312-85 Sample Questions Answers

In the Cyber Kill Chain model, the Command and Control (C2) phase refers to the stage where the attacker establishes a communication channel between the compromised system and their own server to maintain remote control, issue commands, and exfiltrate data.

In the given scenario, Jack has already compromised the system and set up a two-way communication link, which is encrypted to avoid detection. This activity is characteristic of the Command and Control phase.

Key Characteristics of the Command and Control Phase:

The attacker establishes remote communication with the compromised host.

Encryption or obfuscation methods are used to hide the channel.

The attacker uses this channel to send further commands, escalate privileges, and execute malicious actions.

Typical tools: Remote Access Trojans (RATs), backdoors, and tunneling techniques.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

B. Weaponization:This phase involves creating or configuring the malicious payload or exploit (e.g., binding malware to a document or executable). It occurs before the attack delivery.

C. Reconnaissance:The attacker gathers information about the target (network structure, vulnerabilities) before launching an attack.

D. Delivery:This phase involves transmitting the weaponized payload to the target through methods such as email attachments, infected links, or USB drives.

Conclusion:

By establishing an encrypted communication channel and controlling the victim’s system remotely, Jack is in the Command and Control phase of the Cyber Kill Chain.

Final Answer: A. Command and Control

Explanation Reference (Based on CTIA Study Concepts):

As defined in CTIA materials under “Adversary Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs)” and “Cyber Kill Chain Stages,” the Command and Control phase involves creating and maintaining communication between compromised hosts and attacker infrastructure for persistent access and control.

Sam's mistake was using threat intelligence from sources that he did not verify for reliability. Relying on intelligence from unverified or unreliable sources can lead to the incorporation of inaccurate, outdated, or irrelevant information into the organization's threat intelligence program. This can result in "noise," which refers to irrelevant or false information that can distract from real threats, and potentially put the organization's network at risk. Verifying the credibility and reliability of intelligence sources is crucial to ensure that the data used for making security decisions is accurate and actionable.

The exchange of attack techniques, compromised systems, and immediate defensive actions represents Tactical Threat Intelligence sharing.

Tactical Threat Intelligence focuses on adversary Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) and helps defenders understand and counter ongoing attacks in real time.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

B. Operational: Focuses on broader attack campaigns and contextual analysis.

C. Strategic: Provides high-level, long-term insights for executives.

D. Technical: Concerns low-level indicators like IPs and file hashes, not methodologies or immediate actions.

Conclusion:

The collaboration involves Tactical Threat Intelligence, which centers on sharing actionable TTPs and response techniques.

Final Answer: A. Sharing tactical threat intelligence

Explanation Reference (Based on CTIA Study Concepts):

CTIA defines tactical threat intelligence as intelligence describing attacker behaviors and techniques that can be acted upon immediately by defenders.

Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs) are nonprofit organizations established to facilitate secure sharing of threat intelligence among companies within a specific industry sector.

ISACs provide:

A trusted platform for sharing cyber threat indicators.

Secure mechanisms for communication and collaboration.

Analytical services that enhance shared threat data for participating members.

Each ISAC is industry-specific (for example, Financial Services ISAC, Energy ISAC) and provides members with reports, advisories, and data analytics to strengthen collective defense.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

Trading partners: Share intelligence directly between organizations with established business relationships.

Informal contacts: Represent ad hoc, trust-based sharing without a formal structure.

Commercial vendors: Offer paid threat intelligence feeds or services, not nonprofit community-based sharing.

Conclusion:

Tech Knights Inc. should use an Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) to share intelligence securely and collaboratively.

Final Answer: B. Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs)

Explanation Reference (Based on CTIA Study Concepts):

According to CTIA’s section on “Information Sharing Models,” ISACs are nonprofit entities that promote collaboration and data exchange for cyber threat intelligence within industry sectors.

The scenario describes a situation where Philip gathers intelligence through direct personal relationships or covert human contact with the target individual. This aligns with the intelligence source known as CHIS (Covert Human Intelligence Source).

CHIS refers to intelligence collected from a human source who provides information about individuals, groups, or organizations, often through personal relationships or covert interaction. This type of intelligence is gathered directly from people rather than technical or electronic means.

In the context of threat intelligence and security analysis, CHIS is part of Human Intelligence (HUMINT), which involves acquiring information through human interaction. Such sources can include insiders, informants, or individuals with access to sensitive details about the target organization.

Attackers or intelligence professionals use this method to gather sensitive or non-public information that cannot be obtained from open or technical sources. Philip’s method of maintaining a personal relationship with the target person to collect information fits perfectly into this category.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

B. MASINT (Measurement and Signature Intelligence):This intelligence source collects and analyzes data obtained from sensors, measuring electromagnetic, acoustic, or nuclear signatures. It is a technical intelligence method and does not involve human relationships.

