Security+ Exam Cram: Domain 1 Overview
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Questions and Answers

What is the role of a Policy Enforcement Point (PEP)?

  • To manage cryptographic keys
  • To evaluate access requests against policies (correct)
  • To ensure physical security
  • To monitor network traffic

    • A subject is a user who wishes to access a resource.

    True

    A short, sturdy vertical post used to control traffic flow is called a ______.

    bollard

    What is the primary purpose of an access control vestibule?

    <p>To strictly control access to highly secure areas.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a honeypot used for in cybersecurity?

    <p>To lure attackers for observation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the function of change management in security?

    <p>To process and evaluate changes to reduce risk and ensure security.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    A tool used for managing cryptographic keys is known as a ______.

    <p>key management system</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Match the following terms with their definitions:

    <p>Public Key = Used for encrypting data that only the private key can decrypt. Private Key = Used to decrypt data encrypted with the corresponding public key. Certificate Authority (CA) = An entity that issues digital certificates. Honeynet = A collection of honeypots designed to deceive attackers.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The efficacy of a fence is greater at a height of 6-7 feet.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Explain the importance of documentation in change management.

    <p>Documentation provides a clear understanding of system configurations and is crucial for future reference and changes.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is a deceptive method used to observe attackers?

    <p>Honeypot</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is a type of security control?

    <p>Compensating</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does 'CIA' stand for in security concepts?

    <p>Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Safeguards and countermeasures are interchangeable terms.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Match the following security control types with their functions:

    <p>Preventive = Thwarts unwanted activity Detective = Discovers unwanted activity Corrective = Restores normal operations Directive = Encourages compliance with security policies</p> Signup and view all the answers

    ___ ensures that data or system configurations are not modified without authorization.

    <p>Integrity</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is non-repudiation?

    <p>The guarantee that no one can deny a transaction.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which type of access control model is characterized by user roles?

    <p>Role-Based Access Control</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In a Zero Trust model, no entity is trusted by default.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary purpose of a Policy Enforcement Point (PEP)?

    <p>To enable, monitor, and terminate connections based on access control policies.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Policies, procedures, and standards fall under ___ controls.

    <p>managerial</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one example of asymmetric cryptography?

    <p>RSA</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following are types of ciphers?

    <p>All of the above</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Block ciphers encrypt data one bit at a time.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a common key length recommendation for RSA?

    <p>2048 bits</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the purpose of Digital Signatures?

    <p>Authentication, non-repudiation, and integrity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which ciphers rearrange the order of plaintext letters?

    <p>Transposition cipher</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which cryptographic concept is used to validate the integrity of data?

    <p>Hashing</p> Signup and view all the answers

    A ________ is random data added to a password before hashing to enhance security.

    <p>salt</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the term 'key stretching' refer to?

    <p>Processes that take a weak key and make it stronger.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Digital Signature Standard works only with SHA-1.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Match the following cryptographic concepts with their functions:

    <p>Digital signature = Ensures authentication and integrity Hashing = Creates a fixed-length output from variable-length input Tokenization = Replaces sensitive data with non-sensitive equivalents Salt = Random data added to passwords before hashing</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main advantage of using a blockchain?

    <p>Decentralization and immutability.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following best describes a hardware security module (HSM)?

    <p>A device that manages and safeguards digital keys</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is another term for a certification authority?

    <p>Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following types of CAs issues certificates to new subordinate CAs?

    <p>Root CA</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The Certificate Revocation List (CRL) contains information about valid certificates.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the purpose of the Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP)?

    <p>To check a certificate's status faster than downloading a CRL.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does an Online CA do?

    <p>Both A and B</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a certificate signing request (CSR)?

    <p>Records identifying information for a person or device that owns a private key and the corresponding public key.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What do the terms 'pinning' and 'stapling' refer to in the context of certificates?

    <p>Stapling allows a web server to provide OCSP responses.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the purpose of key escrow?

    <p>To enable recovery of lost cryptographic keys.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Match the following certificate types with their descriptions:

    <p>Wildcard = Supports multiple Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDNs) Code signing = Provides proof of content integrity Self-signed = Issued by the same entity that uses it Email = Allows users to digitally sign their emails</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Certificates can have a maximum lifetime of 3 years.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the Hardware Root of Trust (HRoT)?

