Complete Study Material Flashcards
Typosquatting
relies on mistakes such as typos made by Internet users when inputting a website address into a web browser
Pretexting
Pretexting is a type of social engineering attack that involves a situation, or pretext, created by an attacker in order to lure a victim into a vulnerable situation
Pharming
Pharming is a more advanced method that manipulates DNS records, redirecting users to fake websites without their knowledge
Watering Hole Attack
a targeted attack designed to compromise users within a specific industry or group of users by infecting websites they typically visit and luring them to a malicious site
Influence Campaigns
a large-scale campaign launched by a threat actor, or group of threat actors, with a lot of power (like a hacktivist group, nation-state actor, or terrorist group) that seeks to shift public opinion
Worms
A worm can self-replicate and spread to other computers
Trojan
a type of malware that downloads onto a computer disguised as a legitimate program
Rootkit
A rootkit is malicious software code that provides bad actors with “root” access to an endpoint device kernel or core system files
Virus
A computer virus is a type of malicious software, or malware, that spreads between computers and causes damage to data and software
Backdoor
a means of bypassing an organization’s existing security systems
RAT
malware that can control a computer using desktop sharing and other administrative functions
Logic Bomb
A logic bomb is malware that installs and operates silently until a certain
event occurs
Password Spray
Password attack in which the same password is attempted across many accounts
Brute Force
Password attack in which many passwords are attempted against an account to eventually gain access
Rainbow Tables
Pre-built set of hashes. Requires different tables for different hashing methods
Salt
Random data added to a password when hashing. Prevents the success of rainbow tables and significantly slows down brute force attacks
Dictionary Attack
Password attacks where a “dictionary” or list of common words are used to guess an account’s password. Some password crackers can substitute letters for numbers and special characters (3/E, 1/!, A/@)
Hash Collision
Occurs when two entirely unique input values have the same hash
Downgrade Attack
Forces the system to downgrade their security measures, such as rolling back to vulnerable or un-patched versions.
Birthday Attack
An example of a hash collision
Mitigating Privilege Escalation
Patch vulnerabilities quickly, update security software, only allow data execution is certain areas, and randomize address space layout
XSS
Cross-Site Scripting is a vulnerability found on web-based application, which allows an attacker to run scripts in a user input (such as text field) to obtain credentials, session IDs, cookies, etc.
Non-persistent (reflected) vs. Persistent (stored)
SQL Injection
SQL Injection is an attack which allows the attacker to input SQL code into a text field to interact with the data stored in the SQL database. Input validation misconfiguration is typically the cause.
Buffer Overflow
When a section of memory is able to spill over and overwrite another section of memory.
DLL Injection
Dynamic Link Library Injection copies a DLL into an existing/valid process, causing the process to execute with the DLL
Replay Attack
An attacker with access to raw network data is able to copy traffic and “replay” the data across the network to appear as someone else
Pass the hash is an example of a Replay Attack, where an attacker may be listening in on an authentication between a client and server and capture the hash, and pretend to be the user by sending the server those authentication details.
Server Side Request Forgery (SSRF)
Attacker finds a vulnerable web application and is able to send requests to the web server, causing it to perform the request on behalf of the attacker
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Takes advantage of the trust that a website has with the browser, allowing for an attacker to send requests to a web server on a victim’s behalf.
Often requires victim to perform an action such as clicking a link to pass on the forged request
Shimming
Shimming is inserting code into a system library or API
Refactoring
Refactoring code is the process of rewriting the internal processing of the code, without changing its external behavior
SSL Stripping / HTTP Downgrade
a type of cyber attack in which hackers downgrade a web connection from the more secure HTTPS to the less secure HTTP. This makes all communications unencrypted and sets the stage for a man-in-the-middle attack
SSL & TLS
Transport Layer Security (TLS) is the upgraded version of SSL that fixes existing SSL vulnerabilities. TLS authenticates more efficiently and continues to support encrypted communication channels
Race Condition
A race condition is an undesirable situation that occurs when a device or system attempts to perform two or more operations at the same time
Memory Vulnerabilities
Examples of Memory Vulnerabilities include Memory Leaks, NULL Pointer dereference, and Integer Overflow
Memory Leak
A memory leak occurs when a process allocates memory from the paged or nonpaged pools, but doesn’t free the memory. As a result, these limited pools of memory are depleted over time, causing Windows to slow down. If memory is completely depleted, failures may result
NULL Pointer Dereference
A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit
Integer Overflow
An integer overflow occurs when you attempt to store inside an integer variable a value that is larger than the maximum value the variable can hold
