Systems Security Certified Practitioner – SSCP – Question0404

Which of the following rules is least likely to support the concept of least privilege?

A.
The number of administrative accounts should be kept to a minimum.
B. Administrators should use regular accounts when performing routine operations like reading mail.
C. Permissions on tools that are likely to be used by hackers should be as restrictive as possible.
D. Only data to and from critical systems and applications should be allowed through the firewall.

Correct Answer: D

Explanation:

Only data to and from critical systems and applications should be allowed through the firewall is a detractor. Critical systems or applications do not necessarily need to have traffic go through a firewall. Even if they did, only the minimum required services should be allowed. Systems that are not deemed critical may also need to have traffic go through the firewall.
Least privilege is a basic tenet of computer security that means users should be given only those rights required to do their jobs or tasks. Least privilege is ensuring that you have the minimum privileges necessary to do a task. An admin NOT using his admin account to check email is a clear example of this.
Reference(s) used for this question: National Security Agency, Systems and Network Attack Center (SNAC), The 60 Minute Network Security Guide, February 2002, page 9.

Systems Security Certified Practitioner – SSCP – Question0403

What is defined as the hardware, firmware and software elements of a trusted computing base that implement the reference monitor concept?

A.
The reference monitor
B. Protection rings
C. A security kernel
D. A protection domain

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

A security kernel is defined as the hardware, firmware and software elements of a trusted computing base that implement the reference monitor concept. A reference monitor is a system component that enforces access controls on an object. A protection domain consists of the execution and memory space assigned to each process. The use of protection rings is a scheme that supports multiple protection domains. Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter 5: Security Architecture and Models (page 194).

Systems Security Certified Practitioner – SSCP – Question0402

What is called a system that is capable of detecting that a fault has occurred and has the ability to correct the fault or operate around it?

A.
A fail safe system
B. A fail soft system
C. A fault-tolerant system
D. A failover system

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

A fault-tolerant system is capable of detecting that a fault has occurred and has the ability to correct the fault or operate around it. In a fail-safe system, program execution is terminated, and the system is protected from being compromised when a hardware or software failure occurs and is detected. In a fail-soft system, when a hardware or software failure occurs and is detected, selected, non-critical processing is terminated. The term failover refers to switching to a duplicate “hot” backup component in real-time when a hardware or software failure occurs, enabling processing to continue. Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter 5: Security Architecture and Models (page 196).

Systems Security Certified Practitioner – SSCP – Question0401

What is used to protect programs from all unauthorized modification or executional interference?

A.
A protection domain
B. A security perimeter
C. Security labels
D. Abstraction

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

A protection domain consists of the execution and memory space assigned to each process. The purpose of establishing a protection domain is to protect programs from all unauthorized modification or executional interference. The security perimeter is the boundary that separates the Trusted Computing Base (TCB) from the remainder of the system. Security labels are assigned to resources to denote a type of classification. Abstraction is a way to protect resources in the fact that it involves viewing system components at a high level and ignoring its specific details, thus performing information hiding. Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter 5: Security Architecture and Models (page 193).

Systems Security Certified Practitioner – SSCP – Question0400

Which of the following computer design approaches is based on the fact that in earlier technologies, the instruction fetch was the longest part of the cycle?

A.
Pipelining
B. Reduced Instruction Set Computers (RISC)
C. Complex Instruction Set Computers (CISC)
D. Scalar processors

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) uses instructions that perform many operations per instruction. It was based on the fact that in earlier technologies, the instruction fetch was the longest part of the cycle. Therefore, by packing more operations into an instruction, the number of fetches could be reduced. Pipelining involves overlapping the steps of different instructions to increase the performance in a computer. Reduced Instruction Set Computers (RISC) involve simpler instructions that require fewer clock cycles to execute. Scalar processors are processors that execute one instruction at a time. Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter 5: Security Architectures and Models (page 188).

Systems Security Certified Practitioner – SSCP – Question0399

Which of the following is used in database information security to hide information?