    <p>A secure hardware component that verifies keys before the secure boot process.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The ___ encryption algorithm is the current industry gold standard.

    <p>AES</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which algorithm is considered an asymmetric encryption algorithm?

    <p>RSA</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the difference between a partition and a volume?

    <p>A partition is a physical section of storage; a volume is a logical division that can span multiple partitions.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Self-Encrypting Drives (SEDs) are not as secure as software-based encryption.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following best describes 'Data in transit'?

    <p>Data that is being transmitted over a network</p> Signup and view all the answers

    When is data considered to be 'in use'?

    <p>When it is being processed by applications in random access memory (RAM).</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Zero Trust Model and Data Plane

    • Implicit Trust Zones characterize traditional security with defined perimeters using firewalls and security devices.
    • Subjects are users accessing resources, while systems refer to non-human entities such as devices.
    • Policy Enforcement Point (PEP) evaluates access requests against predefined policies.
    • Conditional access involves enforcing specific access conditions through a workflow of signal, decision, and enforcement.
    • Policy Decision Point (PDP), Policy Engine, and Policy Administrator are components in the data plane responsible for policy decisions.

    Physical Security Essentials

    • Physical security is critical; without it, other security measures are ineffective.
    • Bollards serve as sturdy vertical posts to deter vehicle access and protect sensitive areas.
    • Access Control Vestibule, or mantrap, restricts entry by permitting only sequential door openings to prevent unauthorized access.
    • Fences act as deterrents; height matters:
      • 3-4 feet inhibit casual trespassers.
      • 6-7 feet hinder climbing, enhancing visual security.
      • 8 feet with barbed wire deter determined intruders but can be costly.

    Security Control Types

    • Video Surveillance includes CCTV for monitoring and identity verification, with motion detection capabilities.
    • Security Guards can offer preventive control by physically monitoring access to secure areas.
    • Access badges provide electronic entry controls to maintain security.
    • Lighting, along with strategic placement and efficiency considerations, contributes to deterring break-ins.
    • Various sensor technologies (infrared, pressure, microwave, ultrasonic) detect unauthorized movement effectively.

    Deception Techniques

    • Honeypots lure and monitor attackers without entrapping them, creating a controlled distraction away from actual assets.
    • Honeyfiles and Honeytokens are decoy items designed to divert attackers and reveal attempted data theft.

    Change Management Processes

    • Change management aims to align business processes with security, enhancing overall operations.
    • Effective change management reduces security incidents, ensures configuration consistency, and facilitates risk management.
    • Key elements of change management include:
      • Approval processes for proposed changes.
      • Clearly defined ownership of changes.
      • Stakeholder analysis to assess impact on affected parties.
      • Detailed impact analysis and testing protocols.
      • Backout plans for safe rollback of unsuccessful changes.
      • Maintenance windows to limit disruptions during updates.

    Technical Implications in Change Management

    • Allow lists/deny lists and restricted activities are crucial to managing access and ensuring security.
    • Documentation helps maintain a comprehensive record of system configurations and changes.
    • Version control systems (like Git) track code and configuration changes and identify conflicts, improving collaborative software development.

    Cryptographic Solutions and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)

    • PKI includes tools like certificate revocation lists (CRLs), trusted platform modules (TPMs), and hardware security modules (HSMs).
    • Key management encompasses generation, exchange, storage, usage, and destruction of cryptographic keys.
    • Certificate Authorities (CAs) issue digital certificates under specified policies within the PKI hierarchy.
    • Encryption types vary including full-disk, partition, and file-level encryption to protect sensitive data.

    Summary of Key Concepts

    • Understanding security measures from both logical (Zero Trust) to physical (fences, bollards) aspects is crucial for robust cybersecurity.
    • Effective change management processes directly improve security postures and ensure stable business operations.
    • Utilizing cryptographic tools and PKI systems enhances data security through proper key management and certificate issuance.### Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Concepts
    • A certification authority (CA) issues certificates, maintaining a hierarchy of trust through root, subordinate, and issuing CAs.
    • Root CA operates in an offline state for enhanced security; subordinate CAs (or policy CAs) and issuing CAs provide certificates for clients, servers, and devices.
    • Certificate Revocation List (CRL) contains revoked certificate information. CAs must publish CRLs; certificate users decide on checking revocation status.
    • Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) allows real-time checks of a certificate's status, improving efficiency over CRLs.

