Which of the following exemplifies proper separation of duties?
Operators are not permitted modify the system time.
Programmers are permitted to use the system console.
Console operators are permitted to mount tapes and disks.
Tape operators are permitted to use the system console.
This is an example of Separation of Duties because operators are prevented from modifying the system time which could lead to fraud. Tasks of this nature should be performed by they system administrators.
AIO defines Separation of Duties as a security principle that splits up a critical task among two or more individuals to ensure that one person cannot complete a risky task by himself.
The following answers are incorrect:
Programmers are permitted to use the system console. Is incorrect because programmers should not be permitted to use the system console, this task should be performed by operators. Allowing programmers access to the system console could allow fraud to occur so this is not an example of Separation of Duties..
Console operators are permitted to mount tapes and disks. Is incorrect because operators should be able to mount tapes and disks so this is not an example of Separation of Duties.
Tape operators are permitted to use the system console. Is incorrect because operators should be able to use the system console so this is not an example of Separation of Duties.
References:
OIG CBK Access Control (page 98 - 101)
AIOv3 Access Control (page 182)
A central authority determines what subjects can have access to certain objects based on the organizational security policy is called:
Mandatory Access Control
Discretionary Access Control
Non-Discretionary Access Control
Rule-based Access control
A central authority determines what subjects can have access to certain objects based on the organizational security policy.
The key focal point of this question is the 'central authority' that determines access rights.
Cecilia one of the quiz user has sent me feedback informing me that NIST defines MAC as: "MAC Policy means that Access Control Policy Decisions are made by a CENTRAL AUTHORITY. Which seems to indicate there could be two good answers to this question.
However if you read the NISTR document mentioned in the references below, it is also mentioned that: MAC is the most mentioned NDAC policy. So MAC is a form of NDAC policy.
Within the same document it is also mentioned: "In general, all access control policies other than DAC are grouped in the category of non- discretionary access control (NDAC). As the name implies, policies in this category have rules that are not established at the discretion of the user. Non-discretionary policies establish controls that cannot be changed by users, but only through administrative action."
Under NDAC you have two choices:
Rule Based Access control and Role Base Access Control
MAC is implemented using RULES which makes it fall under RBAC which is a form of NDAC. It is a subset of NDAC.
This question is representative of what you can expect on the real exam where you have more than once choice that seems to be right. However, you have to look closely if one of the choices would be higher level or if one of the choice falls under one of the other choice. In this case NDAC is a better choice because MAC is falling under NDAC through the use of Rule Based Access Control.
The following are incorrect answers:
MANDATORY ACCESS CONTROL
In Mandatory Access Control the labels of the object and the clearance of the subject determines access rights, not a central authority. Although a central authority (Better known as the Data Owner) assigns the label to the object, the system does the determination of access rights automatically by comparing the Object label with the Subject clearance. The subject clearance MUST dominate (be equal or higher) than the object being accessed.
The need for a MAC mechanism arises when the security policy of a system dictates that:
1. Protection decisions must not be decided by the object owner.
2. The system must enforce the protection decisions (i.e., the system enforces the security policy over the wishes or intentions of the object owner).
Usually a labeling mechanism and a set of interfaces are used to determine access based on the MAC policy; for example, a user who is running a process at the Secret classification should not be allowed to read a file with a label of Top Secret. This is known as the “simple security rule,” or “no read up.”
Conversely, a user who is running a process with a label of Secret should not be allowed to write to a file with a label of Confidential. This rule is called the “*-property” (pronounced “star property”) or “no write down.” The *-property is required to maintain system security in an automated environment.
DISCRETIONARY ACCESS CONTROL
In Discretionary Access Control the rights are determined by many different entities, each of the persons who have created files and they are the owner of that file, not one central authority.
DAC leaves a certain amount of access control to the discretion of the object's owner or anyone else who is authorized to control the object's access. For example, it is generally used to limit a user's access to a file; it is the owner of the file who controls other users' accesses to the file. Only those users specified by the owner may have some combination of read, write, execute, and other permissions to the file.
DAC policy tends to be very flexible and is widely used in the commercial and government sectors. However, DAC is known to be inherently weak for two reasons:
First, granting read access is transitive; for example, when Ann grants Bob read access to a file, nothing stops Bob from copying the contents of Ann’s file to an object that Bob controls. Bob may now grant any other user access to the copy of Ann’s file without Ann’s knowledge.