Directory Traversal
A directory traversal is an HTTP attack that allows attackers to gain access to restricted files
Improper Error Handling
Improper handling of errors can introduce a variety of security problems for a web site. The most common problem is when detailed internal error messages such as stack traces, database dumps, and error codes are displayed to the user (hacker)
Improper Input Handling
Improper input handling is one of the most common weaknesses identified across applications today. Poorly handled input is a leading cause behind critical vulnerabilities that exist in systems and applications
Resource Exhaustion
It’s a type of attack that uses up the available resources on a device so that the application or the service that’s being used by it is no longer accessible by others
Rogue Access Points
a wireless access point plugged into an organization’s network that the security team does not know exists
Evil Twin
An evil twin attack is a cyberattack that works by tricking users into connecting to a fake Wi-Fi access point
Bluejacking
Bluejacking is when an attacker sends unsolicited messages to a victim’s Bluetooth-enabled device
Bluesnarfing
accessing data through an unauthorized wireless connection
RF Jamming
RF Jamming, or Radio Frequency Jamming, is the concept of blocking a wireless device from communicating with other devices or a wireless
Interference
Unintentional jamming
RFID Attacks
RFID tags can be counterfeited, spoofed, sniffed, and even carry viruses that infect RFID readers and their associated networks
Near Field Communication (NFC)
Builds on RFID to enable two-way wireless communication. Similar vulnerabilities as RFID
Cryptographic nonce
A nonce is an arbitrary number used only once in a cryptographic communication, in the spirit of a nonce word. They are often random or pseudo-random numbers used in live data transmission to protect against replay attacks
Initialization Vector (IV)
An initialization vector (IV) is an arbitrary number that can be used with a secret key for data encryption to foil cyber attacks
On-Path Attacks
An on-path attack is an attacker that sits in the middle between two stations and is able to intercept, and in some cases, change that information that’s being sent interactively across the network
Media Access Control (MAC) Flooding
In a typical MAC Flooding attack, the attacker sends Ethernet Frames in a huge number. When sending many Ethernet Frames to the switch, these frames will have various sender addresses. The intention of the attacker is consuming the memory of the switch that is used to store the MAC address table. The MAC addresses of legitimate users will be pushed out of the MAC Table
Media Access Control (MAC) Cloning
MAC Cloning is the act of changing or impersonating the MAC address of a network interface card to match the MAC address of an authorized device on the network
DNS Poisoning
Domain Name System (DNS) poisoning happens when fake information is entered into the cache of a domain name server, resulting in DNS queries producing an incorrect reply, sending users to the wrong website
Domain Hijacking
Domain hijacking is the act of changing the registration of a domain name without the permission of the original owner
URL Hijacking
Another term for Typosquatting, which takes advantage of a user’s ability to enter typos when navigating to a website
Threat Actor Types
Threat actor types include Insiders, Nation States, Hacktivists, Script Kiddies, Organized Crime, Competitors, and Hackers
Insiders
An employee with extensive internal resources and knowledge of vulnerable systems
Nation States
Government-funded entities with various political and economic motives
Hacktivists
groups of criminals who unite to carry out cyber attacks in support of political causes
Script Kiddies
novice hackers who use existing scripts and software to carry out cyberattacks
Organized Crime
Well-funded professional criminals with sophisticated knowledge, typically motivated by money.
Competitors
Motives include espionage, harming competitor reputation, stealing customer data and financial information
Open Source Intelligence (OSINT)
he collection and analysis of data gathered from open sources (covert sources and publicly available information; PAI) to produce actionable intelligence
Zero-Day Attacks
A zero-day exploit is a cyberattack vector that takes advantage of an unknown or unaddressed security flaw
Known vs Partially Known Environment
Used to describe the access/knowledge granted to an attacker during Pentest
Passive Footprinting
This involves gathering information about the target without direct interaction, such as OSINT or other publicly available data
Active Footprinting
the process of using tools and techniques, such as performing a ping sweep or using the traceroute command, to gather information on a target
Data Masking Techniques
Data Masking techniques include substituting, shuffling, encrypting data
Data at-rest
The data is on a storage device
Data in-transit
Data transmitted over the network
Data in-use
Data is actively processing in memory and almost always decrypted
Tokenization
Replace sensitive data with a non-sensitive placeholder. Common with credit card processing
Information Rights Management (IRM)
The concept of controlling how data is used; restrict data access to unauthorized persons
Web Application Firewall (WAF)
Helps protect web applications by filtering and monitoring HTTP traffic between a web application and the Internet
Hot Site
A hot site is a DR location that is set up and ready to go – that is, one can arrive and continue to work immediately.