    Certificate Management

    • Certificate Signing Request (CSR) includes identifying information linked to the owner's private key and associated public key; it is sent to a CA to obtain a digital certificate.
    • Common name (CN) refers to the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) of the entity, such as a web server.
    • Online CAs operate continuously, while offline CAs are utilized only for specific operations—best practices recommend offline use for root CAs.
    • Certificate stapling enables web servers to supply validity information for their own certificates, improving OCSP efficiency.

    Trust Models and Key Management

    • Certificate chaining affirms trust through a hierarchy of CA certificates, where each CA endorses another in the trust model.
    • Key escrow allows recovery of cryptographic keys to prevent data loss, particularly crucial for symmetric keys and private keys in asymmetric cryptography.

    Certificate Formats and Types

    • Formats: DER (no private key), PEM (private key), PFX/P12 (private key), CER (single certificate), P7B (no private key).
    • User Certificates establish digital identity; Root Certificates serve as trust anchors in PKI.
    • Domain-Validated (DV) and Extended Validation (EV) certificates provide varying levels of trust.
    • Wildcard Certificates cover multiple FQDNs in a domain, reducing costs.
    • Self-signed Certificates are created by the entity using them but lack validation.

    Encryption Levels and Data Protection

    • File Encryption: Encrypts individual files, ideal for sensitive information.
    • Volume Encryption: Protects partitions within a physical drive.
    • Disk Encryption: Automates encryption for all data written to and from a disk, e.g., BitLocker for Windows.
    • Full Disk Encryption (FDE) is integrated within the operating systems, with Trusted Platform Module (TPM) enhancing security.

    Self-Encrypting Drives (SED)

    • SEDs encrypt data at rest automatically, following the OPAL storage specification—more secure and faster than software-based solutions.
    • Ideal for protecting data on lost or stolen devices without user intervention required for decryption.

    Transport Communications Security

    • Data in transit is commonly protected by TLS or HTTPS to safeguard communication, notably during sensitive transactions like credit card data entry.

    Data Protection in Relational Databases

    • Row-level and column-level encryption can be implemented for sensitive data within databases, with transparent data encryption (TDE) providing full database protection with minimal impact on performance.

    Symmetric vs. Asymmetric Cryptography

    • Symmetric Encryption: Utilizes a shared secret key, less scalable and lacks non-repudiation; ideal for bulk encryption.
    • Asymmetric Encryption: Employs public-private key pairs for secure communication, offering scalability and supporting non-repudiation; used for key exchanges and digital signatures.

    Common Encryption Algorithms

    • Symmetric Algorithms:
      • AES: Gold standard, efficient, with variable key lengths (128, 192, 256 bits).
      • 3DES: Phased out version of DES; less commonly used today.
      • Blowfish and Twofish: Known for strength and speed in bulk encryption.
    • Asymmetric Algorithms:
      • RSA: Widely used, foundational for key exchanges and signatures, relies on the difficulty of large prime factorization.
      • ECC: Efficient with smaller key sizes; suitable for constrained systems.
      • Diffie-Hellman: Protocol for secure key exchange.

    Key Takeaways

    • Understanding of PKI components (CAs, CRLs, OCSP) is critical for secure communication.
    • Knowledge of certificate types and their appropriate usage informs security practices.
    • Mastery of encryption methods and algorithms is essential for effectively protecting data at rest and in transit.
    • The importance of reactive and preventive measures in data protection strategies, particularly in database management and application security.### Asymmetric Cryptography
    • Examples include RSA, Diffie-Hellman (DH), and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC).
    • Supports distribution of symmetric bulk encryption keys.
    • Provides identity authentication through digital signatures and certificates.
    • Enables non-repudiation services and key agreement mechanisms.

