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Question 1 A shared resource matrix is a technique commonly used to locate:

Options:

A. Malicious code

B. Security flaws

C. Trap doors

D. Covert channels

Answer: D

Explanation:

Analyzing resources of a system is one standard for locating covert channels because the basis of a covert

channel is a shared resource.

The following properties must hold for a storage channel to exist:

1. Both sending and receiving process must have access to the same attribute of a shared object.

2. The sending process must be able to modify the attribute of the shared object.

3. The receiving process must be able to reference that attribute of the shared object.

4. A mechanism for initiating both processes and properly sequencing their respective accesses to the

shared resource must exist.

Note: Similar properties for timing channel can be listed

The following answers are incorrect:

All other answers were not directly related to discovery of Covert Channels.

The following reference(s) were/was used to create this question:

Acerbic Publications, Acerbic Publications (Test Series) - CRC Press LLC, Page No. 225

http://www.cs.ucsb.edu/~sherwood/cs290/papers/covert-kemmerer.pdf

http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~byoung/cs361/lecture16.pdf

http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~byoung/cs361/lecture16.pdf

Question 2

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You are part of a security staff at a highly profitable bank and each day, all traffic on the network is logged

for later review. Every Friday when major deposits are made you're seeing a series of bits placed in the

"Urgent Pointer" field of a TCP packet. This is only 16 bits which isn't much but it concerns you because:

Options:

A. This could be a sign of covert channeling in bank network communications and should be

investigated.

B. It could be a sign of a damaged network cable causing the issue.

C. It could be a symptom of malfunctioning network card or drivers and the source system should

be

checked for the problem.

D. It is normal traffic because sometimes the previous fields 16-bit checksum value can over run

into the

urgent pointer's 16-bit field causing the condition.

Answer: A

Explanation:

The Urgent Pointer is used when some information has to reach the server ASAP. When the TCP/IP stack

at the other end sees a packet using the Urgent Pointer set, it is duty bound to stop all ongoing activities

and immediately send this packet up the stack for immediate processing. Since the packet is plucked out of

the processing queue and acted upon immediately, it is known as an Out Of Band (OOB)packet and the

data is called Out Of Band (OOB) data.

The Urgent Pointer is usually used in Telnet, where an immediate response (e.g. the echoing of characters)

is desirable.

Covert Channels are not directly synonymous with backdoors. A covert channel is simply using a

communication protocol in a way it was not intended to be used or sending data without going through the

proper access control mechanisms or channels. For example, in a Mandatory Access Control systems a

user at secret has found a way to communicate information to a user at Confidential without going through

the normal channels.

In this case the Urgent bit could be used for a few reasons:

1. It could be to attempt a Denial of service where the host receiving a packet with the Urgent bit set will

give immediate attention to the request and will be in wait state until the urgent message is receive, if the

sender does not send the urgent message then it will simply sit there doing nothing until it times out. Some

of the TCP/IP stacks used to have a 600 seconds time out, which means that for 10 minutes nobody could

use the port. By sending thousands of packet with the URGENT flag set, it would create a very effective

denial of service attack.

2. It could be used as a client server application to transmit data back and forward without going through

the proper channels. It would be slow but it is possible to use reserved fields and bits to transmit data

outside the normal communication channels.

The other answers are incorrect


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http://www.fas.org/irp/nsa/rainbow/tg030.htm document covering the subject of covert channels

and also see:

http://gray-world.net/papers.shtml which is a large collection of documents on Covert Channels

Question 3 John is the product manager for an information system. His product has undergone under security review

by an IS auditor. John has decided to apply appropriate security controls to reduce the security risks

suggested by an IS auditor. Which of the following technique is used by John to treat the identified risk

provided by an IS auditor?

Options:

A. Risk Mitigation

B. Risk Acceptance

C. Risk Avoidance

D. Risk transfer

Answer: A

Explanation:

Risk mitigation is the practice of the elimination of, or the significant decrease in the level of risk presented.

For your exam you should know below information about risk assessment and treatment:

A risk assessment, which is a tool for risk management, is a method of identifying vulnerabilities and

threats and assessing the possible impacts to determine where to implement security controls. A risk

assessment is carried out, and the results are analyzed. Risk analysis is used to ensure that security is

cost-effective, relevant, timely, and responsive to threats. Security can be quite complex, even for well-

versed security professionals, and it is easy to apply too much security, not enough security, or the wrong

security controls, and to spend too much money in the process without attaining the necessary objectives.

Risk analysis helps companies prioritize their risks and shows management the amount of resources that

should be applied to protecting against those risks in a sensible manner.

A risk analysis has four main goals:

Identify assets and their value to the organization.

