Which of the following is a common source of unintentional corporate credential leakage in cloud environments?
Correct Answer: A
Code repositories are a common source of unintentional corporate credential leakage, especially in cloud environments. Developers may accidentally commit and push sensitive information, such as API keys, passwords, and other credentials, to public or poorly secured repositories. These credentials can then be accessed by unauthorized users, leading to security breaches. Ensuring that repositories are properly secured and that sensitive data is never committed is critical for protecting against this type of leakage. References = * CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Course Content: Domain 03 Security Architecture. * CompTIA Security+ SY0-601 Study Guide: Chapter on Threats and Vulnerability Management.
Question 182
An accounting clerk sent money to an attacker's bank account after receiving fraudulent instructions over the phone to use a new account. Which of the following would most likely prevent this activity in the future?
Correct Answer: D
Comprehensive and Detailed In-Depth Explanation:Updating wire transfer processes to include verification steps (such as requiring dual approval or verifying account changes via a secondary communication method) canprevent fraudulent transactions. Attackers often use business email compromise (BEC) or pretexting to trick employees into transferring funds to fraudulent accounts. * Standardizing security incident reportingis useful for tracking security events but does not prevent fraud in real time. * Executing regular phishing campaignsimproves awareness but does not enforce a verification process for financial transactions. * Implementing insider threat detectionfocuses on internal risks but does not specifically prevent external fraud. Amore secure wire transfer processwith additional verification steps is the most effective measure against fraudulent transactions.
Question 183
Which of the following incident response activities ensures evidence is properly handied?
Correct Answer: B
Chain of custody is the process of documenting and preserving the integrity of evidence collected during an incident response. It involves recording the details of each person who handled the evidence, the time and date of each transfer, and the location where the evidence was stored. Chain of custody ensures that the evidence is admissible in legal proceedings and can be traced back to its source. E-discovery, legal hold, and preservation are related concepts, but they do not ensure evidence is properly handled. References: CompTIA Security+ Study Guide: Exam SY0-701, 9th Edition, page 487; NIST SP 800-61: 3.2. Evidence Gathering and Handling
Question 184
Which of the following should a security analyst consider when prioritizing remediation efforts against known vulnerabilities?
Correct Answer: B
Risk tolerance determines how much risk an organization is willing to accept before taking action. Security+ SY0-701 highlights risk tolerance as a primary factor in prioritizing remediation because different organizations evaluate threats differently depending on regulatory, financial, and operational pressures. A low-tolerance organization may remediate even low-severity vulnerabilities quickly, while a high-tolerance organization may delay action on anything below critical severity. Reporting impact to executives (A) does not influence risk priority. Open-source information (C) helps identify vulnerabilities but does not dictate remediation priority. The source of the risk report (D) is irrelevant; the severity and tolerance matter more. Thus, the correct answer is B: The overall organizational risk tolerance.
Question 185
A security analyst and the management team are reviewing the organizational performance of a recent phishing campaign. The user click-through rate exceeded the acceptable risk threshold, and the management team wants to reduce the impact when a user clicks on a link in a phishing message. Which of the following should the analyst do?
Correct Answer: C
An endpoint detection and response (EDR) system is a security tool that monitors and analyzes the activities and behaviors of endpoints, such as computers, laptops, mobile devices, and servers. An EDR system can detect, prevent, and respond to various types of threats, such as malware, ransomware, phishing, and advanced persistent threats (APTs). One of the features of an EDR system is to block the automatic execution of downloaded programs, which can prevent malicious code from running on the endpoint when a user clicks on a link in a phishing message. This can reduce the impact of a phishing attack and protect the endpoint from compromise. Updating the EDR policies to block automatic execution of downloaded programs is a technical control that can mitigate the risk of phishing, regardless of the user's awareness or behavior. Therefore, this is the best answer among the given options. The other options are not as effective as updating the EDR policies, because they rely on administrative or physical controls that may not be sufficient to prevent or stop a phishing attack. Placing posters around the office to raise awareness of common phishing activities is a physical control that can increase the user's knowledge of phishing, but it may not change their behavior or prevent them from clicking on a link in a phishing message. Implementing email security filters to prevent phishing emails from being delivered is an administrative control that can reduce the exposure to phishing, but it may not be able to block all phishing emails, especially if they are crafted to bypass the filters. Creating additional training for users to recognize the signs of phishing attempts is an administrative control that can improve the user's skills of phishing detection, but it may not guarantee that they will always be vigilant or cautious when receiving an email. Therefore, these options are not the best answer for this question. References = Endpoint Detection and Response - CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 - 2.2, video at 5:30; CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Study Guide, page 163.
