A wireless administrator sets up a new network in a small office using a password. The network must reduce the impact of brute-force attacks if the password is subjected to over-the-air interception. Which of the following security settings will help achieve this goal?
Correct Answer: D
SAE, or Simultaneous Authentication of Equals, is the correct answer. SAE is used with WPA3- Personal and replaces the weaker pre-shared key exchange approach used in earlier WPA versions. Its major security benefit is resistance to offline dictionary and brute-force attacks after over-the-air capture. With older WPA /WPA2-PSK handshakes, an attacker could capture the handshake and repeatedly test guessed passwords offline. SAE changes the authentication exchange so captured traffic is not useful in the same way for mass offline guessing. WIPS can detect or prevent wireless intrusions, but it does not directly strengthen the password authentication exchange. SSO is an identity convenience mechanism, and WPS is a risky setup feature historically associated with PIN brute-force weaknesses.
Question 82
While troubleshooting a firewall configuration, a technician determines that a "deny any" policy should be added to the bottom of the ACL. The technician updates the policy, but the new policy causes several company servers to become unreachable. Which of the following actions would prevent this issue?
Correct Answer: B
A firewall policy is a set of rules that defines what traffic is allowed or denied on a network. A firewall policy should be carefully designed and tested before being implemented, as a misconfigured policy can cause network disruptions or security breaches. A common best practice is to test the policy in a non-production environment, such as a lab or a simulation, before enabling the policy in the production network. This way, the technician can verify the functionality and performance of the policy, and identify and resolve any issues or conflicts, without affecting the live network. Testing the policy in a non-production environment would prevent the issue of the 'deny any' policy causing several company servers to become unreachable, as the technician would be able to detect and correct the problem before applying the policy to the production network. Documenting the new policy in a change request and submitting the request to change management is a good practice, but it would not prevent the issue by itself. Change management is a process that ensures that any changes to the network are authorized, documented, and communicated, but it does not guarantee that the changes are error-free or functional. The technician still needs to test the policy before implementing it. Disabling any intrusion prevention signatures on the 'deny any' policy prior to enabling the new policy would not prevent the issue, and it could reduce the security of the network. Intrusion prevention signatures are patterns that identify malicious or unwanted traffic, and allow the firewall to block or alert on such traffic. Disabling these signatures would make the firewall less effective in detecting and preventing attacks, and it would not affect the reachability of the company servers. Including an 'allow any' policy above the 'deny any' policy would not prevent the issue, and it would render the 'deny any' policy useless. A firewall policy is processed from top to bottom, and the first matching rule is applied. An 'allow any' policy would match any traffic and allow it to pass through the firewall, regardless of the source, destination, or protocol. This would negate the purpose of the 'deny any' policy, which is to block any traffic that does not match any of the previous rules. Moreover, an 'allow any' policy would create a security risk, as it would allow any unauthorized or malicious traffic to enter or exit the network. References = CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Study Guide, page 204-205; Professor Messer's CompTIA SY0-701 Security+ Training Course, video 2.1 - Network Security Devices, 8:00 - 10:00.
Question 83
After a recent vulnerability scan, a security engineer needs to harden the routers within the corporate network. Which of the following is the most appropriate to disable?
Correct Answer: D
Web-based administration is a feature that allows users to configure and manage routers through a web browser interface. While this feature can provide convenience and ease of use, it can also pose a security risk, especially if the web interface is exposed to the internet or uses weak authentication or encryption methods. Web-based administration can be exploited by attackers to gain unauthorized access to the router's settings, firmware, or data, or to launch attacks such as cross-site scripting (XSS) or cross-site request forgery (CSRF). Therefore, disabling web-based administration is a good practice to harden the routers within the corporate network. Console access, routing protocols, and VLANs are other features that can be configured on routers, but they are not the most appropriate to disable for hardening purposes. Console access is a physical connection to the router that requires direct access to the device, which can be secured by locking the router in a cabinet or using a strong password. Routing protocols are essential for routers to exchange routing information and maintain network connectivity, and they can be secured by using authentication or encryption mechanisms. VLANs are logical segments of a network that can enhance network performance and security by isolating traffic and devices, and they can be secured by using VLAN access control lists (VACLs) or private VLANs (PVLANs).
Question 84
Security analysts perform a network discovery scan on the production environment and find 2,000 desktops and laptops are present on the network. The company previously documented only 1,500 devices in use. Which of the following presents the most critical risk to the company?
Correct Answer: B
A large number of undocumented devices indicates weak asset inventory and possible unauthorized endpoints on the network. These unmanaged devices may lack required security controls, increasing the risk that sensitive company information could be exposed, accessed, or exfiltrated.
Question 85
Which of the following must be considered when designing a high-availability network? (Choose two).
Correct Answer: A,D
Ease of recovery: High-availability networks should be designed in a way that allows for quick and easy recovery in the event of a failure. Redundancy, failover mechanisms, and backup systems are some of the components that can help facilitate smooth recovery. Responsiveness: High-availability networks need to be responsive to ensure that any potential issues or failures are quickly detected, and appropriate actions are taken promptly to minimize downtime and impact.