Identify vulnerabilities and threats.

Quantify the probability and business impact of these potential threats.

Provide an economic balance between the impact of the threat and the cost of the countermeasure.

Treating Risk

Risk Mitigation


Examples of risk mitigation can be seen in everyday life and are readily apparent in the information

technology world. Risk Mitigation involves applying appropriate control to reduce risk. For example, to

lessen the risk of exposing personal and financial information that is highly sensitive and confidential

organizations put countermeasures in place, such as firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems, and

other mechanisms, to deter malicious outsiders from accessing this highly sensitive information. In the

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underage driver example, risk mitigation could take the form of driver education for the youth or

establishing a policy not allowing the young driver to use a cell phone while driving, or not letting youth of a

certain age have more than one friend in the car as a passenger at any given time.

Risk Transfer

Risk transfer is the practice of passing on the risk in question to another entity, such as an insurance

company. Let us look at one of the examples that were presented above in a different way. The family is

evaluating whether to permit an underage driver to use the family car. The family decides that it is

important for the youth to be mobile, so it transfers the financial risk of a youth being in an accident to the

insurance company, which provides the family with auto insurance.

It is important to note that the transfer of risk may be accompanied by a cost. This is certainly true for the

insurance example presented earlier, and can be seen in other insurance instances, such as liability

insurance for a vendor or the insurance taken out by companies to protect against hardware and software

theft or destruction. This may also be true if an organization must purchase and implement security

controls in order to make their organization less desirable to attack. It is important to remember that not all

risk can be transferred. While financial risk is simple to transfer through insurance, reputational risk may

almost never be fully transferred.

Risk Avoidance

Risk avoidance is the practice of coming up with alternatives so that the risk in question is not realized. For

example, have you ever heard a friend, or parents of a friend, complain about the costs of insuring an

underage driver? How about the risks that many of these children face as they become mobile? Some of

these families will decide that the child in question will not be allowed to drive the family car, but will rather

wait until he or she is of legal age (i.e., 18 years of age) before committing to owning, insuring, and driving

a motor vehicle.

In this case, the family has chosen to avoid the risks (and any associated benefits) associated with an

underage driver, such as poor driving performance or the cost of insurance for the child. Although this

choice may be available for some situations, it is not available for all. Imagine a global retailer who,

knowing the risks associated with doing business on the Internet, decides to avoid the practice. This

decision will likely cost the company a significant amount of its revenue (if, indeed, the company has

products or services that consumers wish to purchase). In addition, the decision may require the company

to build or lease a site in each of the locations, globally, for which it wishes to continue business. This could

have a catastrophic effect on the company’s ability to continue business operations

Risk Acceptance

In some cases, it may be prudent for an organization to simply accept the risk that is presented in certain

scenarios. Risk acceptance is the practice of accepting certain risk(s), typically based on a business

decision that may also weigh the cost versus the benefit of dealing with the risk in another way.

For example, an executive may be confronted with risks identified during the course of a risk assessment

for their organization. These risks have been prioritized by high, medium, and low impact to the

organization. The executive notes that in order to mitigate or transfer the low-level risks, significant costs

could be involved. Mitigation might involve the hiring of additional highly skilled personnel and the purchase

of new hardware, software, and office equipment, while transference of the risk to an insurance company

would require premium payments. The

executive then further notes that minimal impact to the organization would occur if any of the reported low-

level threats were realized. Therefore, he or she (rightly) concludes that it is wiser for the organization to

forgo the costs and accept the risk. In the young driver example, risk acceptance could be based on the

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observation that the youngster has demonstrated the responsibility and maturity to warrant the parent’s

trust in his or her judgment.


Risk Transfer - Risk transfer is the practice of passing on the risk in question to another entity, such as an

insurance company. Let us look at one of the examples that were presented above in a different way.

Risk Avoidance - Risk avoidance is the practice of coming up with alternatives so that the risk in question is

not realized.

Risk Acceptance - Risk acceptance is the practice of accepting certain risk(s), typically based on a

business decision that may also weigh the cost versus the benefit of dealing with the risk in another way.


CISA Review Manual 2014 Page number 51

Official ISC2 guide to CISSP CBK 3rd edition page number 383,384 and 385

Question 4 Sam is the security Manager of a financial institute. Senior management has requested he performs a risk

analysis on all critical vulnerabilities reported by an IS auditor. After completing the risk analysis, Sam has

observed that for a few of the risks, the cost benefit analysis shows that risk mitigation cost

(countermeasures, controls, or safeguard) is more than the potential lost that could be incurred. What kind

of a strategy should Sam recommend to the senior management to treat these risks?

