CAS-004 Exam Dumps - CompTIA CASP Questions and Answers

Comprehensive and Detailed Step by Step Explanation:

Due diligenceinvolves researching and understanding regulatory requirements (e.g., HIPAA) to ensure compliance for handling sensitive data like personal health information.

Data retentionrefers to how long data is stored, not compliance research.

Data classificationorganizes data by sensitivity but is not specific to compliance research.

Reference frameworksprovide guidelines for implementation but are not directly about research.

VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure), proxy, CASB (cloud access security broker), and DRM (digital rights management) are technologies that can mitigate the concerns of processing sensitive information using SaaS (software as a service) collaboration tools. VDI is a technology that provides virtualized desktop environments for users that are hosted and managed by a central server, allowing users to access applications or data from any device or location. VDI can prevent data leakage to the media via printing of documents, as it can restrict or monitor the printing capabilities or permissions of users or devices. Proxy is a technology that acts as an intermediary between clients and servers, filtering or modifying web traffic based on predefined rules or policies. Proxy can prevent data leakage to a personal email address, as it can block or redirect web requests to unauthorized or untrusted email domains or services. CASB is a technology that provides visibility and control over cloud services or applications, enforcing security policies or compliance requirements based on predefined rules or criteria. CASB can prevent data access and viewing by systems administrators, as it can encrypt or mask sensitive data before it reaches the cloud provider or application, making it unreadable or inaccessible by unauthorized parties. DRM is a technology that restricts the access, use, modification, or distribution of digital content or devices, enforcing the rights and permissions granted by the content owner or provider to authorized users or devices. DRM can prevent data upload to a file storage site, as it can limit or disable the copying, sharing, or transferring capabilities or permissions of users or devices. Verified References: https://www.comptia.org/blog/what-is-vdi https://partners.comptia.org/docs/default-source/resources/casp-content-guide

A public key infrastructure (PKI) is a system of certificates and keys that can provide encryption and authentication for APIs (application programming interfaces). A PKI can be used to store customer keys for accessing APIs and segregating customer data sets. A trusted platform module (TPM) is a hardware device that provides cryptographic functions and key storage, but it is not suitable for storing customer keys for APIs. A hardware security module (HSM) is similar to a TPM, but it is used for storing keys for applications, not for APIs. A localized key store is a software component that stores keys locally, but it is not as secure or scalable as a PKI. Verified References: https://www.comptia.org/blog/what-is-pki https://partners.comptia.org/docs/default-source/resources/casp-content-guide

DLP (data loss prevention) is a solution that can meet the following requirements: identify sensitive data in the provider’s network, maintain compliance with company and regulatory guidelines, detect and respond to insider threats, privileged user threats, and compromised accounts, and enforce data-centric security, such as encryption, tokenization, and access control. DLP can monitor, classify, and protect data in motion, at rest, or in use, and prevent unauthorized disclosure or exfiltration. WAF (web application firewall) is a solution that can protect web applications from common attacks, such as SQL injection or cross-site scripting, but it does not address the requirements listed. CASB (cloud access security broker) is a solution that can enforce policies and controls for accessing cloud services and applications, but it does not address the requirements listed. SWG (secure web gateway) is a solution that can monitor and filter web traffic to prevent malicious or unauthorized access, but it does not address the requirements listed. Verified References: https://www.comptia.org/blog/what-is-data-loss-prevention https://partners.comptia.org/docs/default-source/resources/casp-content-guid

A Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solution meets all the listed requirements: reducing patch management, using standard configurations, allowing for custom resource configurations, andproviding access from multiple device types. VDI allows centralized management of desktop environments, where patches and updates can be applied once and distributed across all virtual desktops. It also supports flexible resource configurations and secure remote access from various devices. CASP+ highlights VDI as a solution for centralized, secure desktop management that meets modern enterprise needs for mobility and security.

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 samelevel 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

Non-repudiation ensures that a sender cannot deny having sent a message, achieved through digital signatures provided by PKI. This aligns with CASP+ objective 3.2, emphasizing cryptographic assurance in communication.

Rescanning ensures all identified vulnerabilities have been resolved and no additional changes introduced new issues. This step is critical for verifying remediation effectiveness before moving systems back into production, aligning with CASP+ objective 5.1, which involves verifying security measures during testing and evaluation phases.

________________________________________

Step by Step Explanation:

Digital signatures provide non-repudiation, ensuring that the sender cannot deny signing a transaction. This mechanism ties the transaction to the entity through cryptographic assurance.

Federation involves identity management and authentication but does not address non-repudiation.

Key escrow is used for securely storing encryption keys and is unrelated to transaction agreements.

Salting hashes enhances password security but does not support transactional non-repudiation.

Fuzz testing identifies vulnerabilities by providing unexpected or random input to the application, exposing edge cases and additional attack vectors. This aligns with CASP+ objective 1.5, emphasizing proactive vulnerability discovery techniques in application security.

PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is the most appropriate governance framework when collecting and processing credit card data, including international user data. PCI DSS establishes security standards for organizations that handle payment card transactions and ensures theprotection of cardholder data globally. The other options, such as ISO 27001 and NIST 800-53, provide general security frameworks, but PCI DSS is specifically designed for payment card security, which is critical when handling credit card information. CASP+ emphasizes the role of PCI DSS in ensuring the secure handling of payment data.

Comprehensive and Detailed in-Depth Explanation:

Understanding the Vulnerability:

The payload presented is a classic example of anXML External Entity (XXE) attack.

In this attack, an attacker exploits improperly configured XML parsers to includeexternal entitiesthat can read sensitive files, such as/etc/passwdon Linux systems.

XXE vulnerabilities occur when:

XML input containing aDOCTYPEdeclaration is processed.

The parser is configured to resolve external entities.

Why the Correct Answer is B (Input validation):

Input validationis the most effective way to prevent XXE attacks.

Proper validation ensures thatmalicious XML entities are not accepted or processed.

Techniques to mitigate XXE include:

Disabling DTDs (Document Type Definitions)in XML parsers.

Implementingsecure parser configurationsthat do not process external entities.

Performingschema validationto restrict allowed XML elements.

Many modern XML parsers provide options todisable external entity processingentirely, significantly reducing the risk of XXE.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

A. CAPTCHA:

CAPTCHAs prevent automated bots from interacting with web forms but donot mitigate XML parser vulnerabilities.

CAPTCHAs addressautomated input, notmalicious payloads.

C. Data encoding:

Encoding data can preventinjection attacks, such as XSS, but it does not specifically address the issue ofexternal entity resolutionin XML.

Encoding cannot prevent the parser from interpretingDOCTYPEor external entity references.

D. Network intrusion prevention:

AnNIPS (Network Intrusion Prevention System)may detect some XXE attempts but isnot the primary method of prevention.

Relying solely on network-level security does not address theapplication-layer vulnerabilityitself.

Additional Best Practices:

Use libraries or frameworks that do not support XML parsing oruse safer alternatives like JSON.

Regularly update XML parsers to the latest version to patch known vulnerabilities.

Conductregular security testing(like dynamic analysis) to identify XXE risks.

Extract from CompTIA SecurityX CAS-005 Study Guide:

According to theCompTIA SecurityX CAS-005 Official Study Guide, XXE vulnerabilities can be mitigated bydisabling external entity processingand using strict input validation to control what types of data are accepted. The guide emphasizes thatproperly configured XML parsersare critical for preventing such attacks, aligning with OWASP guidelines.