C. SOCMINT (Social Media Intelligence):SOCMINT involves collecting intelligence from social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram. It uses publicly available data rather than personal interaction.

D. FISINT (Foreign Instrumentation Signals Intelligence):This refers to intelligence derived from intercepted foreign instrument signals, such as telemetry or weapon system emissions. It is related to technical and signals intelligence, not human sources.

Conclusion:

Philip used a Covert Human Intelligence Source (CHIS) approach, which involves collecting intelligence through human interaction or relationships to gain insider knowledge about the target organization.

Final Answer: A. CHIS

Explanation Reference (Based on CTIA Study Concepts):

Based on the CTIA study guide section on “Sources of Threat Intelligence,” CHIS is recognized as a human intelligence source derived from interpersonal contact, covert sources, or informants that provide insider-level information about an organization or target individual.

The scenario described by Steve's observations, where multiple logins are occurring from different locations in a short time span, especially from locations where the organization has no business relations, points to 'Geographical anomalies' as a key indicator of compromise (IoC). Geographical anomalies in logins suggest unauthorized access attempts potentially made by attackers using compromised credentials. This is particularly suspicious when the locations of these logins do not align with the normal geographical footprint of the organization's operations or employee locations. Monitoring for such anomalies can help in the early detection of unauthorized access and potential data breaches.

In this scenario, Jacob has copied the entire contents of a legitimate website to his local system to create a replica or duplicate version that looks exactly like the original. This process of duplicating a website by copying its structure, design, content, and files is known as website mirroring.

Website mirroring is a technique used to create an identical copy (mirror) of a real website for different purposes. In ethical use cases, organizations create mirror sites to ensure high availability, load balancing, or offline backup of web content. However, in malicious or unethical scenarios, attackers use website mirroring to replicate legitimate sites for phishing or social engineering attacks, tricking users into entering credentials, financial data, or other sensitive information.

By creating a mirrored version of an authentic site, an attacker can redirect unsuspecting victims to the fake version, which appears genuine. Victims then provide information that is captured by the attacker for malicious use. This method is commonly employed in phishing campaigns and credential harvesting operations.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

A. Data sampling:Data sampling refers to selecting a subset of data from a larger dataset for analysis or testing. It does not involve copying or cloning websites.

C. Tailgating:Tailgating is a physical security breach technique, where an unauthorized individual follows an authorized person into a secured area without proper authentication. It is unrelated to website replication.

D. Social engineering:Social engineering is a broader psychological manipulation technique that exploits human trust to gain confidential information. While Jacob’s goal is to perform a social engineering attack using the cloned website, the method he used to create the replica is website mirroring, not social engineering itself.

Conclusion:

Jacob used website mirroring to clone the online shopping website. The mirrored site will later serve as a platform to perform social engineering attacks by deceiving employees or customers into interacting with the fake site.

Final Answer: B. Website mirroring

Explanation Reference (Based on CTIA Study Concepts):

This explanation is based on EC-Council’s Certified Threat Intelligence Analyst (CTIA) study concepts under the topics of Adversary Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) and Threat Modeling of Infrastructure Attacks, which describe how attackers create cloned or mirrored websites to perform phishing and social engineering campaigns.

For intelligence to be effectively disseminated and utilized by consumers, it must be presented in a manner that is concise, accurate, easily understandable, and engaging. This involves a careful balance of narrative, numerical data, tables, graphics, and potentially multimedia elements to convey the information clearly and compellingly. The right presentation takes into account the preferences and needs of the intelligence consumers, as well as the context and urgency of the information. By focusing on how the intelligence is presented, the analyst ensures that the content is not only consumed but also actionable, facilitating informed decision-making.

The key factor that enables a structured and automated process for investigating attacks, processing intelligence, and integrating it with internal controls is Workflow.

In a Threat Intelligence Platform (TIP), the workflow defines a structured sequence of steps or processes that analysts follow to collect, process, analyze, and act on intelligence data. It ensures that:

Intelligence is processed consistently and efficiently.

Alerts, investigations, and responses follow predefined automation rules.

Internal controls are linked with threat feeds for faster detection and mitigation.

A well-designed workflow also supports investigation automation, report generation, and integration with other security systems such as SIEM, SOAR, and EDR tools.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

A. Scoring: Refers to prioritizing or rating intelligence based on risk or severity but does not automate investigations.

B. Search: Involves querying the intelligence database for specific data but lacks structured investigation processes.

D. Open: Indicates an open architecture or API support, not workflow automation or process structuring.

Conclusion:

The correct factor that ensures structured, automated investigations in a Threat Intelligence Platform is Workflow.

Final Answer: C. Workflow

Explanation Reference (Based on CTIA Study Concepts):

CTIA defines workflow as a key element in threat intelligence platforms that organizes and automates intelligence-driven investigations across multiple security controls.