Options:

A. Risk Mitigation

B. Risk Acceptance

C. Risk Avoidance

D. Risk transfer

Answer: B

Explanation:

Risk acceptance is the practice of accepting certain risk(s), typically based on a business decision that may

also weigh the cost versus the benefit of dealing with the risk in another way.








Risk analysis helps companies prioritize their risks and shows

management the amount of resources that should be applied to protecting against those risks in a sensible

manner.


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Provide an economic balance between the impact of the threat and the cost

of the countermeasure.

Treating Risk

Risk Mitigation










Risk Transfer













Risk Avoidance






a motor vehicle.









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Risk Acceptance


















Risk Avoidance - Risk avoidance is the practice of coming up with alternatives so that the risk in question is

not realized.

Risk Mitigation -Risk mitigation is the practice of the elimination of, or the significant decrease in the level of

risk presented.



and

Official ISC2 guide to CISSP CBK 3rd edition page number 534-539

Question 5 Which of the following risk handling technique involves the practice of being proactive so that the risk in

question is not realized?

Options:

A. Risk Mitigation

B. Risk Acceptance

C. Risk Avoidance

D. Risk transfer

Answer: C

Explanation:

Risk avoidance is the practice of coming up with alternatives so that the risk in question is not realized.


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Risk analysis helps companies prioritize their risks and shows management the amount of resources that

should be applied to protecting against those risks in a sensible manner.





Provide an economic balance between the impact of the threat and the cost

of the countermeasure.

Treating Risk

Risk Mitigation










Risk Transfer













Risk Avoidance






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a motor vehicle.









Risk Acceptance


















Risk Acceptance - Risk acceptance is the practice of accepting certain risk(s), typically based on a

business decision that may also weigh the cost versus the benefit of dealing with the risk in another way.

Risk Mitigation -Risk mitigation is the practice of the elimination of, or the significant decrease in the level of

risk presented



and

Official ISC2 guide to CISSP CBK 3rd edition page number 534-536

Question 6 Which of the following control is intended to discourage a potential attacker?

Options:

A. Deterrent

B. Preventive

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C. Corrective

D. Recovery

Answer: A

Explanation:

Deterrent Control are intended to discourage a potential attacker

For your exam you should know below information about different security controls

Deterrent Controls

Deterrent Controls are intended to discourage a potential attacker. Access controls act as a deterrent to

threats and attacks by the simple fact that the existence of the control is enough to keep some potential

attackers from attempting to circumvent the control. This is often because the effort required to circumvent

the control is far greater than the potential reward if the attacker is successful, or, conversely, the negative

implications of a failed attack (or getting caught) outweigh the benefits of success. For example, by forcing

the identification and authentication of a user, service, or application, and all that it implies, the potential for

incidents associated with the system is significantly reduced because an attacker will fear association with

the incident. If there are no controls for a given access path, the number of incidents and the potential

impact become infinite. Controls inherently reduce exposure to risk by applying oversight for a process.

This oversight acts as a deterrent, curbing an attacker’s appetite in the face of probable repercussions.

The best example of a deterrent control is demonstrated by employees and their propensity to intentionally

perform unauthorized functions, leading to unwanted events.

When users begin to understand that by authenticating into a system to perform a function, their activities

are logged and monitored, and it reduces the likelihood they will attempt such an action. Many threats are

based on the anonymity of the threat agent, and any potential for identification and association with their

actions is avoided at all costs.

It is this fundamental reason why access controls are the key target of circumvention by attackers.

Deterrents also take the form of potential punishment if users do something unauthorized. For example, if

the organization policy specifies that an employee installing an unauthorized wireless access point will be

fired, that will determine most employees from installing wireless access points.

Preventative Controls

Preventive controls are intended to avoid an incident from occurring. Preventative access controls keep a

user from performing some activity or function. Preventative controls differ from deterrent controls in that

the control is not optional and cannot (easily) be bypassed. Deterrent controls work on the theory that it is

easier to obey the control

rather than to risk the consequences of bypassing the control. In other words, the power for action resides

with the user (or the attacker). Preventative controls place the power of action with the system, obeying the

control is not optional. The only way to bypass the control is to find a flaw in the control’s implementation.

Compensating Controls

Compensating controls are introduced when the existing capabilities of a system do not support the

requirement of a policy. Compensating controls can be technical, procedural, or managerial. Although an

existing system may not support the required controls, there may exist other technology or processes that

can supplement the existing environment, closing the gap in controls, meeting policy requirements, and

reducing overall risk.

