CAS-004 Exam Dumps - CompTIA CASP Questions and Answers

Subject Alternative Name (SAN) is a part of the X.509 specification for SSL certificates that allows multiple domain names to be protected under a single SSL certificate. Using SAN is the most suitable option when a single Certificate Signing Request (CSR) needs to cover multiple hostnames. It enables the security engineer to list all the required hostnames in one certificate, ensuring secure communications for each listed entity without the need for separate certificates.

A runbook is a detailed guide that provides step-by-step instructions on how to respond to specific types of incidents. It is used by the SOC team to ensure a consistent, organized, and efficient response to incidents. In this case, after the incident investigation, creating a runbook would help standardize the response process for future security incidents, enabling the team to act quickly and effectively. CASP+ emphasizes the importance of having detailed runbooks for incident response as part of an organization's overall incident response strategy.

References:

CASP+ CAS-004 Exam Objectives: Domain 2.0 – Enterprise Security Operations (Incident Response and Runbooks)

CompTIA CASP+ Study Guide: Incident Response Procedures and Runbooks

A cloud container service is the best way to meet the security and organizational infrastructure requirements described. Containers are sessionless, scalable, and can enforce ephemeral storage, which ensures that sensitive data like Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is only stored temporarily. Containers also restrict access to only necessary ports, such as TLS, and can easily scale across multiple nodes to handle varying workloads. CASP+ emphasizes the use of containers in modern, scalable, and secure application deployments, especially for API-based, sessionless applications that require flexible scaling and network security controls.

References:

CASP+ CAS-004 Exam Objectives: Domain 3.0 – Enterprise Security Architecture (Containers and Cloud Services for Secure Application Deployment)

CompTIA CASP+ Study Guide: Deploying Scalable and Secure Applications with Containers

Query parameterization prevents SQL injection attacks by separating SQL commands from data inputs. This ensures that user-supplied input cannot be executed as part of a SQL query. In the given code, lack of parameterization could allow attackers to manipulate the ItemID parameter maliciously. This aligns with CASP+ objective 1.5, focusing on secure coding practices to mitigate application vulnerabilities.

Step by Step Explanation:

A high volume of DNS queries to unknown domains may indicate domain generation algorithm (DGA) activity associated with malware.

Checking for data exfiltration is the next logical step to determine if sensitive data is being leaked to these domains.

Reconfiguring DNS settings, browsing unknown domains, or blocking the domains are reactive steps that do not address the root cause.

A virtual next-generation firewall (vNGFW) is a software version of a NGFW that can be deployed on cloud servers to provide advanced network security features. A vNGFW can help secure the cloud environment similarly to the infrastructure on premises by providing functions such as URL filtering, SSL/TLS inspection, deep packet inspection, antivirus, IPS, application control, and sandboxing. A web application firewall (WAF) is a device or software that filters and blocks malicious web traffic from reaching an application. A WAF can help secure the web servers in the cloud environment by protecting them from common attacks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and cross-site request forgery (CSRF). Microsegmentation is a technique that divides a network into smaller segments or zones based on criteria such as identity, role, or function. Microsegmentation can help secure the cloud environment by isolating different types of servers and applying granular security policies to each segment.

A content delivery network (CDN) is a distributed system of servers that delivers web content to users based on their geographic location, the origin of the content, and the performance of the network. A CDN can help improve the availability and performance of web applications by caching content closer to the users, reducing latency and bandwidth consumption. However, a CDN does not provide the same level of security as a vNGFW or a WAF. Software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) is a technology that uses software to manage the connectivity and routing of wide area network (WAN) traffic across multiple links or carriers. SD-WAN can help improve the reliability and efficiency of WAN connections by dynamically selecting the best path for each application based on factors such as bandwidth, latency, cost, and quality of service (QoS). However, SD-WAN does not provide the same level of security as a vNGFW or a WAF. External vulnerability scans are assessments that identify and report on the vulnerabilities and weaknesses of an IT system from an external perspective. External vulnerability scans can help improve the security posture of an IT system by providing visibility into its exposure to potential threats. However, external vulnerability scans do not provide the same level of protection as a vNGFW or a WAF. Containers are units of software that package an application and its dependencies into a standardized format that can run on any platform or environment. Containers can help improve the portability and scalability of applications by allowing them to run independently from the underlying infrastructure. However, containers do not provide the same level of security as microsegmentation. References: [CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP+) Certification Exam Objectives], Domain 2: Enterprise Security Architecture, Objective 2.3: Implement solutions for the secure use of cloud services

The IKE (Internet Key Exchange) Phase 1 handshake error indicates a failure in negotiating a secure connection.

Option A: The IKE hashing algorithm mismatch, including key lengths, often causes such failures. Both VPN devices must agree on compatible algorithms and key lengths for the handshake to succeed.

Option B: Multiple cipher suites do not inherently cause errors; they provide flexibility during negotiation.

