SY0-601 Threats, Attacks & Vulnerabilities 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which term describes software that appears legitimate but contains hidden malicious functionality?
- Worm
- Virus
- Trojan horse (Correct answer)
- Spyware
Correct answer: Trojan horse
A Trojan horse disguises itself as legitimate software to trick users into installing it, then executes its malicious payload.
Question 2: An attacker targets the CEO specifically with a highly sophisticated phishing email crafted to appear as a legitimate board communication. What is this attack called?
- Spear phishing
- Whaling (Correct answer)
- Business email compromise
- Vishing
Correct answer: Whaling
Whaling is a form of spear phishing specifically targeting high-profile executives (the 'big fish') within an organization.
Question 3: Which DNS attack involves corrupting the DNS cache to redirect users to malicious IP addresses without their knowledge?
- DNS hijacking
- DNS spoofing / cache poisoning (Correct answer)
- Domain kiting
- NXDOMAIN attack
Correct answer: DNS spoofing / cache poisoning
DNS cache poisoning injects false DNS records into a resolver's cache, redirecting users to attacker-controlled servers.
Question 4: Which type of malware self-replicates across networks without requiring a host file or human interaction?
- Virus
- Worm (Correct answer)
- Trojan
- Ransomware
Correct answer: Worm
A worm is self-replicating malware that spreads autonomously across networks by exploiting vulnerabilities, requiring no host file.
Question 5: An attacker gains access to a low-privilege account on a system and then exploits a vulnerability to gain administrative access. What is this technique called?
- Lateral movement
- Privilege escalation (Correct answer)
- Persistence
- Credential dumping
Correct answer: Privilege escalation
Privilege escalation is the process of gaining higher-level permissions than initially granted, moving from limited to administrative access.
Question 6: Which social engineering technique involves creating a fabricated scenario to manipulate a victim into providing information or access?
- Tailgating
- Pretexting (Correct answer)
- Baiting
- Quid pro quo
Correct answer: Pretexting
Pretexting involves fabricating a believable scenario (pretext) to gain the victim's trust and extract sensitive information.
Question 7: Which attack technique involves using stolen valid credentials from one data breach to attempt logins on other sites, exploiting password reuse?
- Password spraying
- Brute force attack
- Credential stuffing (Correct answer)
- Dictionary attack
Correct answer: Credential stuffing
Credential stuffing uses username/password pairs from prior breaches to attempt logins on other services, exploiting users who reuse passwords.
SY0-601 Threats, Attacks & Vulnerabilities 5
Which term describes software that appears legitimate but contains hidden malicious functionality?