312-50v13 — questions

A penetration tester is tasked with enumerating user accounts and network resources in a highly secured Windows environment where standard methods like SMB null sessions are blocked. The network employs strict firewall rules and intrusion detection systems to prevent unauthorized access. Which technique should the tester use to discreetly gather the required information without triggering security alarms?

A penetration tester is tasked with scanning a network protected by an IDS and firewall that actively blocks connection attempts on non-standard ports. The tester needs to gather information on the target system without triggering alarms. Which technique should the tester use to evade detection?

In the neon-lit sprawl of Las Vegas, Nevada, a luxury hotel’s smart room control system suffered a breach, allowing an intruder to manipulate guest room settings. The incident investigation revealed that the IoT devices lacked any mechanism to verify the integrity or authenticity of software prior to execution, allowing tampered instructions to run unchecked. As Emma Ruiz, a cybersecurity consultant brought in to assess the breach, you recommend a solution that ensures only authorized, validated code is executed on the devices. Which secure development practice are you advising the hotel to implement?

You are Sophia Bennett, an ethical hacker at Nexus Cyber Defense, tasked with evaluating the security of a smart retail store’s IoT network in San Francisco, California. During your assessment, you uncover a vulnerability in the store’s smart inventory sensors that could allow an attacker to gain unauthorized access. The flaw lies in a cloud-based communication process that lacks authentication and encryption and fails to properly validate data exchange between the sensors and the cloud management platform. Based on the described vulnerability, which IoT attack surface area are you addressing in your findings?

Michael, an ethical hacker at a New York-based e-commerce company, is evaluating the security of their online payment system after a recent incident where fraudulent transactions went undetected. His investigation reveals that the system uses an asymmetric encryption algorithm to ensure the authenticity of payment confirmations. He finds that the algorithm employs a public-key cryptosystem, where the sender signs the transaction with a private key, and the recipient verifies it using a corresponding public key located in a directory. During his test, Michael intercepts a signed message and notices that the algorithm supports modular exponentiation for generating digital signatures, a process critical to verifying the identity of the signatory. He aims to assess if the algorithm’s configuration could be vulnerable to a meet-in-the-middle attack due to its key structure. Which asymmetric encryption algorithm should Michael identify as the one used by the payment system?

During a quarterly security audit at a financial services company in Charlotte, North Carolina, you are tasked with reviewing exposed services on legacy servers inherited from a third-party vendor. While scanning, you discover that TCP port 1434 is open on a database node that is not listed in the company’s active inventory. The IT team has no records explaining why this service is running, and you are asked to determine whether the exposure of this port could indicate an unnecessary database-related risk. Based on standardized port assignments, which service is most likely running on this port and requires further review?

During a quarterly vulnerability management review at RedCore Motors, Priya finalizes the deployment of Nessus Essentials across the company’s IT infrastructure. The solution is selected for its ability to support diverse technologies including operating systems, databases, web servers, and virtual environments. While preparing a training session for junior analysts, Priya asks them to identify a capability that Nessus Essentials is specifically designed to provide as part of its scanning process.

You are Jordan, a cryptographic assessor at Cascade Data in Portland, Oregon, reviewing the protection applied to telemetry logs. Your review finds an algorithm that operates on 128-bit blocks, accepts keys up to 256 bits, and the documentation notes it was one of the finalists in the AES selection process that aimed to replace legacy DES. Which symmetric encryption algorithm should you identify as being used?