The phase where threat intelligence analysts convert raw data into useful information by applying various techniques, such as machine learning or statistical methods, is known as 'Processing and Exploitation'. During this phase, collected data is processed, standardized, and analyzed to extract relevant information. This is a critical step in the threat intelligence lifecycle, transforming raw data into a format that can be further analyzed and turned into actionable intelligence in the subsequent 'Analysis and Production' phase.

In the context of bulk data collection for threat intelligence, data is often initially collected in an unstructured form from multiple sources and in various formats. This unstructured data includes information from blogs, news articles, threat reports, social media, and other sources that do not follow a specific structure or format. The subsequent processing of this data involves organizing, structuring, and analyzing it to extract actionable threat intelligence. This phase is crucial for turning vast amounts of disparate data into coherent, useful insights for cybersecurity purposes.

Normalization in the context of data analysis refers to the process of organizing data to reduce redundancy and improve efficiency in storing and sharing. By filtering, tagging, and queuing, Miley is effectively normalizing the data—converting it from various unstructured formats into a structured, more accessible format. This makes the data easier to analyze, store, and share. Normalization is crucial in cybersecurity and threat intelligence to manage the vast amounts of data collected and ensure that only relevant data is retained and analyzed. This technique contrasts with sandboxing, which is used for isolating and analyzing suspicious code; data visualization, which involves representing data graphically; and convenience sampling, which is a method of sampling where samples are taken from a group that is conveniently accessible.

The question specifies that the vulnerabilities are application threats.

SQL injection and buffer overflow are both classic examples of application-layer attacks that target flaws in code and software design.

SQL Injection: Exploits improper input validation in database queries, allowing attackers to execute malicious SQL statements.

Buffer Overflow: Occurs when a program writes more data into a buffer than it can handle, leading to memory corruption and potential remote code execution.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

B. Man-in-the-middle and physical security attack: MITM is a network attack, and physical attacks are not application-based.

C. DNS and ARP poisoning: These are network-level attacks, not application-level.

D. Footprinting and spoofing: Both are reconnaissance or identity-deception techniques, not application-layer threats.

Conclusion:

Bob identified application threats, namely SQL Injection and Buffer Overflow attacks.

Final Answer: A. SQL injection and buffer overflow attack

Explanation Reference (Based on CTIA Study Concepts):

CTIA categorizes SQL injection and buffer overflow as application-level vulnerabilities exploited through improper input handling and insecure coding.

Analysis of Competing Hypotheses (ACH) is an analytic process designed to help an analyst or a team of analysts evaluate multiple competing hypotheses on an issue fairly and objectively. ACH assists in identifying and analyzing the evidence for and against each hypothesis, ultimately aiding in determining the most likely explanation. In the scenario where a team of threat intelligence analysts has various theories on a particular malware, ACH would be the most appropriate method to assess these competing theories systematically. ACH involves listing all possible hypotheses, collecting data and evidence, and assessing the evidence's consistency with each hypothesis. This process helps in minimizing cognitive biases and making a more informed decision on the most consistent theory.

The described activity involves pretending to be a legitimate or authorized person in order to gather sensitive information. This social engineering technique is known as Impersonation.

Impersonation is a form of deception in which the attacker pretends to be someone else — such as an employee, contractor, or service technician — to gain access to restricted information or areas. In this method, the attacker often relies on trust, authority, or familiarity to manipulate others into revealing confidential data.

In the scenario, the analyst obtained information by observing terminals, searching desks, and examining bins while pretending to be a trusted individual. This fits the definition of impersonation rather than other social engineering methods.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

Shoulder surfing: Involves directly observing someone’s screen or keyboard to capture credentials or data, not pretending to be someone else.

Piggybacking: Refers to physically following an authorized person into a restricted area without proper authentication.

Dumpster diving: Involves searching discarded items, such as trash or recycle bins, to find confidential information, without human interaction or pretense.

Conclusion:

The analyst used Impersonation to pose as an authorized person and collect sensitive data.

Final Answer: A. Impersonation

Explanation Reference (Based on CTIA Study Concepts):

From the CTIA study materials under “Social Engineering and Threat Collection Techniques,” impersonation is identified as a key human-based technique for gathering information during reconnaissance.

In this scenario, the robot learns through trial and error, receiving positive or negative feedback to improve its actions over time. This describes Reinforcement Learning (RL).

Reinforcement Learning is a machine learning approach where an agent interacts with an environment to achieve a goal. It learns optimal behavior by taking actions, receiving feedback (rewards or penalties), and refining its strategy to maximize cumulative rewards.

This method is widely used in robotics, game theory, and autonomous systems where explicit labeled data is not available, but performance can be measured by rewards.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

Unsupervised learning: Involves finding patterns or clusters in unlabeled data without feedback.

