CompTIA CompTIA Certifications CS0-003 Questions & Answers

• Question 41:

  The Chief Information Security Officer for an organization recently received approval to install a new EDR solution. Following the installation, the number of alerts that require remediation by an analyst has tripled. Which of the following should the organization utilize to best centralize the workload for the internal security team? (Select two).

  A. SOAR

  B. SIEM

  C. MSP

  D. NGFW

  E. XDR

  F. DLP

  Correct Answer: AB

  SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation and Response) and SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) are solutions that can help centralize the workload for the internal security team by collecting, correlating, and analyzing alerts from different sources, such as EDR. SOAR can also automate and streamline incident response workflows, while SIEM can provide dashboards and reports for security monitoring and compliance. References: What is EDR? Endpoint Detection and Response, How Does the Cyber Kill Chain Protect Against Attacks?; What is EDR Solution?, EDR solutions secure diverse endpoints through central monitoring

• Question 42:

  Using open-source intelligence gathered from technical forums, a threat actor compiles and tests a malicious downloader to ensure it will not be detected by the victim organization's endpoint security protections. Which of the following stages of the Cyber Kill Chain best aligns with the threat actor's actions?

  A. Delivery

  B. Reconnaissance

  C. Exploitation

  D. Weaponizatign

  Correct Answer: D

  Weaponization is the stage of the Cyber Kill Chain where the threat actor creates or modifies a malicious tool to use against a target. In this case, the threat actor compiles and tests a malicious downloader, which is a type of weaponized malware. References: Cybersecurity 101, The Cyber Kill Chain: The Seven Steps of a Cyberattack

• Question 43:

  An incident responder was able to recover a binary file through the network traffic. The binary file was also found in some machines with anomalous behavior. Which of the following processes most likely can be performed to understand the purpose of the binary file?

  A. File debugging

  B. Traffic analysis

  C. Reverse engineering

  D. Machine isolation

  Correct Answer: C

  Reverse engineering is the process of analyzing a binary file to understand its structure, functionality, and behavior. It can help to identify the purpose of the binary file, such as whether it is a malicious program, a legitimate application, or a library. Reverse engineering can involve various techniques, such as disassembling, decompiling, debugging, or extracting strings or resources from the binary file123. Reverse engineering can also help to find vulnerabilities, backdoors, or hidden features in the binary file

• Question 44:

  During normal security monitoring activities, the following activity was observed:

  cd C:\Users\Documents\HR\Employees

  takeown/f .*

  SUCCESS:

  Which of the following best describes the potentially malicious activity observed?

  A. Registry changes or anomalies

  B. Data exfiltration

  C. Unauthorized privileges

  D. File configuration changes

  Correct Answer: C

  The takeown command is used to take ownership of a file or folder that previously was denied access to the current user or group12. The activity observed indicates that someone has taken ownership of all files and folders under the C:\Users\Documents\HR\Employees directory, which may contain sensitive or confidential information. This could be a sign of unauthorized privileges, as the user or group may not have the legitimate right or need to access those files or folders. Taking ownership of files or folders could also enable the user or group to modify or delete them, which could affect the integrity or availability of the data.

• Question 45:

  An organization has established a formal change management process after experiencing several critical system failures over the past year. Which of the following are key factors that the change management process will include in order to reduce the impact of system failures? (Select two).

  A. Ensure users the document system recovery plan prior to deployment.

  B. Perform a full system-level backup following the change.

  C. Leverage an audit tool to identify changes that are being made.

  D. Identify assets with dependence that could be impacted by the change.

  E. Require diagrams to be completed for all critical systems.

  F. Ensure that all assets are properly listed in the inventory management system.

  Correct Answer: DF

  The correct answers for key factors in the change management process to reduce the impact of system failures are:

  Identify assets with dependence that could be impacted by the change:

  This is crucial in change management because understanding the interdependencies among assets can help anticipate and mitigate the potential cascading effects of a change. By identifying these dependencies, the organization can plan

  more effectively for changes and minimize the risk of unintended consequences that could lead to system failures.

  Ensure that all assets are properly listed in the inventory management system:

  Maintaining an accurate and comprehensive inventory of assets is fundamental in change management. Knowing exactly what assets the organization possesses and their characteristics allows for better planning and impact analysis when

  changes are made. This ensures that no critical component is overlooked during the change process, reducing the risk of failures due to incomplete information.

  Other Options:

  Ensure users document system recovery plan prior to deployment: While documenting a system recovery plan is important, it's more related to disaster recovery and business continuity planning than directly reducing the impact of system

  failures due to changes.

  Perform a full system-level backup following the change: While backups are essential, they are generally a reactive measure to recover from a failure, rather than a proactive measure to reduce the impact of system failures in the first place.

  Leverage an audit tool to identify changes that are being made: While using an audit tool is helpful for tracking changes and ensuring compliance, it is not directly linked to reducing the impact of system failures due to changes.

  Require diagrams to be completed for all critical systems: While having diagrams of critical systems is useful for understanding and managing them, it is not a direct method for reducing the impact of system failures due to changes.Diagrams

  are more about documentation and understanding rather than proactive change management.

• Question 46:

  A security analyst scans a host and generates the following output:

  

  Which of the following best describes the output?

