Systems Security Certified Practitioner – SSCP – Question0244

Which of the following models does NOT include data integrity or conflict of interest?

A.
Biba
B. Clark-Wilson
C. Bell-LaPadula
D. Brewer-Nash

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

Bell LaPadula model (Bell 1975): The granularity of objects and subjects is not predefined, but the model prescribes simple access rights. Based on simple access restrictions the Bell LaPadula model enforces a discretionary access control policy enhanced with mandatory rules. Applications with rigid confidentiality requirements and without strong integrity requirements may properly be modeled.
These simple rights combined with the mandatory rules of the policy considerably restrict the spectrum of applications which can be appropriately modeled. Source: TIPTON, Hal, (ISC)2, Introduction to the CISSP Exam presentation.
Also check: Proceedings of the IFIP TC11 12th International Conference on Information Security, Samos (Greece), May 1996, On Security Models.

Systems Security Certified Practitioner – SSCP – Question0243

What is the name of the first mathematical model of a multi-level security policy used to define the concept of a secure state, the modes of access, and rules for granting access?

A.
Clark and Wilson Model
B. Harrison-Ruzzo-Ullman Model
C. Rivest and Shamir Model
D. Bell-LaPadula Model

Correct Answer: D

Explanation:

Source: TIPTON, Hal, (ISC)2, Introduction to the CISSP Exam presentation.

Systems Security Certified Practitioner – SSCP – Question0242

Which of the following security controls might force an operator into collusion with personnel assigned organizationally within a different function in order to gain access to unauthorized data?

A.
Limiting the local access of operations personnel
B. Job rotation of operations personnel
C. Management monitoring of audit logs
D. Enforcing regular password changes

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

The questions specifically said: “within a different function” which eliminate Job Rotation as a choice.
Management monitoring of audit logs is a detective control and it would not prevent collusion.
Changing passwords regularly would not prevent such attack.
This question validates if you understand the concept of separation of duties and least privilege. By having operators that have only the minimum access level they need and only what they need to do their duties within a company, the operations personnel would be force to use collusion to defeat those security mechanism. Source: TIPTON, Hal, (ISC)2, Introduction to the CISSP Exam presentation.

Systems Security Certified Practitioner – SSCP – Question0241

What is a common problem when using vibration detection devices for perimeter control?

A.
They are vulnerable to non-adversarial disturbances.
B. They can be defeated by electronic means.
C. Signal amplitude is affected by weather conditions.
D. They must be buried below the frost line.

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

Vibration sensors are similar and are also implemented to detect forced entry. Financial institutions may choose to implement these types of sensors on exterior walls, where bank robbers may attempt to drive a vehicle through. They are also commonly used around the ceiling and flooring of vaults to detect someone trying to make an unauthorized bank withdrawal.
Such sensors are proned to false positive. If there is a large truck with heavy equipment driving by it may trigger the sensor. The same with a storm with thunder and lighting, it may trigger the alarm even thou there are no adversarial threat or disturbance.
The following are incorrect answers:
All of the other choices are incorrect.
Reference used for this question: Harris, Shon (2012-10-18). CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, 6th Edition (pp. 495-496). McGraw-Hill . Kindle Edition.

Systems Security Certified Practitioner – SSCP – Question0240

Which of the following can be defined as a framework that supports multiple, optional authentication mechanisms for PPP, including cleartext passwords, challenge-response, and arbitrary dialog sequences?

A.
Extensible Authentication Protocol
B. Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol
C. Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service
D. Multilevel Authentication Protocol.

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

RFC 2828 (Internet Security Glossary) defines the Extensible Authentication Protocol as a framework that supports multiple, optional authentication mechanisms for PPP, including cleartext passwords, challenge-response, and arbitrary dialog sequences. It is intended for use primarily by a host or router that connects to a PPP network server via switched circuits or dial-up lines. The Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) is defined as an Internet protocol for carrying dial-in user’s authentication information and configuration information between a shared, centralized authentication server and a network access server that needs to authenticate the users of its network access ports. The other option is a distracter. Source: SHIREY, Robert W., RFC2828: Internet Security Glossary, may 2000.

Systems Security Certified Practitioner – SSCP – Question0239

An attack initiated by an entity that is authorized to access system resources but uses them in a way not approved by those who granted the authorization is known as a(n):

A.
active attack
B. outside attack
C. inside attack
D. passive attack

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

An inside attack is an attack initiated by an entity inside the security perimeter, an entity that is authorized to access system resources but uses them in a way not approved by those who granted the authorization whereas an outside attack is initiated from outside the perimeter, by an unauthorized or illegitimate user of the system. An active attack attempts to alter system resources to affect their operation and a passive attack attempts to learn or make use of the information from the system but does not affect system resources. Source: SHIREY, Robert W., RFC2828: Internet Security Glossary, may 2000.