For example, the access control policy may state that the authentication process must be encrypted when

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performed over the Internet. Adjusting an application to natively support encryption for authentication

purposes may be too costly. Secure Socket Layer (SSL), an encryption protocol, can be employed and

layered on top of the authentication process to support the policy statement.

Other examples include a separation of duties environment, which offers the capability to isolate certain

tasks to compensate for technical limitations in the system and ensure the security of transactions. In

addition, management processes, such as authorization, supervision, and administration, can be used to

compensate for gaps in the access control environment.

Detective Controls

Detective controls warn when something has happened, and are the earliest point in the post-incident

timeline. Access controls are a deterrent to threats and can be aggressively utilized to prevent harmful

incidents through the application of least privilege. However, the detective nature of access controls can

provide significant visibility into the access environment and help organizations manage their access

strategy and related security risk.

As mentioned previously, strongly managed access privileges provided to an authenticated user offer the

ability to reduce the risk exposure of the enterprise’s assets by limiting the capabilities that authenticated

user has. However, there are few options to control what a user can perform once privileges are provided.

For example, if a user is provided write access to a file and that file is damaged, altered, or otherwise

negatively impacted (either deliberately or unintentionally), the use of applied access controls will offer

visibility into the transaction. The control environment can be established to log activity regarding the

identification, authentication, authorization, and use of privileges on a system.

This can be used to detect the occurrence of errors, the attempts to perform an unauthorized action, or to

validate when provided credentials were exercised. The logging system as a detective device provides

evidence of actions (both successful and unsuccessful) and tasks that were executed by authorized users.

Corrective Controls

When a security incident occurs, elements within the security infrastructure may require corrective actions.

Corrective controls are actions that seek to alter the security posture of an environment to correct any

deficiencies and return the environment to a secure state. A security incident signals the failure of one or

more directive, deterrent, preventative, or compensating controls. The detective controls may have

triggered an alarm or notification, but now the corrective controls must work to stop the incident in its

tracks. Corrective controls can take many forms, all depending on the particular situation at hand or the

particular security failure that needs to be dealt with.

Recovery Controls

Any changes to the access control environment, whether in the face of a security incident or to offer

temporary compensating controls, need to be accurately reinstated and returned to normal operations.

There are several situations that may affect access controls, their applicability, status, or management.

Events can include system outages, attacks, project changes, technical demands, administrative gaps, and

full-blown disaster situations. For example, if an application is not correctly installed or deployed, it may

adversely affect controls placed on system files or even have default administrative accounts unknowingly

implemented upon install.

Additionally, an employee may be transferred, quit, or be on temporary leave that may affect policy

requirements regarding separation of duties. An attack on systems may have resulted in the implantation of

a Trojan horse program, potentially exposing private user information, such as credit card information and

financial data. In all of these cases, an undesirable situation must be rectified as quickly as possible and

controls returned to normal operations.

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Preventive - Preventive controls are intended to avoid an incident from occurring

Corrective - Corrective control fixes components or systems after an incident has occurred

Recovery - Recovery controls are intended to bring the environment back to regular operations



and

Official ISC2 CISSP guide 3rd edition Page number 50 and 51

Question 7 Which of the following security control is intended to avoid an incident from occurring?

Options:

A. Deterrent

B. Preventive

C. Corrective

D. Recovery

Answer: B

Explanation:

Preventive controls are intended to avoid an incident from occurring


Deterrent Controls



















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Detective Controls
















Corrective Controls




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Recovery Controls














Deterrent - Deterrent controls are intended to discourage a potential attacker





and


Question 8 Which of the following control fixes a component or system after an incident has occurred?

Options:

A. Deterrent

B. Preventive

C. Corrective

D. Recovery

Answer: C

Explanation:

Corrective control fixes components or systems after an incident has occurred


Deterrent Controls


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Detective Controls



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Corrective Controls








Recovery Controls



















and


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Question 9 Which of the following security control is intended to bring environment back to regular operation?

Options:

A. Deterrent

B. Preventive

C. Corrective

D. Recovery

Answer: D

Explanation:

Recovery controls are intended to bring the environment back to regular operations


Deterrent Controls





























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Detective Controls
















Corrective Controls








Recovery Controls






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and


Question 10 Which of the following control helps to identify an incident’s activities and potentially an intruder?

Options:

A. Deterrent

B. Preventive

C. Detective

D. Compensating

Answer: C

Explanation:

Detective control helps identify an incident’s activities and potentially an intruder


Deterrent Controls












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Detective Controls













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Corrective Controls








Recovery Controls
















Compensating - Compensating Controls provide an alternative measure of control



and


Would you like to see more? Don't miss our CISA PDF

file at:

https://www.certification-questions.com/isaca-pdf/cisa-pdf.html

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