Pass the CompTIA CompTIA CySA+ CS0-003 Questions and answers with CertsForce

Integrity validation is the process of ensuring that the digital evidence has not been altered or tampered with during collection, acquisition, preservation, or analysis. It usually involves generating and verifying cryptographic hashes of the evidence, such as MD5 or SHA-1. Integrity validation is essential for maintaining the accuracy and admissibility of the digital evidence in court. 

High GPU utilization is the most likely indicator that cryptomining is occurring, as it reflects the intensive computational work that is required to solve the complex mathematical problems involved in mining cryptocurrencies. Cryptomining is the process of generating new units of a cryptocurrency by using computing power to verify transactions and create new blocks on the blockchain. Cryptomining can be done legitimately by individuals or groups who participate in a mining pool and share the rewards, or illegitimately by threat actors who use malware or scripts to hijack the computing resources of unsuspecting victims and use them for their own benefit. This practice is called cryptojacking, and it can cause performance degradation, increased power consumption, and security risks for the affected systems. Cryptomining typically relies on the GPU (graphics processing unit) rather than the CPU (central processing unit), as the GPU is better suited for parallel processing and can handle more calculations per second. Therefore, a high GPU utilization rate can be a sign that cryptomining is taking place on a system, especially if there is no other explanation for the increased workload. The other options are not as indicative of cryptomining as high GPU utilization, as they can have other causes or explanations. Bandwidth consumption can be affected by many factors, such as network traffic, streaming services, downloads, or updates. It is not directly related to cryptomining, which does notrequire a lot of bandwidth to communicate with the mining pool or the blockchain network. Unauthorized changes can be a result of many types of malware or cyberattacks, such as ransomware, spyware, or trojans. They are not specific to cryptomining, which does not necessarily alter any files or settings on the system, but rather uses its processing power. Unusual traffic spikes can also be caused by various factors, such as legitimate surges in demand, distributed denial-of-service attacks, or botnets. They are not indicative of cryptomining, which does not generate a lot of traffic or requests to or from the system.

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.

Placing a legal hold on the employee’s mailbox is the best action to perform first, as it preserves all mailbox content, including deleted items and original versions of modified items, for potential legal or forensic purposes. A legal hold is a feature that allows an administrator to retain mailbox data for a user indefinitely or for a specified period, regardless of the user’s actions or retention policies. A legal hold can be applied to a mailbox using Litigation Hold or In-Place Hold in Exchange Server or Exchange Online. A legal hold can help to ensure that evidence of data exfiltration or other malicious activities is not lost or tampered with, and that the organization can comply with any legal or regulatory obligations. The other actions are not as urgent or effective as placing a legal hold on the employee’s mailbox, as they do not address the immediate threat of data loss or compromise. Enabling filtering on the web proxy may help to prevent some types of data exfiltration or malicious traffic, but it does nothelp to recover or preserve the data that has already been emailed externally. Disabling the public email access with CASB (Cloud Access Security Broker) may help to block or monitor the use of public email services by employees, but it does not help to recover or preserve the data that has already been emailed externally. Configuring a deny rule on the firewall may help to block or monitor the network traffic from the employee’s laptop, but it does not help to recover or preserve the data that has already been emailed externally.

Comprehensive Detailed Explanation:To safely analyze malware while avoiding unintended disclosure of company information, it is best to use a local sandbox in a microsegmented environment. Here’s why:

A. Upload the malware to the VirusTotal website

Risk: VirusTotal and similar services are public and may share uploaded files with other security vendors, potentially exposing proprietary or sensitive information.

B. Share the malware with the EDR provider

Limitation: While EDR providers may offer insight, sharing potentially sensitive malware samples externally still introduces risk of disclosure or data leaks.

C. Hire an external consultant to perform the analysis

Cost and Risk: Hiring an external consultant can be costly and may introduce risks related to third-party handling of sensitive data. Although it may provide insights, this is typically not the most efficient initial response.

D. Use a local sandbox in a microsegmented environment

Explanation: A local sandbox provides a secure, isolated environment for malware analysis without exposing sensitive data outside the organization. Microsegmentation enhances security by further isolating the sandbox from the network, preventing lateral movement if the malware attempts to communicate externally.

The best practice that the company should follow with this proxy is to decommission the proxy. Decommissioning the proxy involves removing or disposing of the proxy from the rack and the network, as well as deleting or wiping any data or configuration on the proxy. Decommissioning the proxy can help eliminate the vulnerability on the proxy, as well as reduce the attack surface, complexity, or cost of maintaining the network. Decommissioning the proxy can also free up space or resources for other devices or systems that are in use or needed by the company.

Using aregular expression (regex)to search email logs is the most efficient and scalable way to identify patterns in phishing URLs. Phishing campaigns often use consistent URL formats across different domains. Regex allows administrators to define flexible patterns to match these URLs even when the domains vary. This is significantly more effective than relying on user reports or less granular tools like firewall logs for such cases.

The vulnerability is network based is the correct attribute that describes this vulnerability, as it can be inferred from the CVSS string. CVSS stands for Common Vulnerability Scoring System, which is a framework that assigns numerical scores and ratings to vulnerabilities based on their characteristics and severity. The CVSS string consists of several metrics that define different aspects of the vulnerability, such as the attack vector, the attack complexity, the privileges required, the user interaction, the scope, and the impact on confidentiality, integrity and availability. The first metric in the CVSS string is the attack vector (AV), which indicates how the vulnerability can be exploited. The value of AV in this case is N, which stands for network. This means that the vulnerability can be exploited remotely over a network connection, without physical or logical access to the target system. Therefore, the vulnerability is network based. Official References:

https://partners.comptia.org/docs/default-source/resources/comptia-cysa-cs0-002-exam-objectives

https://www.comptia.org/certifications/cybersecurity-analyst

https://packitforwarding.com/index.php/2019/01/10/comptia-cysa-common-vulnerability-scoring-system-cvss/

The best way to ensure that the investigation complies with HR or privacy policies is to ensure that the case details do not reflect any user-identifiable information, such as name, email address, phone number, or employee ID. This can help protect the privacy and confidentiality of the user and prevent any potential discrimination or retaliation. Additionally, password protecting the evidence and restricting access to personnel related to the investigation can help preserve the integrity and security of the evidence and prevent any unauthorized or accidental disclosure or modification.