Semi-supervised learning: Combines a small set of labeled data with a large amount of unlabeled data.

Supervised learning: Requires labeled datasets to train models on known input-output pairs.

Conclusion:

The robot uses Reinforcement Learning to optimize its performance based on feedback loops.

Final Answer: C. Reinforcement learning

Explanation Reference (Based on CTIA Study Concepts):

Under the CTIA topic “Machine Learning in Threat Intelligence,” reinforcement learning is defined as feedback-driven learning through reward and punishment signals.

A zero-day attack exploits vulnerabilities in software or hardware that are unknown to the vendor or for which a patch has not yet been released. These attacks are particularly dangerous because they take advantage of the window of time between the vulnerability's discovery and the availability of a fix, leaving systems exposed to potential exploitation. Zero-day attacks require a proactive and comprehensive approach to security, including the use of advanced threat detection systems and threat intelligence to identify and mitigate potential threats before they can be exploited.

Alice, looking to gather information on emerging threats including attack methods, tools, and post-attack techniques, should turn to hacking forums. These online platforms are frequented by cybercriminals and security researchers alike, where information on the latest exploits, malware, and hacking techniques is shared and discussed. Hacking forums can provide real-time insights into the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by threat actors, offering a valuable resource for threat intelligence analysts aiming to enhance their organization's defenses.

Incorporating a scoring feature in a Threat Intelligence (TI) platform allows SecurityTech Inc. to evaluate and prioritize intelligence sources, threat actors, specific types of attacks, and the organization's digital assets based on their relevance and threat level to the organization. This prioritization helps in allocating resources more effectively, focusing on protecting critical assets and countering the most significant threats. A scoring system can be based on various criteria such as the severity of threats, the value of assets, the reliability of intelligence sources, and the potential impact of threat actors or attack vectors. By quantifying these elements, SecurityTech Inc. can make informed decisions on where to invest its limited funds to enhance its security posture most effectively.

In the Analysis of Competing Hypotheses (ACH) process, the stage where Mr. Bob is applying analysis to reject hypotheses and select the most likely one based on listed evidence, followed by preparing a matrix with screened hypotheses and evidence, is known as the 'Refinement' stage. This stage involves refining the list of hypotheses by systematically evaluating the evidence against each hypothesis, leading to the rejection of inconsistent hypotheses and the strengthening of the most plausible ones. The preparation of a matrix helps visualize the relationship between each hypothesis and the available evidence, facilitating a more objective and structured analysis.

Passive DNS monitoring involves collecting data about DNS queries and responses without actively querying DNS servers, thereby not altering or interfering with DNS traffic. This technique allows analysts to track changes in DNS records and observe patterns that may indicate malicious activity. In the scenario described, Enrique is employing passive DNS monitoring by using a recursive DNS server to log the responses received from name servers, storing these logs in a central database for analysis. This approach is effective for identifying malicious domains, mapping malware campaigns, and understanding threat actors' infrastructure without alerting them to the fact that they are being monitored. This method is distinct from active techniques such as DNS interrogation or zone transfers, which involve sending queries to DNS servers, and dynamic DNS, which refers to the automatic updating of DNS records.

The scenario describes a trust establishment process where one organization bases its trust in another on the degree and quality of evidence that the second organization provides. This concept is known as Validated Trust.

Validated Trust is built through the verification and assessment of presented evidence such as certifications, security audits, compliance documentation, or past performance. The higher the credibility and quality of the evidence, the greater the level of trust established.

This type of trust is evidence-based, meaning it does not rely solely on previous interactions or third-party mediation but on verifiable proof provided directly between the entities involved.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

A. Mandated Trust:This is imposed by regulation, policy, or authority. It is not based on evidence but on obligation or requirement.

B. Direct Historical Trust:This trust is formed from prior experiences and a consistent history of interactions between the entities. It does not depend on new evidence or documentation.

D. Mediated Trust:This form of trust is established through an intermediary (such as a trusted third party or certificate authority) who vouches for the credibility of one organization to another.

Conclusion:

The process where trust is established based on the degree and quality of evidence provided by one party is known as Validated Trust.

Final Answer: C. Validated Trust

Explanation Reference (Based on CTIA Study Concepts):

According to the CTIA study topics under “Information Sharing and Trust Establishment,” validated trust is the level of confidence gained through verification of tangible evidence, certifications, or attestations demonstrating security assurance and reliability.

Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) are characterized by their 'Multiphased' nature, referring to the various stages or phases the attacker undertakes to breach a network, remain undetected, and achieve their objectives. This characteristic includes numerous attempts to gain entry to the target's network, often starting with reconnaissance, followed by initial compromise, and progressing through stages such as establishment of a backdoor, expansion, data exfiltration, and maintaining persistence. This multiphased approach allows attackers to adapt and pursue their objectives despite potential disruptions or initial failures in their campaign.