Second, DAC policy is vulnerable to Trojan horse attacks. Because programs inherit the identity of the invoking user, Bob may, for example, write a program for Ann that, on the surface, performs some useful function, while at the same time destroys the contents of Ann’s files. When investigating the problem, the audit files would indicate that Ann destroyed her own files. Thus, formally, the drawbacks of DAC are as follows:
Discretionary Access Control (DAC) Information can be copied from one object to another; therefore, there is no real assurance on the flow of information in a system.
No restrictions apply to the usage of information when the user has received it.
The privileges for accessing objects are decided by the owner of the object, rather than through a system-wide policy that reflects the organization’s security requirements.
ACLs and owner/group/other access control mechanisms are by far the most common mechanism for implementing DAC policies. Other mechanisms, even though not designed with DAC in mind, may have the capabilities to implement a DAC policy.
RULE BASED ACCESS CONTROL
In Rule-based Access Control a central authority could in fact determine what subjects can have access when assigning the rules for access. However, the rules actually determine the access and so this is not the most correct answer.
RuBAC (as opposed to RBAC, role-based access control) allow users to access systems and information based on pre determined and configured rules. It is important to note that there is no commonly understood definition or formally defined standard for rule-based access control as there is for DAC, MAC, and RBAC. “Rule-based access” is a generic term applied to systems that allow some form of organization-defined rules, and therefore rule-based access control encompasses a broad range of systems. RuBAC may in fact be combined with other models, particularly RBAC or DAC. A RuBAC system intercepts every access request and compares the rules with the rights of the user to make an access decision. Most of the rule-based access control relies on a security label system, which dynamically composes a set of rules defined by a security policy. Security labels are attached to all objects, including files, directories, and devices. Sometime roles to subjects (based on their attributes) are assigned as well. RuBAC meets the business needs as well as the technical needs of controlling service access. It allows business rules to be applied to access control—for example, customers who have overdue balances may be denied service access. As a mechanism for MAC, rules of RuBAC cannot be changed by users. The rules can be established by any attributes of a system related to the users such as domain, host, protocol, network, or IP addresses. For example, suppose that a user wants to access an object in another network on the other side of a router. The router employs RuBAC with the rule composed by the network addresses, domain, and protocol to decide whether or not the user can be granted access. If employees change their roles within the organization, their existing authentication credentials remain in effect and do not need to be re configured. Using rules in conjunction with roles adds greater flexibility because rules can be applied to people as well as to devices. Rule-based access control can be combined with role-based access control, such that the role of a user is one of the attributes in rule setting. Some provisions of access control systems have rule- based policy engines in addition to a role-based policy engine and certain implemented dynamic policies [Des03]. For example, suppose that two of the primary types of software users are product engineers and quality engineers. Both groups usually have access to the same data, but they have different roles to perform in relation to the data and the application's function. In addition, individuals within each group have different job responsibilities that may be identified using several types of attributes such as developing programs and testing areas. Thus, the access decisions can be made in real time by a scripted policy that regulates the access between the groups of product engineers and quality engineers, and each individual within these groups. Rules can either replace or complement role-based access control. However, the creation of rules and security policies is also a complex process, so each organization will need to strike the appropriate balance.
References used for this question:
http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistir/7316/NISTIR-7316.pdf
and
AIO v3 p162-167 and OIG (2007) p.186-191
also
KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Page 33.
What is called the act of a user professing an identity to a system, usually in the form of a log-on ID?
Authentication
Identification
Authorization
Confidentiality
Identification is the act of a user professing an identity to a system, usually in the form of a log-on ID to the system.
Identification is nothing more than claiming you are somebody. You identify yourself when you speak to someone on the phone that you don’t know, and they ask you who they’re speaking to. When you say, “I’m Jason.”, you’ve just identified yourself.
In the information security world, this is analogous to entering a username. It’s not analogous to entering a password. Entering a password is a method for verifying that you are who you identified yourself as.
NOTE: The word "professing" used above means: "to say that you are, do, or feel something when other people doubt what you say". This is exactly what happen when you provide your identifier (identification), you claim to be someone but the system cannot take your word for it, you must further Authenticate to the system to prove who you claim to be.