Option C: While using a legacy Diffie-Hellman group is less secure, it does not typically cause the handshake to fail unless explicitly rejected.

Option D: Site-to-site VPNs do not use SSL/TLS; they rely on IPSec protocols, making this irrelevant.

References:

CompTIA CASP+ Exam Objective 2.2: Implement network security solutions, including VPN configurations.

CASP+ Study Guide, 5th Edition, Chapter 7, VPN Technologies and Troubleshooting.

An API gateway is the best solution to meet the specified requirements for securely providing public access to specific data. An API gateway allows the administrator to control HTTP methods like POST and GET, ensure secure transmission via TLS 1.2 or greater, and enforce authentication using bearer tokens. It also allows access control by specifying URLs for different types of data. API gateways centralize security and traffic management for APIs, making them ideal for this type of secure access scenario. CASP+ emphasizes the importance of API gateways in managing and securing web application interfaces.

References:

CASP+ CAS-004 Exam Objectives: Domain 3.0 – Enterprise Security Architecture (API Security and API Gateways)

CompTIA CASP+ Study Guide: Securing Web Application Interfaces with API Gateways

The data owner is best qualified to classify systems and data in accordance with external requirements. The data owner is responsible for determining how data should be classified based on its sensitivity, value, and regulatory requirements. They have the authority to decide on classification levels such as public, confidential, or secret, and ensure compliance with external standards. Other roles, like data custodians or processors, support the implementation of data management, but the data owner has the final responsibility for classification. CASP+ highlights the role of data owners in determining data classification and ensuring compliance with external requirements.

References:

CASP+ CAS-004 Exam Objectives: Domain 1.0 – Risk Management (Data Classification and Data Owner Responsibilities)

CompTIA CASP+ Study Guide: Data Classification and Governance Responsibilities of the Data Owner

To prioritize server replacements based on the likelihood of failure, the MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) metric is most appropriate. MTBF provides a measure of the average time a server or system is expected to operate before experiencing failure. This allows the management team to assess which servers are more likely to fail soon, irrespective of the application criticality, and thus should be replaced first. CASP+ highlights the use of MTBF in hardware lifecycle management and risk assessments.

References:

CASP+ CAS-004 Exam Objectives: Domain 1.0 – Risk Management (MTBF in Hardware Lifecycle)

CompTIA CASP+ Study Guide: Server Risk Assessments Using MTBF and Reliability Metrics

A digital signature is a cryptographic technique that allows the sender of a file to sign it with their private key and the receiver to verify it with the sender’s public key. This ensures the integrity and authenticity of the file, as well as the non-repudiation of the sender. A message hash or a message digest is a one-way function that produces a fixed-length output from an input, but it does not provide any information about the sender. A message authentication code (MAC) is a symmetric-key technique that allows both the sender and the receiver to generate and verify a code using a shared secret key, but it does not provide non-repudiation. References: [CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP+) Certification Exam Objectives], Domain 2: Enterprise Security Architecture, Objective 2.1: Apply cryptographic techniques

In this scenario, the web application is disclosing sensitive debugging information when an error occurs. To mitigate this risk, the best solution is to implement proper error message handling routines that ensure detailed debugging information is not exposed to users. Instead, the application should display generic error messages to the end-user while logging detailed information securely for internal troubleshooting. This approach reduces the risk of information disclosure, which is a common vulnerability in web applications. CASP+ emphasizes the importance of secure error handling as part of secure software development practices.

References:

CASP+ CAS-004 Exam Objectives: Domain 2.0 – Enterprise Security Operations (Secure Coding and Error Handling)

CompTIA CASP+ Study Guide: Web Application Security and Proper Error Handling

In the context of a private cryptographic key suspected to be exposed, the best immediate action is to revoke the certificate associated with that key. Revoking the certificate ensures that it cannot be used to establish new secure sessions, which prevents attackers from using the potentially compromised key to impersonate or decrypt communications. The revocation process typically involves updating the Certificate Revocation List (CRL) or leveraging the Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP), both of which are used by clients to check the validity of certificates.

In this scenario, the company has elected to cancel the production of a product after reviewing regulatory requirements. This decision reflects a risk avoidance strategy, which involves taking action to eliminate exposure to a risk by not engaging in the activity that could lead to it. By canceling production, the company avoids the regulatory and compliance risks altogether. CASP+ defines risk avoidance as a risk management strategy that involves stopping or avoiding actions that expose the organization to unacceptable levels of risk.

References:

CASP+ CAS-004 Exam Objectives: Domain 1.0 – Risk Management (Risk Avoidance)

CompTIA CASP+ Study Guide: Risk Management Strategies and Risk Avoidance

The observation that the load balancer has only a single server assigned suggests an issue with scalability. Scalability refers to the ability of the system to handle increasing loads by adding resources. In this case, having a single server assigned to a load balancer may not be adequate to handle increased traffic or load, which could lead to performance issues.