A.
Inheritance
B. Polyinstantiation
C. Polymorphism
D. Delegation

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

Polyinstantiation enables a relation to contain multiple tuples with the same primary keys with each instance distinguished by a security level. When this information is inserted into a database, lower-level subjects need to be restricted from this information. Instead of just restricting access, another set of data is created to fool the lower-level subjects into thinking that the information actually means something else. Source: HARRIS, Shon, All-In-One CISSP Certification Exam Guide, McGraw-Hill/Osborne, 2002, chapter 11: Application and System Development (page 727).

Systems Security Certified Practitioner – SSCP – Question0398

Which software development model is actually a meta-model that incorporates a number of the software development models?

A.
The Waterfall model
B. The modified Waterfall model
C. The Spiral model
D. The Critical Path Model (CPM)

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

The spiral model is actually a meta-model that incorporates a number of the software development models. This model depicts a spiral that incorporates the various phases of software development. The model states that each cycle of the spiral involves the same series of steps for each part of the project. CPM refers to the Critical Path Methodology. Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter 7: Applications and Systems Development (page 246).

Systems Security Certified Practitioner – SSCP – Question0397

Why does compiled code pose more of a security risk than interpreted code?

A.
Because malicious code can be embedded in compiled code and be difficult to detect.
B. If the executed compiled code fails, there is a chance it will fail insecurely.
C. Because compilers are not reliable.
D. There is no risk difference between interpreted code and compiled code.

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

From a security standpoint, a compiled program is less desirable than an interpreted one because malicious code can be resident somewhere in the compiled code, and it is difficult to detect in a very large program.
Incorrect answers:
There is a risk difference between interpreted code and compiled code.
Compilers are reliable. The risk of a program failing insecurely is not the result of compiled or interpreted code.
Sources: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter 7: Applications and Systems Development (page 263). KRUTZ, Ronald & VINES, Russel, The CISSP Prep Guide: Gold Edition, Wiley Publishing Inc., 2003, Chapter 2: Security Architecture and Models, Software (page 258).

Systems Security Certified Practitioner – SSCP – Question0396

Which expert system operating mode allows determining if a given hypothesis is valid?

A.
Blackboard
B. Lateral chaining
C. Forward chaining
D. Backward chaining

Correct Answer: D

Explanation:

Backward-chaining mode -the expert system backtracks to determine if a given hypothesis is valid. Backward-chaining is generally used when there are a large number of possible solutions relative to the number of inputs.
Incorrect answers are: In a forward-chaining mode, the expert system acquires information and comes to a conclusion based on that information. Forward-chaining is the reasoning approach that can be used when there is a small number of solutions relative to the number of inputs.
Blackboard is an expert system-reasoning methodology in which a solution is generated by the use of a virtual blackboard, wherein information or potential solutions are placed on the blackboard by a plurality of individuals or expert knowledge sources. As more information is placed on the blackboard in an iterative process, a solution is generated.
Lateral-chaining mode -No such expert system mode. Sources:
KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter 7: Applications and Systems Development (page 259). KRUTZ, Ronald & VINES, Russel, The CISSP Prep Guide: Gold Edition, Wiley Publishing Inc., 2003, Chapter 7: Expert Systems (page 354).

Systems Security Certified Practitioner – SSCP – Question0395

What is the act of obtaining information of a higher sensitivity by combining information from lower levels of sensitivity?

A.
Polyinstantiation
B. Inference
C. Aggregation
D. Data mining

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

Aggregation is the act of obtaining information of a higher sensitivity by combining information from lower levels of sensitivity.
The incorrect answers are:
Polyinstantiation is the development of a detailed version of an object from another object using different values in the new object.
Inference is the ability of users to infer or deduce information about data at sensitivity levels for which they do not have access privilege.
Data mining refers to searching through a data warehouse for data correlations.
Sources:
KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter 7: Applications and Systems Development (page 261). KRUTZ, Ronald & VINES, Russel, The CISSP Prep Guide: Gold Edition, Wiley Publishing Inc., 2003, Chapter 7: Database Security Issues (page 358).