The following are incorrect answers:
Authentication: is how one proves that they are who they say they are. When you claim to be Jane Smith by logging into a computer system as “jsmith”, it’s most likely going to ask you for a password. You’ve claimed to be that person by entering the name into the username field (that’s the identification part), but now you have to prove that you are really that person.
Many systems use a password for this, which is based on “something you know”, i.e. a secret between you and the system.
Another form of authentication is presenting something you have, such as a driver’s license, an RSA token, or a smart card.
You can also authenticate via something you are. This is the foundation for biometrics. When you do this, you first identify yourself and then submit a thumb print, a retina scan, or another form of bio-based authentication.
Once you’ve successfully authenticated, you have now done two things: you’ve claimed to be someone, and you’ve proven that you are that person. The only thing that’s left is for the system to determine what you’re allowed to do.
Authorization: is what takes place after a person has been both identified and authenticated; it’s the step determines what a person can then do on the system.
An example in people terms would be someone knocking on your door at night. You say, “Who is it?”, and wait for a response. They say, “It’s John.” in order to identify themselves. You ask them to back up into the light so you can see them through the peephole. They do so, and you authenticate them based on what they look like (biometric). At that point you decide they can come inside the house.
If they had said they were someone you didn’t want in your house (identification), and you then verified that it was that person (authentication), the authorization phase would not include access to the inside of the house.
Confidentiality: Is one part of the CIA triad. It prevents sensitive information from reaching the wrong people, while making sure that the right people can in fact get it. A good example is a credit card number while shopping online, the merchant needs it to clear the transaction but you do not want your informaiton exposed over the network, you would use a secure link such as SSL, TLS, or some tunneling tool to protect the information from prying eyes between point A and point B. Data encryption is a common method of ensuring confidentiality.
The other parts of the CIA triad are listed below:
Integrity involves maintaining the consistency, accuracy, and trustworthiness of data over its entire life cycle. Data must not be changed in transit, and steps must be taken to ensure that data cannot be altered by unauthorized people (for example, in a breach of confidentiality). In addition, some means must be in place to detect any changes in data that might occur as a result of non-human-caused events such as an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) or server crash. If an unexpected change occurs, a backup copy must be available to restore the affected data to its correct state.
Availability is best ensured by rigorously maintaining all hardware, performing hardware repairs immediately when needed, providing a certain measure of redundancy and failover, providing adequate communications bandwidth and preventing the occurrence of bottlenecks, implementing emergency backup power systems, keeping current with all necessary system upgrades, and guarding against malicious actions such as denial-of-service (DoS) attacks.
Reference used for this question:
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/Confidentiality-integrity-and-availability-CIA
http://www.danielmiessler.com/blog/security-identification-authentication-and-authorization
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/profess
KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Page 36.
Which type of attack involves impersonating a user or a system?
Smurfing attack
Spoofing attack
Spamming attack
Sniffing attack
A spoofing attack is when an attempt is made to gain access to a computer system by posing as an authorized user or system. Spamming refers to sending out or posting junk advertising and unsolicited mail. A smurf attack is a type of denial-of-service attack using PING and a spoofed address. Sniffing refers to observing packets passing on a network.
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter 3: Telecommunications and Network Security (page 77).
The following is NOT a security characteristic we need to consider while choosing a biometric identification systems:
data acquisition process
cost
enrollment process
speed and user interface
Cost is a factor when considering Biometrics but it is not a security characteristic.
All the other answers are incorrect because they are security characteristics related to Biometrics.
data acquisition process can cause a security concern because if the process is not fast and efficient it can discourage individuals from using the process.
enrollment process can cause a security concern because the enrollment process has to be quick and efficient. This process captures data for authentication.
speed and user interface can cause a security concern because this also impacts the users acceptance rate of biometrics. If they are not comfortable with the interface and speed they might sabotage the devices or otherwise attempt to circumvent them.
References:
OIG Access Control (Biometrics) (pgs 165-167)
From: TIPTON, Harold F. & KRAUSE, MICKI, Information Security Management Handbook, 4th Edition, Volume 1, Pages 5-6.
in process of correction
Which of the following is true about Kerberos?
It utilizes public key cryptography.
It encrypts data after a ticket is granted, but passwords are exchanged in plain text.
It depends upon symmetric ciphers.
It is a second party authentication system.
