Lesson 13: Explaining Common Security Concepts Flashcards
What are the 3 concepts of the CIA triad?
- Confidentiality
- Integrity
- Availability
Define confidentiality in the CIA triad
Confidentiality means that certain information should only be known to certain people.
Define integrity in the CIA triad
Integrity means that the data is stored and transferred as intended and that any modification is authorized.
Define availability in the CIA triad
Availability means that information is accessible to those authorized to view or modify it.
Define a vulnerability
A weakness that could be accidentally triggered or intentionally exploited to cause a security breach
Define a threat
The potential for someone or something to exploit a vulnerability and breach security. A threat may be intentional or unintentional. The person or thing that poses the threat is called a threat actor or threat agent.
Define an attack vector
The path or tool used by a threat actor
Define risk
The likelihood and impact (or consequence) of a threat actor exercising a vulnerability
Define risk management
A process for identifying, assessing, and mitigating vulnerabilities and threats to the essential functions that a business must perform
Define risk assessment
A subset of risk management where a company’s systems and procedures are evaluated
Define a mission essential function (MEF)
Business or organizational activity/process that is too critical to be deferred for anything more than a few hours, if at all
Define Business impact analysis (BIA)
Activity that identifies organizational risks and asses their effect on ongoing, mission critical operations as well as what losses might occur for a range of threat scenarios
Define business continuity planning (BCP)
Identifies controls and processes that enable an organization to maintain critical workflows in the face of some adverse event
Define an exploit
Specific code or method of using a vulnerability to gain control of a system or to cause damage
Define a zero-day vulnerability/exploit
A vulnerability that is exploited before the developer knows about it or can release a patch
Define a legacy system
A legacy system is one where the software vendor no longer provides support or fixes for problems
Define a vulnerability assesment
An evaluation of a system’s security and ability to meet compliance requirements based on the configuration state of the system; determines if the current configuration matches the ideal configuration (the baseline)
What does CVE stand for?
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposers
What is the purpose of a CVE?
A scheme for identifying vulnerabilities
What is the construction of a CVE identifier?
CVE-YEAR-ORDER DISCOVERED
Define an external threat
A threat actor that has no account or authorized access to the targeted system
Define an internal threat
A threat actor that has been granted permissions/access on the system
Define Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
Solution that provides real-time or near-real-time analysis of security alerts/logs generated by network hardware and applications
What is the primary function of SIEM?
To aggregate logs from multiple sources, and to correlate individual events into indicators of compromise (IOC)
What is a pen test?
Active test that uses tools and security utilities to evaluate security by simulating a live attack on a system
Define Privileged Account Management (PAM)
Policies, procedures, and technical controls to prevent the malicious abuse of privileged accounts and to mitigate risks from weak configuration control over privileges
What are the 3 principals of Priviledged Account Management (PAM)
- Least privilege
- Role-based access
- Zero trust
Define least privilege
Principle of security stating that a user should be allocated the minimum necessary rights, privileges, or information to perform its role
What is the purpose of least privilege?
Mitigates the risk if the account becomes compromised
Define authorization creep
Refers to when a user requires more rights over time
Define role-based access
Access control model where resources are protected by ACLs that are managed by administrators and that provide user permissions (read, write, modify, etc) based on job functions
Define zero trust
Security design paradigm where any request (host-to-host or container-to-container) must be authenticated before being allowed
What are the ways to implement zero trust?
- Uses systems such as continuous authentication and conditional access to mitigate privilege escalation and account compromise
- Micro segmentation - is a security process that is capable of applying policies to a single node, as though it was in a zone of its own
What is the purpose of an access control system?
Set of technical security controls that govern how subjects are permitted to interact with objects