1.6 - Vulnerabilities

Question 1

Define Zero-day attacks.

Answer 1

A vulnerability that has not yet been detected or published. It is a brand new vulnerability.

Question 2

Define Open permissions as a vulnerability.

Answer 2

Permission that are not restricted. This is more common within cloud storage.

Question 3

Define Unsecured root accounts as a vulnerability.

Answer 3

A Linux root account is the administrator or superuser account. It can be unsecured by misconfiguration or an easy-to-hack password.

Disable direct login to the root account. Use su or sudo. Protect accounts with root or administrator access.

Question 4

Define Errors as a vulnerability.

Answer 4

Error messages can provide useful information to an attacker (service type, version information, debug data, etc.).

Question 5

Define Weak Encryption as a vulnerability.

Answer 5

Using deprecated encryption protocol. Issues can arise from the length of the encryption key, the hash, and wireless encryption.

Some cipher suites are easier to break than others. TLS is one of the most common issues. You don’t want to use weak or null encryption (less than 128 bit key sizes) or outdated hashes (MD5).

Question 6

Define Insecure Protocols as a vulnerability.

Answer 6

Cleartext or non-encrypted protocols.
Telnet, FTP, SMTP, IMAP

Use the encrypted versions (SSH, SFTP, IMAPS, etc.)

Question 7

Define Default Settings as a vulnerabilty.

Answer 7

Using default usernames and passwords in order to login rather than changing them.

Question 8

Define Open Ports and Services as a vulnerability.

Answer 8

The more ports and services that are opened, the more space there is for sketchy traffic to get through.

Manage with a firewall. Allow or deny based on port number or application.

Question 9

Define Improper Patch Management as a vulnerability.

Answer 9

Can leave devices and applications open to zero-day attacks and older vulnerabilities. Can be firmware, OS, or applications.

Should centrally manage updates.

Question 10

Define Legacy Systems as a vulnerability.

Answer 10

Devices that have long been deprecated, so they are no longer updated or supported. They are weak to attack because all of their vulnerabilities are known.

They might be running software that is EOL.

Additional firewall rules. IPS signature rules for older OS.

Question 11

List some of the risks of working with a third party that does system integration.

Answer 11

Professional installation and maintenance

Risks
- Can be on-site
- Physical or virtual access to data and systems
- Keylogger installations and USB flash drive data
transfers
- Can run software on the internal network

Question 12

List some of the risks of a Lack of Vendor Support.

Answer 12

Vendors are the only ones who can fix their products.

They need to know about the problem. Security problems can result from no updates.

Question 13

List some of the risks of working with a third party that is a Supply Chain.

Answer 13

You cannot control security at a third-party location. Hardware and software from a vendor can contain malware. There is also counterfeit hardware.

Question 14

List some of the risks of working with a third party that you Outsource code development to.

Answer 14

Third party has access to code base. Might have internal access via VPN. Make sure there are no backdoors.

Verify security to other systems.

Question 15

List some of the risks of working with a third party that handles your Data Storage.

Answer 15

Data could be highly sensitive. Storage at third-party may need encryption. Physical access.

Question 16

List some ways a vulnerability can have an impact.

Answer 16

1) Economic
2) Data loss
3) Identity theft
4) Financial loss
5) Reputation
6) Availability loss