  A. The host is unresponsive to the ICMP request.

  B. The host Is running a vulnerable mall server.

  C. The host Is allowlng unsecured FTP connectlons.

  D. The host is vulnerable to web-based exploits.

  Correct Answer: D

  The output shows that port 80 is open and running an HTTP service, indicating that the host could potentially be vulnerable to web-based attacks. The other options are not relevant for this purpose: the host is responsive to the ICMP request, as shown by the "Host is up" message; the host is not running a mail server, as there is no SMTP or POP3 service detected; the host is not allowing unsecured FTP connections, as there is no FTP service detected.References: According to the CompTIA CySA+ Study Guide: S0-003, 3rd Edition123, one of the objectives for the exam is to "use appropriate tools and methods to manage, prioritize and respond to attacks and vulnerabilities". The book also covers the usage and syntax of nmap, a popular network scanning tool, in chapter 5. Specifically, it explains the meaning and function of each option in nmap, such as "-sV" for version detection2, page 195. Therefore, this is a reliable source to verify the answer to the question.

• Question 47:

  A security analyst has received an incident case regarding malware spreading out of control on a customer's network. The analyst is unsure how to respond. The configured EDR has automatically obtained a sample of the malware and its signature. Which of the following should the analyst perform next to determine the type of malware, based on its telemetry?

  A. Cross-reference the signature with open-source threat intelligence.

  B. Configure the EDR to perform a full scan.

  C. Transfer the malware to a sandbox environment.

  D. Log in to the affected systems and run necstat.

  Correct Answer: A

• Question 48:

  During an incident, analysts need to rapidly investigate by the investigation and leadership teams. Which of the following best describes how PII should be safeguarded during an incident?

  A. Implement data encryption and close the data so only the company has access.

  B. Ensure permissions are limited in the investigation team and encrypt the data.

  C. Implement data encryption and create a standardized procedure for deleting data that is no longer needed.

  D. Ensure that permissions are open only to the company.

  Correct Answer: B

  The best option to safeguard PII during an incident is to ensure permissions are limited in the investigation team and encrypt the data. This is because limiting permissions reduces the risk of unauthorized access or leakage of sensitive data, and encryption protects the data from being read or modified by anyone who does not have the decryption key. Option A is not correct because closing the data may hinder the investigation process and prevent collaboration with other parties who may need access to the data. Option C is not correct because deleting data that is no longer needed may violate legal or regulatory requirements for data retention, and may also destroy potential evidence for the incident. Option D is not correct because opening permissions to the company may expose the data to more people than necessary, increasing the risk of compromise or misuse. References: CompTIA CySA+ Study Guide: S0-002, 2nd Edition, Chapter 4, "Data Protection and Privacy Practices", page 195; CompTIA CySA+ Certification Exam Objectives Version 4.0, Domain 4.0 "Compliance and Assessment", Objective 4.1 "Given a scenario, analyze data as part of a security incident", Sub-objective "Data encryption", page CompTIA CySA+ Study Guide: S0-002, 2nd Edition : CompTIA CySA+ Certification Exam Objectives Version 4.0.pdf)

• Question 49:

  An analyst views the following log entries:

  

  The organization has a partner vendor with hosts in the 216.122.5.x range. This partner vendor is required to have access to monthly reports and is the only external vendor with authorized access. The organization prioritizes incident investigation according to the following hierarchy:

  1.

  unauthorized data disclosure is more critical than denial of service attempts

  2.

  which are more important than ensuring vendor data access

  Based on the log files and the organization's priorities, which of the following hosts warrants additional investigation?

  A. 121.19.30.221

  B. 134.17.188.5

  C. 202.180.1582

  D. 216.122.5.5

  Correct Answer: A

  Based on the log files and the organization's priorities, the host that warrants additional investigation is 121.19.30.221, because it is the only host that accessed a file containing sensitive data and is not from the partner vendor's range. The log files show the following information: The IP addresses of the hosts that accessed the web server The date and time of the access The file path of the requested resource The number of bytes transferred The organization's priorities are: Unauthorized data disclosure is more critical than denial of service attempts Denial of service attempts are more important than ensuring vendor data access According to these priorities, the most serious threat to the organization is unauthorized data disclosure, which occurs when sensitive, protected, or confidential data is copied, transmitted, viewed, stolen, altered, or used by an individual unauthorized to do so123. Therefore, the host that accessed a file containing sensitive data and is not from the partner vendor's range poses the highest risk to the organization. The file that contains sensitive data is /reports/2023/financials.pdf, as indicated by its name and path. This file was accessed by two hosts:

  121.19.30.221 and 216.122.5.5. However, only 121.19.30.221 is not from the partner vendor's range, which is 216.122.5.x. Therefore, 121.19.30.221 is a potential unauthorized data disclosure threat and warrants additional investigation.

  The other hosts do not warrant additional investigation based on the log files and the organization's priorities.

  Host 134.17.188.5 accessed /index.html multiple times in a short period of time, which could indicate a denial of service attempt by flooding the web server with requests45. However, denial of service attempts are less critical than

  unauthorized data disclosure according to the organization's priorities, and there is no evidence that this host succeeded in disrupting the web server's normal operations.

  Host 202.180.1582 accessed /images/logo.png once, which does not indicate any malicious activity or threat to the organization.

  Host 216.122.5.5 accessed /reports/2023/financials.pdf once, which could indicate unauthorized data disclosure if it was not authorized to do so. However, this host is from the partner vendor's range, which is required to have access to

  monthly reports and is the only external vendor with authorized access according to the organization's requirements. Therefore, based on the log files and the organization's priorities, host 121.19.30.221 warrants additional investigation as it

  poses the highest risk of unauthorized data disclosure to the organization.

• Question 50:

  A SOC analyst is analyzing traffic on a network and notices an unauthorized scan. Which of the following types of activities is being observed?

  A. Potential precursor to an attack

  B. Unauthorized peer-to-peer communication

  C. Rogue device on the network

  D. System updates

  Correct Answer: A