Cisco 350-201 Performing CyberOps Using Core Security Technologies (CBRCOR) Exam Practice Test

 The creation of privileged user accounts in the Active Directory that coincide with suspicious network traffic suggests a network compromise. This type of activity is often indicative of an attacker gaining sufficient access to create accounts with elevated privileges, which can be used for further malicious activities within the network. The cross-correlation of events from other sources that align with the timing of these account creations strengthens the case for a compromised network. This scenario is consistent with tactics used by attackers to maintain persistence and establish control over network resources for ongoing exploitation1.

References:

The Performing CyberOps Using Cisco Security Technologies (CBRCOR) course covers the fundamentals of cybersecurity operations, including the identification and analysis of security incidents and network compromises1.

The Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate certification provides knowledge on monitoring, detecting, and responding to cybersecurity threats, which includes understanding the signs of a compromised network2

To prevent future attacks like the one described, where a compromised workstation gained access to sensitive customer data using insecure protocols, the best action is to use VLANs to segregate zones and configure the firewall to allow only required services and secured protocols. This approach ensures that different segments of the network are isolated, reducing the risk of lateral movement by attackers. Additionally, allowing only necessary and secure protocols through the firewall enhances the security posture by minimizing the attack surface.

References:

Network security best practices often recommend the use of VLANs and strict firewall rules as a means to enhance network security and prevent unauthorized access.

Implementing secure communication protocols and services is crucial in protecting sensitive data from being compromised.

Key risk indicators (KRIs) provide a clear perspective into the risk position of an organization. KRIs are metrics used to proactively measure risks that a business may face. They serve as early warning signs of upcoming crises, which can provide an organization’s management team time to create an action plan to mitigate that risk’s potential impact or prevent it from occurring2.

Automation refers to the configuration of a single process or a small number of related tasks to run without human intervention. Orchestration, on the other hand, involves managing multiple automated tasks to create a dynamic workflow. While automation focuses on making individual tasks more efficient, orchestration looks at the bigger picture to optimize a series of tasks that make up a process

 Upon receiving an alert of a zero-day vulnerability, the first step an engineer should take is to initiate a triage meeting to acknowledge the vulnerability and assess its potential impact2. This step is crucial for understanding the severity of the vulnerability, determining the scope of affected systems, and deciding on the subsequent actions to mitigate the risk. It involves gathering the relevant stakeholders and security experts to evaluate the threat and develop a response plan2.

The connection status of the ICMP event is indicated as “allowed” by a configured access policy rule. This is determined by the Access Control Rule Action column in the security event monitoring interface, which shows that the event was not blocked but permitted through the network based on an existing access policy rule. This suggests that the ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) traffic was evaluated against the access policy and was found to comply with the rules set within the policy, thus being allowed to proceed.

References:

The Performing CyberOps Using Cisco Security Technologies (CBRCOR) course guides learners through cybersecurity operations fundamentals, including how to interpret security event logs and understand access control policies1.

The Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate certification provides knowledge on monitoring, detecting, and responding to cybersecurity threats, which includes understanding the significance of access control rules in network traffic management2.

 Once the SOC analyst has stopped the malware from spreading and identified the attacking host, the next step in the incident response workflow is eradication and recovery. This involves removing the malware from all infected systems and restoring affected systems to normal operation. It’s important to ensure that the malware is completely eradicated to prevent it from reactivating or spreading

 To detect abnormal behavior for a UK-based user traveling between three countries, creating a rule that triggers an alert for a successful VPN connection from any nondestination country is an effective strategy. This rule helps in identifying potential unauthorized access or compromised credentials if the user’s account is accessed from a location where they are not supposed to be2.

 In this scenario, the employee’s installation of remote access software at the behest of a fraudulent “MS Support” technician and the subsequent suspicious request for payment in gift cards are strong indicators of a social engineering attack. The presence of unencrypted database files on the system, coupled with the technician’s remote access, raises legitimate concerns about data disclosure. While HTTPS encrypts the data in transit, it does not prevent the remote user from copying files. Without concrete evidence, such as network logs showing data transfer, it is challenging to confirm the disclosure. However, given the circumstances, it is prudent to operate under the assumption that the database files could have been accessed and potentially copied during the remote session. The organization should follow its incident response protocol, which includes conducting a thorough investigation, changing passwords, and monitoring for potential data misuse.

