Mixed Deck — All SY0-601 Topics Flashcards

What does VPN do?

Answer: Secure remote connection

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) creates a secure, encrypted connection over a less secure network, such as the internet. Its primary function is to provide secure remote access to private networks, allowing users to send and receive data as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. This ensures data confidentiality and integrity, especially when working remotely or using public Wi-Fi.

Which data security technique replaces sensitive data elements with non-sensitive placeholders that retain the format but have no exploitable value outside the specific system?

Answer: Tokenization

Tokenization substitutes sensitive data (e.g., a credit card number) with a token that is meaningless outside the tokenization system, reducing PCI DSS scope.

What protocol is used to securely browse websites?

Answer: HTTPS

HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) is the secure version of HTTP, the protocol over which data is sent between your browser and the website you are connecting to. It encrypts the communication between the client and the server using SSL/TLS, protecting data from eavesdropping and tampering. This ensures the confidentiality and integrity of information exchanged, making it safe for sensitive transactions like online banking or shopping.

Which statement BEST describes the relationship between CompTIA Security+ IT Certification certification and industry evolution?

Answer: Requirements evolve periodically to reflect advances in knowledge and practice

Certification requirements evolve to keep pace with professional and technological advances.

Which secure network architecture concept places resources that must be publicly accessible in an isolated zone separate from the internal network?

Answer: DMZ (Demilitarized Zone)

A DMZ is a buffer zone between the internet and the internal network where public-facing servers are isolated so that a compromise does not directly expose internal systems.

What is the main goal of social engineering?

Answer: Trick people for data

The main goal of social engineering is to trick people into divulging confidential information or performing actions that compromise security. Unlike technical attacks, social engineering exploits human psychology, such as trust, fear, or curiosity, rather than system vulnerabilities. Attackers manipulate individuals to gain unauthorized access to systems or data.

An application is designed so that if the authentication service becomes unavailable, all access to the system is denied rather than allowed. Which design concept does this reflect?

Answer: Fail secure (fail closed)

Fail secure ensures that a system defaults to a secure, restricted state when a component fails, preventing unauthorized access during outages.

A company's payroll system can tolerate losing no more than 4 hours of transaction data in the event of a disaster. Which metric does this describe?

Answer: Recovery Point Objective (RPO)

Recovery Point Objective (RPO) defines the maximum acceptable amount of data loss, measured in time, that an organization can tolerate.

A company's serverless functions are triggered by events and execute in ephemeral containers. Which cloud security concept describes ensuring these workloads are protected even though they have no persistent OS to harden?

Answer: Serverless security / function-level isolation

Serverless security focuses on securing function code, permissions, and event sources rather than the underlying OS, which is managed by the provider.

What is the main function of a firewall?

Answer: Control traffic

A firewall acts as a security barrier, monitoring and controlling incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predefined security rules. Its main function is to permit or deny data packets, protecting a private network from unauthorized access and malicious attacks. By filtering traffic according to established policies, firewalls enforce security boundaries and prevent unwanted communication.

When assessment results for a CompTIA Security+ IT Certification evaluation are inconclusive, the BEST practice is to:

Answer: Conduct additional assessment using alternative methods

Inconclusive results require additional assessment using alternative methods for triangulation.

Which network architecture concept uses software to dynamically provision and configure virtual network functions (firewalls, load balancers) without dedicated physical hardware?

Answer: Software-Defined Networking (SDN)

SDN decouples the control plane from the data plane, allowing network functions to be provisioned and configured programmatically through software.

What distinguishes a CompTIA Security+ IT Certification certified professional from a non-certified practitioner?

Answer: Certification validates competency through standardized assessment against benchmarks

Certification provides objective validation of competency through standardized assessment.

During a design review, a security engineer recommends that all internal services authenticate each request independently rather than relying on network location. This is a core principle of which model?

Answer: Zero trust architecture

Zero trust architecture operates on the principle of 'never trust, always verify,' requiring authentication and authorization for every request regardless of network origin.

A company purchases cyber insurance to offset potential financial losses from a data breach. Which risk response strategy does this represent?

Answer: Risk transfer

Risk transfer shifts the financial burden of a risk to a third party, such as through purchasing cyber insurance.

Which statement BEST describes the relationship between CompTIA Security+ IT Certification certification and industry evolution?

Answer: Requirements evolve periodically to reflect advances in knowledge and practice

Certification requirements evolve to keep pace with professional and technological advances.

Which is a type of malware?

Answer: Trojan

A Trojan, or Trojan horse, is a type of malware that disguises itself as legitimate software to trick users into installing it. Once inside a system, it can create backdoors, steal data, or launch other attacks without the user's knowledge. Trojans are dangerous because they appear harmless, making them difficult to detect until they execute their malicious payload.

What is the MOST effective way for new SY0-601 professionals to build competency?

Answer: Combining formal education, mentored practice, and ongoing professional development

Building competency requires formal education, mentored practice, and ongoing development.

What is the PRIMARY benefit of data-driven decision making in CompTIA Security+ IT Certification?

Answer: It provides objective evidence to support decisions, reduce bias, and track outcomes

Data-driven decisions provide objective evidence that reduces bias and enables outcome tracking.

What is the first step in incident response?

Answer: Identification

The first step in any incident response process is identification. This involves detecting a security incident, determining its nature, scope, and severity, and gathering initial information about the event. Without proper identification, an organization cannot effectively move to subsequent steps like containment, eradication, or recovery, as it wouldn't fully understand the problem at hand.