ISACA Protection of Information Assets 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following cloud deployment models gives an organization the MOST control over its security configurations?
- Public cloud
- Community cloud
- Hybrid cloud
- Private cloud (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Private cloud
A private cloud is dedicated to a single organization, giving it full control over security configurations, policies, and infrastructure.
Question 2: An IS auditor reviewing an organization's key management practices should verify that cryptographic keys are:
- Stored in plaintext within the application that uses them
- Generated using approved algorithms and protected throughout their lifecycle (Correct answer)
- Changed only when a security incident is detected
- Kept exclusively by the CEO and CISO for accountability
Correct answer: Generated using approved algorithms and protected throughout their lifecycle
Effective key management requires keys to be generated with approved algorithms and protected (encrypted, access-controlled) across their entire lifecycle.
Question 3: Which of the following BEST describes a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack?
- An attacker floods a target system with traffic to deny service
- An attacker secretly intercepts and potentially alters communications between two parties (Correct answer)
- An attacker injects malicious code into a web application database
- An attacker exploits a buffer overflow to gain elevated privileges
Correct answer: An attacker secretly intercepts and potentially alters communications between two parties
In a MITM attack, the attacker secretly positions themselves between two communicating parties to intercept, read, or modify data.
Question 4: Which of the following is the MOST important consideration when implementing a data classification scheme?
- The classification levels must align with industry peer organizations
- Controls applied to data must be commensurate with the value and sensitivity of the data (Correct answer)
- All data must be classified at the highest level to ensure maximum protection
- Classification must be performed by the IT security team rather than business units
Correct answer: Controls applied to data must be commensurate with the value and sensitivity of the data
Security controls should be proportional to the value and sensitivity of the data to balance protection costs with the actual risk.
Question 5: A port scan reveals that TCP port 23 is open on a server. What risk does this MOST likely indicate?
- Unencrypted web traffic is being transmitted
- Telnet is running, transmitting credentials in plaintext (Correct answer)
- A misconfigured FTP service is exposing files
- Remote desktop access is enabled without authentication
Correct answer: Telnet is running, transmitting credentials in plaintext
TCP port 23 is the default port for Telnet, which transmits all data including passwords in cleartext, posing a significant confidentiality risk.
Question 6: Which of the following BEST describes the principle of least privilege?
- Users should be granted access to all systems unless explicitly denied
- Users should be given only the minimum access rights necessary to perform their job functions (Correct answer)
- Privileged accounts should be shared among administrators to ensure availability
- Access rights should never be reviewed once initially granted
Correct answer: Users should be given only the minimum access rights necessary to perform their job functions
The principle of least privilege limits user access rights to only what is necessary to perform authorized tasks, reducing the attack surface.
Question 7: Which of the following is the PRIMARY objective of a security operations center (SOC)?
- To develop and enforce security policies across the organization
- To continuously monitor, detect, and respond to cybersecurity incidents (Correct answer)
- To perform annual penetration tests on critical infrastructure
- To manage user identity provisioning and access requests
Correct answer: To continuously monitor, detect, and respond to cybersecurity incidents
A SOC provides 24/7 monitoring and response capabilities to detect, analyze, and contain security incidents in real time.
ISACA Protection of Information Assets 5
Which of the following cloud deployment models gives an organization the MOST control over its security configurations?