    Types of Ciphers

    • Stream Cipher: Encrypts plaintext digits one at a time using a pseudorandom keystream.
    • Block Cipher: Encrypts data in fixed-size blocks (e.g., 64 bits) and is generally more secure than stream ciphers.
    • Substitution Cipher: Replaces characters or bits of plaintext with other characters (e.g., Caesar, Vigenère ciphers).
    • Transposition Cipher: Scrambles the order of plaintext letters without changing the letters themselves (e.g., Rail Fence, Columnar Transposition).

    Cryptographic Key Length

    • Increasing key length enhances algorithm strength exponentially.
    • A small key length increase significantly raises the work required to crack encryption.
    • Asymmetric Example: RSA key sizes of 1024, 2048, and 4096 bits; NIST recommends a minimum of 2048 bits.
    • Symmetric Example: Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) supports 128, 192, and 256 bits; 256-bit key is suggested for quantum resistance.
    • Doubling key length from 128 to 256 bits increases strength by 2^128 times.

    Static vs. Ephemeral Keys

    • Static Keys: Semi-permanent keys like RSA keys valid for a certificate's lifetime (usually 1-2 years).
    • Ephemeral Keys: Short-lived keys generated for a single session (e.g., used in Diffie-Hellman).

    Trusted Platform Module (TPM)

    • Hardware chip on motherboards for key management and full disk encryption solutions.
    • Provides system access to keys while preventing unauthorized data access.
    • Supports secure OS boot processes.

    Hardware Security Module (HSM)

    • Physical device for managing digital keys and performing cryptographic functions.
    • Can be external or removable, safeguarding keys with high security.

    Hardware Root of Trust (HRoT)

    • Mechanism for preventing unauthorized firmware execution.
    • Ensures keys are verified before secure processes are initiated.
    • TPM and HSM implementations exemplify HRoT.

    Key Management System (KMS)

    • Centralized cloud services for secure storage of application secrets (e.g., Azure Key Vault, AWS KMS).
    • Offers programmatic access via APIs for secure key management and CI/CD integration.

    Secure Enclaves

    • Isolated areas for processing sensitive data in a secure manner.
    • Combines hardware-based security and trusted execution environments.

    Obfuscation Techniques

    • Steganography: Concealment of messages within other files or data.
    • Tokenization: Replaces sensitive data with randomly generated tokens.
    • Pseudonymization: Substitutes identifiable information with pseudonyms for privacy.
    • Anonymization: Removes all identifying data to ensure original subjects cannot be identified.

    Hashing vs. Encryption

    • Encryption: Two-way function that allows recovery of the original data with a key.
    • Hashing: One-way function producing a unique digest; used for data integrity, digital signatures, and verification.

    Hash Function Requirements

    • Must support any input length while producing fixed-length output.
    • Efficient computation and one-way functionality are essential.
    • Collision resistance ensures unique hash outputs.

    Common Use Cases of Cryptographic Algorithms

    • Symmetric: AES used for bulk data encryption.
    • Asymmetric: RSA and DH for secure key distribution and identity authentication.
    • Hash Functions: Verify integrity and generate pseudo-random numbers.

    Key Stretching

    • Techniques to strengthen weak keys by increasing randomness and length.
    • Recommended minimum RSA key length of 2048 bits since 2015 due to evolving security needs.

    Blockchain Technology

    • Original foundation for Bitcoin, functioning as a decentralized public ledger for transactions.
    • Data is secured cryptographically, and each block contains the hash of the previous block.
    • Employs proof of work to validate new data.

    Differences between Blockchain and Open Public Ledger

    • Decentralization: Blockchain is distributed with no central authority; open ledgers can be centralized.
    • Immutability: Blockchain data is cryptographically secured and difficult to alter; public ledger data can be changed more easily.
    • Validation: Blockchain employs consensus mechanisms; public ledgers rely on central authority integrity.
    • Transparency: Blockchain transactions can be pseudonymous, while public ledgers tend to be fully transparent.

    Limitations of Cryptographic Choices

    • Speed and efficiency of applications must match encryption complexity.
    • Resource requirements for encryption (memory, storage) must align with capabilities.
    • Predictability and entropy in random number generation are crucial for cryptographic strength.
    • Older algorithms face imminent retirement as technological capabilities evolve.

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