What reference model describes computer communication services and protocols in a layered approach?
Correct Answer: D
Question 317
What is the essential difference between a self-audit and an independent audit?
Correct Answer: C
Explanation/Reference: To maintain operational assurance, organizations use two basic methods: system audits and monitoring. Monitoring refers to an ongoing activity whereas audits are one-time or periodic events and can be either internal or external. The essential difference between a self-audit and an independent audit is objectivity, thus indirectly affecting the results of the audit. Internal and external auditors should have the same level of competence and can use the same tools. Source: SWANSON, Marianne & GUTTMAN, Barbara, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), NIST Special Publication 800-14, Generally Accepted Principles and Practices for Securing Information Technology Systems, September 1996 (page 25).
Question 318
What is the length of an MD5 message digest?
Correct Answer: A
Explanation/Reference: A hash algorithm (alternatively, hash "function") takes binary data, called the message, and produces a condensed representation, called the message digest. A cryptographic hash algorithm is a hash algorithm that is designed to achieve certain security properties. The Federal Information Processing Standard 180- 3, Secure Hash Standard, specifies five cryptographic hash algorithms - SHA-1, SHA-224, SHA-256, SHA- 384, and SHA-512 for federal use in the US; the standard was also widely adopted by the information technology industry and commercial companies. The MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm is a widely used cryptographic hash function that produces a 128-bit (16-byte) hash value. Specified in RFC 1321, MD5 has been employed in a wide variety of security applications, and is also commonly used to check data integrity. MD5 was designed by Ron Rivest in 1991 to replace an earlier hash function, MD4. An MD5 hash is typically expressed as a 32-digit hexadecimal number. However, it has since been shown that MD5 is not collision resistant; as such, MD5 is not suitable for applications like SSL certificates or digital signatures that rely on this property. In 1996, a flaw was found with the design of MD5, and while it was not a clearly fatal weakness, cryptographers began recommending the use of other algorithms, such as SHA-1 - which has since been found also to be vulnerable. In 2004, more serious flaws were discovered in MD5, making further use of the algorithm for security purposes questionable - specifically, a group of researchers described how to create a pair of files that share the same MD5 checksum. Further advances were made in breaking MD5 in 2005, 2006, and 2007. In December 2008, a group of researchers used this technique to fake SSL certificate validity, and US-CERT now says that MD5 "should be considered cryptographically broken and unsuitable for further use." and most U.S. government applications now require the SHA-2 family of hash functions. NIST CRYPTOGRAPHIC HASH PROJECT NIST announced a public competition in a Federal Register Notice on November 2, 2007 to develop a new cryptographic hash algorithm, called SHA-3, for standardization. The competition was NIST's response to advances made in the cryptanalysis of hash algorithms. NIST received sixty-four entries from cryptographers around the world by October 31, 2008, and selected fifty-one first-round candidates in December 2008, fourteen second-round candidates in July 2009, and five finalists - BLAKE, Grøstl, JH, Keccak and Skein, in December 2010 to advance to the third and final round of the competition. Throughout the competition, the cryptographic community has provided an enormous amount of feedback. Most of the comments were sent to NIST and a public hash forum; in addition, many of the cryptanalysis and performance studies were published as papers in major cryptographic conferences or leading cryptographic journals. NIST also hosted a SHA-3 candidate conference in each round to obtain public feedback. Based on the public comments and internal review of the candidates, NIST announced Keccak as the winner of the SHA-3 Cryptographic Hash Algorithm Competition on October 2, 2012, and ended the five-year competition. Reference: Tipton, Harold, et. al., Officical (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK, 2007 edition, page 261. and https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Md5 and http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/ST/hash/sha-3/index.html
Question 319
Who is responsible for providing reports to the senior management on the effectiveness of the security controls?
Correct Answer: D
IT auditors determine whether systems are in compliance with the security policies, procedures, standards, baselines, designs, architectures, management direction and other requirements" and "provide top company management with an independent view of the controls that have been designed and their effectiveness." "Information systems security professionals" is incorrect. Security professionals develop the security policies and supporting baselines, etc. "Data owners" is incorrect. Data owners have overall responsibility for information assets and assign the appropriate classification for the asset as well as ensure that the asset is protected with the proper controls. "Data custodians" is incorrect. Data custodians care for an information asset on behalf of the data owner.
Question 320
Which of the following is less likely to accompany a contingency plan, either within the plan itself or in the form of an appendix?
Correct Answer: A
Explanation/Reference: Why is this the correct answer? Simply because it is WRONG, you would have contact information for your emergency personnel within the plan but NOT for ALL of your personnel. Be careful of words such as ALL. According to NIST's Special publication 800-34, contingency plan appendices provide key details not contained in the main body of the plan. The appendices should reflect the specific technical, operational, and management contingency requirements of the given system. Contact information for recovery team personnel (not all personnel) and for vendor should be included, as well as detailed system requirements to allow for supporting of system operations. The Business Impact Analysis (BIA) should also be included as an appendix for reference should the plan be activated. Reference(s) used for this question: SWANSON, Marianne, & al., National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), NIST Special Publication 800-34, Contingency Planning Guide for Information Technology Systems