Kerberos depends on secret keys (symmetric ciphers). Kerberos is a third party authentication protocol. It was designed and developed in the mid 1980's by MIT. It is considered open source but is copyrighted and owned by MIT. It relies on the user's secret keys. The password is used to encrypt and decrypt the keys.
The following answers are incorrect:
It utilizes public key cryptography. Is incorrect because Kerberos depends on secret keys (symmetric ciphers).
It encrypts data after a ticket is granted, but passwords are exchanged in plain text. Is incorrect because the passwords are not exchanged but used for encryption and decryption of the keys.
It is a second party authentication system. Is incorrect because Kerberos is a third party authentication system, you authenticate to the third party (Kerberos) and not the system you are accessing.
References:
MIT http://web.mit.edu/kerberos/
Wikipedi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerberos_%28protocol%29
OIG CBK Access Control (pages 181 - 184)
AIOv3 Access Control (pages 151 - 155)
Which of the following is most relevant to determining the maximum effective cost of access control?
the value of information that is protected
management's perceptions regarding data importance
budget planning related to base versus incremental spending.
the cost to replace lost data
The cost of access control must be commensurate with the value of the information that is being protected.
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Page 49.
Which of the following is an example of discretionary access control?
Identity-based access control
Task-based access control
Role-based access control
Rule-based access control
An identity-based access control is an example of discretionary access control that is based on an individual's identity. Identity-based access control (IBAC) is access control based on the identity of the user (typically relayed as a characteristic of the process acting on behalf of that user) where access authorizations to specific objects are assigned based on user identity.
Rule Based Access Control (RuBAC) and Role Based Access Control (RBAC) are examples of non-discretionary access controls.
Rule-based access control is a type of non-discretionary access control because this access is determined by rules and the subject does not decide what those rules will be, the rules are uniformly applied to ALL of the users or subjects.
In general, all access control policies other than DAC are grouped in the category of non-discretionary access control (NDAC). As the name implies, policies in this category have rules that are not established at the discretion of the user. Non-discretionary policies establish controls that cannot be changed by users, but only through administrative action.
Both Role Based Access Control (RBAC) and Rule Based Access Control (RuBAC) fall within Non Discretionary Access Control (NDAC). If it is not DAC or MAC then it is most likely NDAC.
BELOW YOU HAVE A DESCRIPTION OF THE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES:
MAC = Mandatory Access Control
Under a mandatory access control environment, the system or security administrator will define what permissions subjects have on objects. The administrator does not dictate user’s access but simply configure the proper level of access as dictated by the Data Owner.
The MAC system will look at the Security Clearance of the subject and compare it with the object sensitivity level or classification level. This is what is called the dominance relationship.
The subject must DOMINATE the object sensitivity level. Which means that the subject must have a security clearance equal or higher than the object he is attempting to access.
MAC also introduce the concept of labels. Every objects will have a label attached to them indicating the classification of the object as well as categories that are used to impose the need to know (NTK) principle. Even thou a user has a security clearance of Secret it does not mean he would be able to access any Secret documents within the system. He would be allowed to access only Secret document for which he has a Need To Know, formal approval, and object where the user belong to one of the categories attached to the object.
If there is no clearance and no labels then IT IS NOT Mandatory Access Control.
Many of the other models can mimic MAC but none of them have labels and a dominance relationship so they are NOT in the MAC category.
DAC = Discretionary Access Control
DAC is also known as: Identity Based access control system.
The owner of an object is define as the person who created the object. As such the owner has the discretion to grant access to other users on the network. Access will be granted based solely on the identity of those users.
Such system is good for low level of security. One of the major problem is the fact that a user who has access to someone's else file can further share the file with other users without the knowledge or permission of the owner of the file. Very quickly this could become the wild wild west as there is no control on the dissimination of the information.
RBAC = Role Based Access Control
RBAC is a form of Non-Discretionary access control.
Role Based access control usually maps directly with the different types of jobs performed by employees within a company.
For example there might be 5 security administrator within your company. Instead of creating each of their profile one by one, you would simply create a role and assign the administrators to the role. Once an administrator has been assigned to a role, he will IMPLICITLY inherit the permissions of that role.
RBAC is great tool for environment where there is a a large rotation of employees on a daily basis such as a very large help desk for example.
RBAC or RuBAC = Rule Based Access Control
RuBAC is a form of Non-Discretionary access control.
