monitoring process without manual intervention, enhancing the overall effectiveness of security operations.

• Question 7:

  Which of the following explains the importance of a timeline when providing an incident response report?

  A. The timeline contains a real-time record of an incident and provides information that helps to simplify a postmortem analysis.

  B. An incident timeline provides the necessary information to understand the actions taken to mitigate the threat or risk.

  C. The timeline provides all the information, in the form of a timetable, of the whole incident response process including actions taken.

  D. An incident timeline presents the list of commands executed by an attacker when the system was compromised, in the form of a timetable.

  Correct Answer: C

  An incident response timeline is a detailed chronological record of all events and actions taken during the response to a security incident. It includes timestamps and descriptions of each step, providing a comprehensive overview of how the incident was detected, contained, mitigated, and resolved. This timeline is crucial for post-incident analysis, helping to understand the effectiveness of the response, identify areas for improvement, and ensure accountability and transparency in the incident handling process.

• Question 8:

  A company is launching a new application in its internal network, where internal customers can communicate with the service desk. The security team needs to ensure the application will be able to handle unexpected strings with anomalous formats without crashing.

  Which of the following processes is the most applicable for testing the application to find how it would behave in such a situation?

  A. Fuzzing

  B. Coding review

  C. Debugging

  D. Static analysis

  Correct Answer: A

  Fuzzing is a process used to test applications by inputting unexpected or random data to see how the application behaves. This method is particularly effective in identifying vulnerabilities such as buffer overflows, input validation errors, and other anomalies that could cause the application to crash or behave unexpectedly. By using fuzzing, the security team can ensure the new application is robust and capable of handling unexpected strings with anomalous formats without crashing.

• Question 9:

  A cybersecurity analyst has been assigned to the threat-hunting team to create a dynamic detection strategy based on behavioral analysis and attack patterns. Which of the following best describes what the analyst will be creating?

  A. Bots

  B. loCs

  C. TTPs

  D. Signatures

  Correct Answer: C

  The analyst will be creating TTPs (Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures). TTPs describe the behavior, methods, and patterns used by attackers during a cyber attack. By focusing on TTPs, the analyst can develop a dynamic detection strategy that identifies malicious activities based on the observed behavior and patterns, rather than relying on static indicators like signatures or IOCs (Indicators of Compromise).

• Question 10:

  During a tabletop exercise, engineers discovered that an ICS could not be updated due to hardware versioning incompatibility.

  Which of the following is the most likely cause of this issue?

  A. Legacy system

  B. Business process interruption

  C. Degrading functionality

  D. Configuration management

  Correct Answer: A

  The most likely cause of the issue where an ICS (Industrial Control System) could not be updated due to hardware versioning incompatibility is a legacy system. Legacy systems often have outdated hardware and software that may not be compatible with modern updates and patches. This can pose significant challenges in maintaining security and operational efficiency.