Technology & Information Security Flashcards

Which encryption standard is currently recommended by NIST for protecting sensitive US government data at rest?

Answer: AES-256

NIST recommends AES-256 for protecting sensitive government data at rest, as 3DES is deprecated and RC4/Blowfish are not approved for federal use.

In information governance, what does a Data Loss Prevention (DLP) system primarily do?

Answer: Monitors and restricts unauthorized transfer of sensitive data

DLP systems detect and prevent unauthorized transmission or exfiltration of sensitive information across network, endpoint, and cloud channels.

What is the primary purpose of a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system?

Answer: Aggregate and correlate security logs for threat detection

SIEM systems collect, aggregate, and correlate security event logs from multiple sources to enable real-time threat detection and incident response.

An organization wants to ensure that only authorized users access specific cloud resources. Which control best enforces this at the identity layer?

Answer: Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

RBAC restricts cloud resource access based on users' assigned roles, ensuring only authorized individuals can access specific resources.

Which concept describes the practice of granting users only the minimum access rights necessary to perform their job functions?

Answer: Least privilege

The principle of least privilege limits user permissions to the minimum required for their role, reducing the attack surface if credentials are compromised.

When classifying information in an IG program, which factor is MOST important when determining security controls?

Answer: The sensitivity and criticality of the information

Security controls in an IG program are driven by the sensitivity (confidentiality) and criticality (availability/integrity) of the information, not its format or size.

What is the key difference between a vulnerability assessment and a penetration test?

Answer: A vulnerability assessment identifies weaknesses while a penetration test actively exploits them

Vulnerability assessments identify and rank security weaknesses, while penetration tests go further by actively attempting to exploit those weaknesses to demonstrate real impact.