A good example of a Rule Based access control device would be a Firewall. A single set of rules is imposed to all users attempting to connect through the firewall.
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Page 33.
and
NISTIR-7316 at http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistir/7316/NISTIR-7316.pdf
and
http://itlaw.wikia.com/wiki/Identity-based_access_control
Which of the following is a trusted, third party authentication protocol that was developed under Project Athena at MIT?
Kerberos
SESAME
KryptoKnight
NetSP
Kerberos is a trusted, third party authentication protocol that was developed under Project Athena at MIT.
Kerberos is a network authentication protocol. It is designed to provide strong authentication for client/server applications by using secret-key cryptography. A free implementation of this protocol is available from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Kerberos is available in many commercial products as well.
The Internet is an insecure place. Many of the protocols used in the Internet do not provide any security. Tools to "sniff" passwords off of the network are in common use by systems crackers. Thus, applications which send an unencrypted password over the network are extremely vulnerable. Worse yet, other client/server applications rely on the client program to be "honest" about the identity of the user who is using it. Other applications rely on the client to restrict its activities to those which it is allowed to do, with no other enforcement by the server.
Some sites attempt to use firewalls to solve their network security problems. Unfortunately, firewalls assume that "the bad guys" are on the outside, which is often a very bad assumption. Most of the really damaging incidents of computer crime are carried out by insiders. Firewalls also have a significant disadvantage in that they restrict how your users can use the Internet. (After all, firewalls are simply a less extreme example of the dictum that there is nothing more secure then a computer which is not connected to the network --- and powered off!) In many places, these restrictions are simply unrealistic and unacceptable.
Kerberos was created by MIT as a solution to these network security problems. The Kerberos protocol uses strong cryptography so that a client can prove its identity to a server (and vice versa) across an insecure network connection. After a client and server have used Kerberos to prove their identity, they can also encrypt all of their communications to assure privacy and data integrity as they go about their business.
Kerberos is freely available from MIT, under a copyright permission notice very similar to the one used for the BSD operating and X11 Windowing system. MIT provides Kerberos in source form, so that anyone who wishes to use it may look over the code for themselves and assure themselves that the code is trustworthy. In addition, for those who prefer to rely on a professional supported product, Kerberos is available as a product from many different vendors.
In summary, Kerberos is a solution to your network security problems. It provides the tools of authentication and strong cryptography over the network to help you secure your information systems across your entire enterprise. We hope you find Kerberos as useful as it has been to us. At MIT, Kerberos has been invaluable to our Information/Technology architecture.
KryptoKnight is a Peer to Peer authentication protocol incorporated into the NetSP product from IBM.
SESAME is an authentication and access control protocol, that also supports communication confidentiality and integrity. It provides public key based authentication along with the Kerberos style authentication, that uses symmetric key cryptography. Sesame supports the Kerberos protocol and adds some security extensions like public key based authentication and an ECMA-style Privilege Attribute Service. The complete Sesame protocol is a two step process. In the first step, the client successfully authenticates itself to the Authentication Server and obtains a ticket that can be presented to the Privilege Attribute Server. In the second step, the initiator obtains proof of his access rights in the form of Privilege Attributes Certificate (PAC). The PAC is a specific form of Access Control Certificate as defined in the ECMA-219 document. This document describes the extensions to Kerberos for public key based authentication as adopted in Sesame.
SESAME, KryptoKnight, and NetSP never took off and the protocols are no longer commonly used.
References:
http://www.cmf.nrl.navy.mil/CCS/people/kenh/kerberos-faq.html#whatis
and
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Page 40.
Which of the following statements pertaining to biometrics is false?
Increased system sensitivity can cause a higher false rejection rate
The crossover error rate is the point at which false rejection rate equals the false acceptance rate.
False acceptance rate is also known as Type II error.
Biometrics are based on the Type 2 authentication mechanism.
Authentication is based on three factor types: type 1 is something you know, type 2 is something you have and type 3 is something you are. Biometrics are based on the Type 3 authentication mechanism.
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter 2: Access control systems (page 37).
Which of the following is most affected by denial-of-service (DOS) attacks?
Confidentiality
Integrity
Accountability
Availability
Denial of service attacks obviously affect availability of targeted systems.
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter 3: Telecommunications and Network Security (page 61).
