Author Archives: Chris

In which phase of the SW-CMM does an organisation use quantitative measures to gain a detailed understanding of the development process? (a) Initial(b) Repeatable(c) Defined(d) Managed Answer:(d) Explanation:In the Managed phase (level 4 of the SW-CMM), the organisation uses quantitative measures to gain a detailed understanding of the development process.  Tom built a database table consisting of theContinue reading “Tough Questions 231-234”

Chapter 21: Malicious Code & Application Attacks Understand the propagation techniques used by viruses Viruses use four main propagation techniques to penetrate systems and spread their malicious payloads: file infection service injection boot sector infection macro infection You need to understand these techniques to effectively protect systems on your network from malicious code. Know howContinue reading “Exam Essentials: Chapter 21”

Chapter 20: Software Development Security Explain the basic architecture of a relational database management system (RDMS) Know the structure of relational DBs. Be able to explain the functions of tables (relations), rows (records/tuples) and columns (fields/attributes). Know how relationships are defined between tables, and the roles of various types of keys. Describe the DB securityContinue reading “Exam Essentials: Chapter 20”

Which of the following would security personnel do during the remediation stage of an incident response? (a) Contain the incident(b) Collect evidence(c) Rebuild system(d) Root cause analysis Answer:(d) Explanation:Security personnel perform a root cause analysis during the remediation stage. A root cause analysis attempts to discover the source of the problem. After discovering the cause, the review willContinue reading “Tough Questions 221-230”

Chapter 19: Investigations & Ethics Know the definition of computer crime Computer crime is a crime (or violation of a law or regulations) that is directed against, or directly involves, a computer. Be able to list & explain the six categories of computer crimes (TODO) Computer crimes are grouped into: military & intelligence attack businessContinue reading “Exam Essentials: Chapter 19”

Chapter 18: Disaster Recovery Planning Know the common types of natural disasters that may threaten an organisation Natural disasters that commonly threaten organisations include: earthquakes floods storms fires tsunamis volcanic eruptions. Know the common types of man-made disasters that may threaten an organisation Explosions Electrical fires Terrorist acts Power outages & other utility failures InfrastructureContinue reading “Exam Essentials: Chapter 18”

Chapter 17: Preventing & Responding To Incidents Know incident response steps The Security Operations domain lists incident response steps as: detection response mitigation reporting recovery remediation lessons learned After detecting & verifying an incident, the first response is to limit or contain the scope of the incident while protecting evidence. Based on governing laws, anContinue reading “Exam Essentials: Chapter 17”

Which one of the following is NOT normally included in a security assessment? (a) Vulnerability scan(b) Risk assessment(c) Mitigation of vulnerabilities(d) Threat assessment Answer:(c)  Who is the intended audience for a security assessment report? (a) Management(b) Security auditor(c) Security professional(d) Customers Answer:(a) Explanation:Security assessment reports should be addressed to the organisation’s management. For this reason, they should be written inContinue reading “Tough Questions 211-220”

Chapter 16: Managing Security Operations Understand need-to-know and the principle of least privilege Need-to-know and the principle of least privilege are two standard IT security principles implemented in secure networks. They limit access to data & systems so that users and other subjects have access only to what they require. This limited access helps preventContinue reading “Exam Essentials: Chapter 16”

Chapter 15: Security Assessment & Testing Understand the importance of security assessment & testing programs Security assessment & testing programs provide an important mechanism for validating the ongoing effectiveness of security controls. They include a variety of tools, including vulnerability assessments, penetration tests, software testing, audits & security management tasks designed to validate controls. EveryContinue reading “Exam Essentials: Chapter 15”