References:

Cisco’s CyberOps curriculum emphasizes the importance of understanding security procedures and incident handling, which would include responding to potential data disclosure incidents1.

The Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate Overview outlines knowledge areas such as security concepts and intrusion analysis, relevant to investigating and responding to security incidents

When an HTTP response code 301 is received from a web application, it indicates that the requested resource has been permanently moved to a new location. The action to be taken is to confirm the resource’s new location, as the 301 status code is used for permanent URL redirection

 The “permission denied” error during script execution indicates that the script does not have execute permissions. The chmod +x ex.sh command changes the script’s permissions to make it executable. This is the necessary step to resolve the permission issue and allow the script to run

Idempotence is a property of certain operations in mathematics and computer science whereby they can be applied multiple times without changing the result beyond the initial application1. In the context of system operations, particularly in software deployment, an idempotent operation will produce the same result whether it is executed once or multiple times. This means that the operation can set the target environment configuration to a desired state no matter what the current state is

The STIX (Structured Threat Information eXpression) object in the exhibit indicates that the compromise involves a website hosting malware, which is designed to download files onto a user’s system without their knowledge. This type of indicator is commonly associated with drive-by download attacks, where visiting a website can result in the automatic download and execution of malware. The STIX object would contain information about the malicious URLs, file hashes, and other relevant indicators that can be used to detect and prevent such threats.

 When an email attachment’s hash has no history in open source intelligence databases, the next step is to obtain a copy of the file for analysis in a controlled environment, known as a sandbox. This allows the analyst to observe the behavior of the file without risking the security of the network or systems

The error message “The Group Policy Client service failed to logon – Access is denied” suggests a problem with user permissions, which are managed by group policies in Windows environments. The unexpected modifications to system settings further indicate that an unauthorized user or process has gained higher-level permissions than originally assigned. This scenario is characteristic of an elevation of privileges breach, where an attacker gains elevated access to resources that are normally protected from an application or user. This can be achieved through various methods, including exploiting software vulnerabilities, configuration errors, or using social engineering techniques.

References:

Cisco’s CyberOps Using Core Security Technologies course would cover the identification and handling of security breaches, including elevation of privileges.

The CyberOps Associate certification materials provide detailed information on various types of breaches and their indicators.

Cisco’s official blogs and learning resources offer insights into the latest cybersecurity threats and how to mitigate them, including privilege escalation incidents.

 To automate the task of receiving alerts and processing data for further investigations, the script must include the variables that allow it to communicate with the SIEM console. These would typically be the console’s IP address (console_ip) and an authentication token (api_token) to establish a secure connection and access the necessary data2.

The IP address 192.168.1.209 is associated with a critical risk level due to data exfiltration activities. Data exfiltration refers to the unauthorized transfer of data from a computer or other device, which can be a significant security threat as it may involve sensitive or proprietary information being taken out of the network. Given the severity of the risk and the nature of the activity, the immediate next step is to isolate the device to prevent further unauthorized data transfer and to contain the potential breach. This action will also allow fora more thorough investigation without the risk of additional data loss or network compromise1.

References:

Cisco’s CyberOps Using Core Security Technologies course provides insights into identifying and responding to cybersecurity threats, including data exfiltration2.

The Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate certification emphasizes the skills needed to work in a Security Operations Center (SOC), including the handling of critical threats and the isolation of affected devices

If management decides not to prioritize fixing the vulnerabilities and accepts them, the next step for the engineer is to acknowledge the vulnerabilities and document the risk. This involves recording the decision and the rationale behind it, assessing the potential impact, and ensuring that there is a clear understanding of the risks being accepted. This documentation is crucial for future reference and accountability, and it may also include recommendations for mitigating the risk where possible

Following behavioral analysis in a controlled laboratory, the next step in the malware analysis process is to perform static and dynamic code analysis of the specimen. Static analysis involves examining the malware without executing it, while dynamic analysis involves observing the malware’s behavior in a controlled environment. These analyses provide deeper insights into the malware’s capabilities and intentions2.

After a remote code execution attack, it is crucial to determine which systems were involved in the incident and to deploy any available patches to those systems. This step is part of the recovery stage, where the focus is on restoring the integrity of the systems and preventing the same vulnerability from being exploited again. Patching the systems helps to close the security gaps that the threat actor exploited and is a key measure in the process of recovering from such an attack

The browser page rendering permissions are displayed in the HTTP response header named x-frame-options. This header is used to control whether a browser should be allowed to render a page in a ,