The "vulnerability of a facility" to damage or attack may be assessed by all of the following except:
Inspection
History of losses
Security controls
security budget
Source: The CISSP Examination Textbook- Volume 2: Practice by S. Rao Vallabhaneni.
Which of the following is needed for System Accountability?
Audit mechanisms.
Documented design as laid out in the Common Criteria.
Authorization.
Formal verification of system design.
Is a means of being able to track user actions. Through the use of audit logs and other tools the user actions are recorded and can be used at a later date to verify what actions were performed.
Accountability is the ability to identify users and to be able to track user actions.
The following answers are incorrect:
Documented design as laid out in the Common Criteria. Is incorrect because the Common Criteria is an international standard to evaluate trust and would not be a factor in System Accountability.
Authorization. Is incorrect because Authorization is granting access to subjects, just because you have authorization does not hold the subject accountable for their actions.
Formal verification of system design. Is incorrect because all you have done is to verify the system design and have not taken any steps toward system accountability.
References:
OIG CBK Glossary (page 778)
Kerberos is vulnerable to replay in which of the following circumstances?
When a private key is compromised within an allotted time window.
When a public key is compromised within an allotted time window.
When a ticket is compromised within an allotted time window.
When the KSD is compromised within an allotted time window.
Replay can be accomplished on Kerberos if the compromised tickets are used within an allotted time window.
The security depends on careful implementation:enforcing limited lifetimes for authentication credentials minimizes the threat of of replayed credentials, the KDC must be physically secured, and it should be hardened, not permitting any non-kerberos activities.
Which of the following questions is less likely to help in assessing physical access controls?
Does management regularly review the list of persons with physical access to sensitive facilities?
Is the operating system configured to prevent circumvention of the security software and application controls?
Are keys or other access devices needed to enter the computer room and media library?
Are visitors to sensitive areas signed in and escorted?
Physical security and environmental security are part of operational controls, and are measures taken to protect systems, buildings, and related supporting infrastructures against threats associated with their physical environment. All the questions above are useful in assessing physical access controls except for the one regarding operating system configuration, which is a logical access control.
Source: SWANSON, Marianne, NIST Special Publication 800-26, Security Self-Assessment Guide for Information Technology Systems, November 2001 (Pages A-21 to A-24).
Which of the following is not a two-factor authentication mechanism?
Something you have and something you know.
Something you do and a password.
A smartcard and something you are.
Something you know and a password.
Something you know and a password fits within only one of the three ways authentication could be done. A password is an example of something you know, thereby something you know and a password does not constitute a two-factor authentication as both are in the same category of factors.
A two-factor (strong) authentication relies on two different kinds of authentication factors out of a list of three possible choice:
something you know (e.g. a PIN or password),
something you have (e.g. a smart card, token, magnetic card),
something you are is mostly Biometrics (e.g. a fingerprint) or something you do (e.g. signature dynamics).
TIP FROM CLEMENT:
On the real exam you can expect to see synonyms and sometimes sub-categories under the main categories. People are familiar with Pin, Passphrase, Password as subset of Something you know.
However, when people see choices such as Something you do or Something you are they immediately get confused and they do not think of them as subset of Biometrics where you have Biometric implementation based on behavior and physilogical attributes. So something you do falls under the Something you are category as a subset.
Something your do would be signing your name or typing text on your keyboard for example.
Strong authentication is simply when you make use of two factors that are within two different categories.
Reference(s) used for this question:
Shon Harris, CISSP All In One, Fifth Edition, pages 158-159
RADIUS incorporates which of the following services?
Authentication server and PIN codes.
Authentication of clients and static passwords generation.
Authentication of clients and dynamic passwords generation.
Authentication server as well as support for Static and Dynamic passwords.
A Network Access Server (NAS) operates as a client of RADIUS. The client is responsible for passing user information to
designated RADIUS servers, and then acting on the response which is returned.
RADIUS servers are responsible for receiving user connection requests, authenticating the user, and then returning all
configuration information necessary for the client to deliver service to the user.
RADIUS authentication is based on provisions of simple username/password credentials. These credentials are encrypted
by the client using a shared secret between the client and the RADIUS server. OIG 2007, Page 513
RADIUS incorporates an authentication server and can make uses of both dynamic and static passwords.
Since it uses the PAP and CHAP protocols, it also incluses static passwords.