Systems Security Certified Practitioner – SSCP – Question0238

In the Bell-LaPadula model, the Star-property is also called:

A.
The simple security property
B. The confidentiality property
C. The confinement property
D. The tranquility property

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

The Bell-LaPadula model focuses on data confidentiality and access to classified information, in contrast to the Biba Integrity Model which describes rules for the protection of data integrity.
In this formal model, the entities in an information system are divided into subjects and objects.
The notion of a “secure state” is defined, and it is proven that each state transition preserves security by moving from secure state to secure state, thereby proving that the system satisfies the security objectives of the model.
The Bell-LaPadula model is built on the concept of a state machine with a set of allowable states in a system. The transition from one state to another state is defined by transition functions.
A system state is defined to be “secure” if the only permitted access modes of subjects to objects are in accordance with a security policy.
To determine whether a specific access mode is allowed, the clearance of a subject is compared to the classification of the object (more precisely, to the combination of classification and set of compartments, making up the security level) to determine if the subject is authorized for the specific access mode.
The clearance/classification scheme is expressed in terms of a lattice. The model defines two mandatory access control (MAC) rules and one discretionary access control (DAC) rule with three security properties:
The Simple Security Property -a subject at a given security level may not read an object at a higher security level (no readup).
The property (read “star”-property) -a subject at a given security level must not write to any object at a lower security level (no write-down). The property is also known as the Confinement property.
The Discretionary Security Property -use an access control matrix to specify the discretionary access control.
The transfer of information from a high-sensitivity document to a lower-sensitivity document may happen in the Bell-LaPadula model via the concept of trusted subjects. Trusted Subjects are not restricted by the property. Untrusted subjects are.
Trusted Subjects must be shown to be trustworthy with regard to the security policy. This security model is directed toward access control and is characterized by the phrase: “no read up, no write down.” Compare the Biba model, the Clark-Wilson model and the Chinese Wall.
With Bell-LaPadula, users can create content only at or above their own security level (i.e. secret researchers can create secret or top-secret files but may not create public files; no write-down). Conversely, users can view content only at or below their own security level (i.e. secret researchers can view public or secret files, but may not view top-secret files; no read-up). Strong Property
The Strong Property is an alternative to the Property in which subjects may write to objects with only a matching security level. Thus, the write-up operation permitted in the usual Property is not present, only a write-to-same level operation. The Strong Property is usually discussed in the context of multilevel database management systems and is motivated by integrity concerns. Tranquility principle
The tranquility principle of the Bell-LaPadula model states that the classification of a subject or object does not change while it is being referenced. There are two forms to the tranquility principle: the “principle of strong tranquility” states that security levels do not change during the normal operation of the system and the “principle of weak tranquility” states that security levels do not change in a way that violates the rules of a given security policy.
Another interpretation of the tranquility principles is that they both apply only to the period of time during which an operation involving an object or subject is occurring. That is, the strong tranquility principle means that an object’s security level/label will not change during an operation (such as read or write); the weak tranquility principle means that an object’s security level/label may change in a way that does not violate the security policy during an operation.
Reference(s) used for this question: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biba_Model http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandatory_access_control http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discretionary_access_control http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark-Wilson_model http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brewer_and_Nash_model

Systems Security Certified Practitioner – SSCP – Question0237

Which of the following can best eliminate dial-up access through a Remote Access Server as a hacking vector?

A.
Using a TACACS+ server.
B. Installing the Remote Access Server outside the firewall and forcing legitimate users to authenticate to the firewall.
C. Setting modem ring count to at least 5.
D. Only attaching modems to non-networked hosts.

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

Containing the dial-up problem is conceptually easy: by installing the Remote Access Server outside the firewall and forcing legitimate users to authenticate to the firewall, any access to internal resources through the RAS can be filtered as would any other connection coming from the Internet.
The use of a TACACS+ Server by itself cannot eliminate hacking.
Setting a modem ring count to 5 may help in defeating war-dialing hackers who look for modem by dialing long series of numbers.
Attaching modems only to non-networked hosts is not practical and would not prevent these hosts from being hacked. Source: STREBE, Matthew and PERKINS, Charles, Firewalls 24seven, Sybex 2000, Chapter 2: Hackers.

Systems Security Certified Practitioner – SSCP – Question0236

Which of the following protocol was used by the INITIAL version of the Terminal Access Controller Access Control System TACACS for communication between clients and servers?

A.
TCP
B. SSL
C. UDP
D. SSH

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

The original TACACS, developed in the early ARPANet days, had very limited functionality and used the UDP transport. In the early 1990s, the protocol was extended to include additional functionality and the transport changed to TCP.
TACACS is defined in RFC 1492, and uses (either TCP or UDP) port 49 by default. TACACS allows a client to accept a username and password and send a query to a TACACS authentication server, sometimes called a TACACS daemon or simply TACACSD. TACACSD uses TCP and usually runs on port 49. It would determine whether to accept or deny the authentication request and send a response back. TACACS+
TACACS+ and RADIUS have generally replaced TACACS and XTACACS in more recently built or updated networks. TACACS+ is an entirely new protocol and is not compatible with TACACS or XTACACS. TACACS+ uses the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and RADIUS uses the User Datagram Protocol (UDP). Since TCP is connection oriented protocol, TACACS+ does not have to implement transmission control. RADIUS, however, does have to detect and correct transmission errors like packet loss, timeout etc. since it rides on UDP which is connectionless.
RADIUS encrypts only the users’ password as it travels from the RADIUS client to RADIUS server. All other information such as the username, authorization, accounting are transmitted in clear text. Therefore it is vulnerable to different types of attacks. TACACS+ encrypts all the information mentioned above and therefore does not have the vulnerabilities present in the RADIUS protocol.
RADIUS and TACACS + are client/ server protocols, which means the server portion cannot send unsolicited commands to the client portion. The server portion can only speak when spoken to. Diameter is a peer-based protocol that allows either end to initiate communication. This functionality allows the Diameter server to send a message to the access server to request the user to provide another authentication credential if she is attempting to access a secure resource.
Reference(s) used for this question: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TACACS and Harris, Shon (2012-10-18). CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, 6th Edition (p. 239). McGraw-Hill. Kindle Edition.