Cold Site
a cold site is essentially available space with little, if anything, set up in it. When you arrive at a cold backup site, you need to set up the equipment, make all connections, load the software, etc
Warm Site
a facility where equipment is available and set up for you, but you must load or restore your latest data to the system
DNS Sinkhole
a mechanism aimed at protecting users by intercepting DNS request attempting to connect to known malicious or unwanted domains and returning a false, or rather controlled IP address
Cloud Deployment Models
Cloud models include Public, Community, Private, and Hybrid deployments
Public Cloud Deployment Model
Available to everyone over the internet
Community Cloud Deployment Model
Resources shared by several organizations
Private Cloud Deployment Model
Your own virtualized local data center
Hybrid Cloud Deployment Model
Combination of Public & Private
Cloud Computing
Computing on demand with massive data storage capacity. Often fast implementation with smaller startup costs. Could come with limited bandwidth/latency issues and is difficult to protect data
Fog Computing
Cloud that’s closed to your data, commonly referred to as an extension of the cloud. Data is processed locally, minimizing security concerns
Edge Computing
Processing data on an edge server close to the user, oftentimes processing the data on the device itself
Elasticity
the ability of a system to adapt and manage resources according to workload requirements
Containerization
Containerization is a type of virtualization in which all the components of an application are bundled into a single container image and can be run in isolated user space on the same shared operating system
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
the hosting of desktop environments on a central server. It is a form of desktop virtualization, as the specific desktop images run within virtual machines (VMs) and are delivered to end clients over a network
Software Defined Networking (SDN)
an approach to networking that uses software-based controllers or application programming interfaces (APIs) to communicate with underlying hardware infrastructure and direct traffic on a network
Software Defined Visibility (SDV)
Network visibility made available through security devices
Federation
Interconnected digital business networks with the ability to transparently send data and messages between parties, such that all the networks function as one network
Attestation
Providing proof of something
Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP)
a string of dynamic digits of code, whose change is based on time
HMAC-based One-Time Password (HOTP)
an event-based OTP where the moving factor in each code is based on a counter
Biometric False Acceptance Rate (FAR)
FAR occurs when we accept a user whom we should actually have rejected
Biometric False Rejection Rate (FRR)
FRR is the problem of rejecting a legitimate user when we should have accepted him
Crossover Error Rate (CER)
describes the point where the False Reject Rate (FRR) and False Accept Rate (FAR) are equal
AAA Framework
authentication, authorization, and accounting. AAA is a framework for intelligently controlling access to computer resources, enforcing policies, auditing usage, and providing the information necessary to bill for services
Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID)
RAID (redundant array of independent disks) is a way of storing the same data in different places to provide increased speed, fault tolerance, and redundancy. Multiple disks/drives working in parallel.
RAID 0
Striping without parity - Great performance, but is not fault-tolerant. If one drive fails, all data in RAID 0 is lost. Requires two drives
RAID 1
Mirroring - Great r/w speed. In the event of a drive failure, data does not have to be rebuilt, just copied to the replacement drive from the still-functional mirror drive. Requires two drives
RAID 5
Striping with parity. RAID 5 is the most common secure RAID level, ideal for mission critical storage. If a drive fails, you have access to all data even while failed drive is being replaced. Requires 3+ drives
RAID 10
Combines characteristics of RAID 1 and RAID 0. If something goes wrong with one of the disks, the rebuild time is very fast. Half of storage capactity goes to mirroring, so this is expensive redundancy.
NIC Teaming
Network Interface Card (NIC) teaming is a common technique of grouping physical network adapters to improve performance and redundancy. NIC teaming maintains a connection to multiple physical switches but uses a single IP address. This ensures readily available load balancing and instant fault tolerance
Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS)
a device that provides backup power to electrical systems during power outages or fluctuations. It helps to ensure uninterrupted operation and protect sensitive equipment from potential damage
Power Distribution Units (PDU)
a device with multiple power outlets that provides electrical protection and distributes power to IT equipment within a rack
Full Backups
A full backup is the most complete type of backup where you clone all the selected data
Incremental Backups
The first backup in an incremental backup is a full backup. The succeeding backups will only store changes that were made to the previous backup
Differential Backups
This type of backup involves backing up data that was created or changed since the last full backup
High Availability (HA)
High availability (HA) is the ability of a system to operate continuously without failing for a designated period of time
System on a Chip (SoC)
Embedded system that has multiple components running on a single chip. Limited off the shelf security options.
Internet of Things (IoT)
Smart devices, wearable technology, facility automation sensors for heating and cooling, lighting, etc.
Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)
Integrated circuit that’s configured after manufacturing, often programmed in the field. Problems don’t require hardware replacements
SCADA / Industrial Control Systems (ICS)
Large-scale multi-site systems. PCs manage facilities and equipment. No access from outside
Multifunction Devices (MFD)
All-in-one devices such as printers, scanners, fax machines. Logs stored on the local device.
Real-Time Operating System (RTOS)
Deterministic processing schedule. Commonly used in industrial equipment, automobiles, and military environments
Narrowband
Communication of analog signals over narrow range of frequencies, used for longer distance communication by IoT devices
Baseband
Generally a single cable with digital signal, either 0 or 100% utilization of bandwidth.
5G
5th Generation cellular networking with significant impact to IoT devices, allowing larger data transfers, faster monitoring and additional processing
Faraday Cage
A mesh conductive metal cage used to block electromagnetic fields
Screened Subnet / DMZ
Also known as a DMZ, this sits between the internal network and public internet, providing public access to select public resources
USB Data Blocker
Allows power supply but rejects data transfer
Air Gap
Term used to describe a physical separation between networks
Hot / Cold Aisles
Aisles at a data center used to control air flow to optimize cooling and conserve energy
Degaussing
the destruction of the data on a data storage device by removing its magnetism
Pulping
Process of removing ink from paper, breaking the paper down into pulp, and re-using the recycled paper.