RADIUS is an Internet protocol. RADIUS carries authentication, authorization, and configuration information between a Network Access Server and a shared Authentication Server. RADIUS features and functions are described primarily in the IETF (International Engineering Task Force) document RFC2138.
The term " RADIUS" is an acronym which stands for Remote Authentication Dial In User Service.
The main advantage to using a RADIUS approach to authentication is that it can provide a stronger form of authentication. RADIUS is capable of using a strong, two-factor form of authentication, in which users need to possess both a user ID and a hardware or software token to gain access.
Token-based schemes use dynamic passwords. Every minute or so, the token generates a unique 4-, 6- or 8-digit access number that is synchronized with the security server. To gain entry into the system, the user must generate both this one-time number and provide his or her user ID and password.
Although protocols such as RADIUS cannot protect against theft of an authenticated session via some realtime attacks, such as wiretapping, using unique, unpredictable authentication requests can protect against a wide range of active attacks.
RADIUS: Key Features and Benefits
Features Benefits
RADIUS supports dynamic passwords and challenge/response passwords.
Improved system security due to the fact that passwords are not static.
It is much more difficult for a bogus host to spoof users into giving up their passwords or password-generation algorithms.
RADIUS allows the user to have a single user ID and password for all computers in a network.
Improved usability due to the fact that the user has to remember only one login combination.
RADIUS is able to:
Prevent RADIUS users from logging in via login (or ftp).
Require them to log in via login (or ftp)
Require them to login to a specific network access server (NAS);
Control access by time of day.
Provides very granular control over the types of logins allowed, on a per-user basis.
The time-out interval for failing over from an unresponsive primary RADIUS server to a backup RADIUS server is site-configurable.
RADIUS gives System Administrator more flexibility in managing which users can login from which hosts or devices.
Stratus Technology Product Brief
http://www.stratus.com/products/vos/openvos/radius.htm
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Pages 43, 44.
Also check: MILLER, Lawrence & GREGORY, Peter, CISSP for Dummies, 2002, Wiley Publishing, Inc., pages 45-46.
The throughput rate is the rate at which individuals, once enrolled, can be processed and identified or authenticated by a biometric system. Acceptable throughput rates are in the range of:
100 subjects per minute.
25 subjects per minute.
10 subjects per minute.
50 subjects per minute.
The throughput rate is the rate at which individuals, once enrolled, can be processed and identified or authenticated by a biometric system.
Acceptable throughput rates are in the range of 10 subjects per minute.
Things that may impact the throughput rate for some types of biometric systems may include:
A concern with retina scanning systems may be the exchange of body fluids on the eyepiece.
Another concern would be the retinal pattern that could reveal changes in a person's health, such as diabetes or high blood pressure.
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Page 38.
What is a common problem when using vibration detection devices for perimeter control?
They are vulnerable to non-adversarial disturbances.
They can be defeated by electronic means.
Signal amplitude is affected by weather conditions.
They must be buried below the frost line.
Vibration sensors are similar and are also implemented to detect forced entry. Financial institutions may choose to implement these types of sensors on exterior walls, where bank robbers may attempt to drive a vehicle through. They are also commonly used around the ceiling and flooring of vaults to detect someone trying to make an unauthorized bank withdrawal.
Such sensors are proned to false positive. If there is a large truck with heavy equipment driving by it may trigger the sensor. The same with a storm with thunder and lighting, it may trigger the alarm even thou there are no adversarial threat or disturbance.
The following are incorrect answers:
All of the other choices are incorrect.
Reference used for this question:
Harris, Shon (2012-10-18). CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, 6th Edition (pp. 495-496). McGraw-Hill . Kindle Edition.
Which of the following statements pertaining to Kerberos is false?
The Key Distribution Center represents a single point of failure.
Kerberos manages access permissions.
Kerberos uses a database to keep a copy of all users' public keys.
Kerberos uses symmetric key cryptography.
Kerberos is a trusted, credential-based, third-party authentication protocol that uses symmetric (secret) key cryptography to provide robust authentication to clients accessing services on a network.
One weakness of Kerberos is its Key Distribution Center (KDC), which represents a single point of failure.
The KDC contains a database that holds a copy of all of the symmetric/secret keys for the principals.
Reference(s) used for this question:
KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter 2: Access control systems (page40).