Cisco® 200-201 Exam Practice Questions (P. 1)

GPT-4o - Answer

Indeed, opening a malicious file frequently necessitates user interaction, such as clicking or downloading, making it a correct choice in this context. Engaging with a file even unknowingly, is a form of user interaction as the user initiates the action. While other options could potentially involve interaction, they’re more likely to be executed without user consent, such as background operations by malware. Thus, option D is the most fitting answer here, reflecting an event where user action directly triggers a cybersecurity event.

GPT-4o - Answer

The principle of separation of duties plays a crucial role in enhancing security by requiring that critical tasks be divided among multiple people. This approach prevents any single individual from having full control over significant operations, thereby mitigating the risks of errors, fraud, or abuse. It's key to ensuring tasks are carried out accurately and align with established policies and procedures. This principle is distinct from least privilege, need to know, or due diligence, each of which serves different but complementary security functions.

GPT-4o - Answer

Absolutely spot on. The correct answer is C, exploitation. This phase in the cybersecurity Kill Chain involves an attacker using a weaponized payload to take advantage of vulnerabilities in a system, precisely executing the attack to bypass security controls. The step is critical as it’s where the actual damage begins—be it data theft, system compromise, or otherwise. Understanding this element is essential for a robust defense strategy, directly addressing how, when, and where attackers exploit systems, providing a clear pathway for enhancing security measures and response strategies.

GPT-4o - Answer

The key advantage of agent-based protection over agentless protection is its ability to maintain a centralized control platform. Each agent installed on individual systems communicates directly with a centralized server. This configuration supports consistent security policies, updates, and compliance checks across all connected devices, thus simplifying the management and maintenance of the security infrastructure. This centralized approach, acknowledged in standards like NIST SP 800-40r3, enhances the uniformity and effectiveness of security measures across an enterprise.

GPT-4o - Answer

In assessing information relevant to a security incident, an analyst aims to make well-informed decisions on how to manage and respond to that incident. This process aligns closely with the principle of decision-making, where the key task is to evaluate data, understand the incident's impact, consider various response options, and then select the most appropriate course of action. This method ensures both a strategic and effective handling of cybersecurity events, maintaining a focus on minimizing damage and resolving the incident efficiently.

GPT-4o - Answer

In the context of information security, the CIA stands for Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. This trio is foundational and aims at securing sensitive data from unauthorized access (confidentiality), ensuring data is accurate and unchanged unless by authorized persons (integrity), and that it's reliably and timely available to those who need it (availability). Keep these concepts in mind as they form the core of many security strategies and are critical to comprehending and implementing effective information security measures.

GPT-4o - Answer

In rule-based detection, set rules confirm specific user actions, distinguishing it sharply from statistical detection, which gauges the likelihood of actions based on behavioral patterns. Therefore, option B explains that rule-based detection seeks to verify an action taken by a user, which is crucial for immediate and clear security judgments, consistent with preset criteria and thresholds. This provides direct, often real-time, assessments of security events, critical in environments that require stringent security protocols.

GPT-4o - Answer

Data normalization is crucial in managing Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) events because it involves organizing data to ensure it’s consistent and unique across the system. This method benefits the management of IPS events by removing redundant and unnecessary data, which significantly enhances data accuracy and reduces confusion during analysis. It’s important to recognize that data normalization does more than just enhance storage efficiency—it directly contributes to data integrity by ensuring the data is not only accurate but also consistently representative, improving the reliability of security event data used in analyses.

GPT-4o - Answer

Absolutely, 5-tuple is the way to go when identifying sessions from a bunch of logs in a SOC setting. It zeroes in on a specific network interaction using those five crucial elements: source and destination IPs, source and destination ports, plus the protocol. This method outshines others like sequence numbers or timestamps because it targets the connection specifics super closely, making it a reliable choice for pinpointing and following network sessions. So, when you're diving into those logs, think 5-tuple for the clearest shot at nailing down those sessions.

GPT-4o - Answer

SOAR and SIEM serve distinct, yet complementary roles in cybersecurity operations. SOAR platforms specialize in automating responses to security incidents and managing threats through the use of playbooks, which is not inherently a function of SIEM systems. SIEM primarily aggregates and analyzes data to identify security incidents, but does not extend to managing threats or automating responses. This distinct automation and management capability of SOAR is essential for enhancing the effectiveness of security operations centers by streamlining their incident response processes.