A bastion host is a special purpose computer on a network specifically designed and configured to withstand attack. The computer hosts a single application, for example a proxy server, and all other services are removed or limited to reduce the threat to the computer. It is hardened in this manner primarily due to its location and purpose, which is either on the outside of the firewall or in the DMZ and usually involves access from untrusted networks or computers.
References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastion_host

Section: Cryptography
Explanation/Reference:
When evidence from a crime is to be used in the prosecution of a criminal it is critical that you follow the law when handling that evidence. Part of that process is called chain of custody and is when you maintain proactive and documented control over ALL evidence involved in a crime.
Failure to do this can lead to the dismissal of charges against a criminal because if the evidence is compromised because you failed to maintain of chain of custody.
A chain of custody is chronological documentation for evidence in a particular case, and is especially important with electronic evidence due to the possibility of fraudulent data alteration, deletion, or creation. A fully detailed chain of custody report is necessary to prove the physical custody of a piece of evidence and show all parties that had access to said evidence at any given time.
Evidence must be protected from the time it is collected until the time it is presented in court.
The following answers are incorrect:
- Locking the laptop in your desk: Even this wouldn't assure that the defense team would try to challenge chain of custody handling. It's usually easy to break into a desk drawer and evidence should be stored in approved safes or other storage facility.
- Making a disk image for examination: This is a key part of system forensics where we make a disk image of the evidence system and study that as opposed to studying the real disk drive. That could lead to loss of evidence. However if the original evidence is not secured than the chain of custoday has not been maintained properly.
- Cracking the admin password with chntpw: This isn't correct. Your first mistake was to compromise the chain of custody of the laptop. The chntpw program is a Linux utility to (re)set the password of any user that has a valid (local) account on a Windows system, by modifying the crypted password in the registry's SAM file. You do not need to know the old password to set a new one. It works offline which means you must have physical access (i.e., you have to shutdown your computer and boot off a linux floppy disk). The bootdisk includes stuff to access NTFS partitions and scripts to glue the whole thing together. This utility works with SYSKEY and includes the option to turn it off. A bootdisk image is provided on their website at http://freecode.com/projects/ chntpw .
The following reference(s) was used to create this question:
For more details and to cover 100% of the exam Qs, subscribe to our holistic Security+ 2014 CBT Tutorial at:
http://www.cccure.tv/
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_of_custody
and
http://www.datarecovery.com/forensic_chain_of_custody.asp

Section: Cryptography
Explanation/Reference:
RFC2828 (Internet Security Glossary) defines a known-plaintext attack as a cryptanalysis technique in which the analyst tries to determine the key from knowledge of some plaintext-ciphertext pairs (although the analyst may also have other clues, such as the knowing the cryptographic algorithm). A chosen-ciphertext attack is defined as a cryptanalysis technique in which the analyst tries to determine the key from knowledge of plaintext that corresponds to ciphertext selected (i.e., dictated) by the analyst. A chosen-plaintext attack is a cryptanalysis technique in which the analyst tries to determine the key from knowledge of ciphertext that corresponds to plaintext selected (i.e., dictated) by the analyst. The other choice is a distracter.
The following are incorrect answers:
A chosen-plaintext attacks
The attacker has the plaintext and ciphertext, but can choose the plaintext that gets encrypted to see the corresponding ciphertext. This gives her more power and possibly a deeper understanding of the way the encryption process works so she can gather more information about the key being used. Once the key is discovered, other messages encrypted with that key can be decrypted.
A chosen-ciphertext attack
In chosen-ciphertext attacks, the attacker can choose the ciphertext to be decrypted and has access to the resulting decrypted plaintext. Again, the goal is to figure out the key. This is a harder attack to carry out compared to the previously mentioned attacks, and the attacker may need to have control of the system that contains the cryptosystem.
A known-algorithm attack
Knowing the algorithm does not give you much advantage without knowing the key. This is a bogus detractor.
The algorithm should be public, which is the Kerckhoffs's Principle . The only secret should be the key.
Reference(s) used for this question:
Source: SHIREY, Robert W., RFC2828: Internet Security Glossary, may 2000.
and
Harris, Shon (2012-10-25). CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, 6th Edition (p. 866). McGraw-Hill. Kindle Edition.
and
Kerckhoffs's Principle

Explanation/Reference:
The IEEE 802.5 standard defines the token ring media access method. 802.3 refers to Ethernet's CSMA/ CD, 802.11 refers to wireless communications and 802.2 refers to the logical link control.
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter 3: Telecommunications and Network Security (page
109).

Section: Risk, Response and Recovery
Explanation/Reference:
Scanning is definitively a very active attack. The attacker will make use of a scanner to perform the attack, the scanner will send a very large quantity of packets to the target in order to illicit responses that allows the attacker to find information about the operating system, vulnerabilities, misconfiguration and more. The packets being sent are sometimes attempting to identify if a known vulnerability exist on the remote hosts.
A passive attack is usually done in the footprinting phase of an attack. While doing your passive reconnaissance you never send a single packet to the destination target. You gather information from public databases such as the DNS servers, public information through search engines, financial information from finance web sites, and technical infomation from mailing list archive or job posting for example.
An attack can be active or passive.
An "active attack" attempts to alter system resources or affect their operation.
A "passive attack" attempts to learn or make use of information from the system but does not affect system resources. (E.g., see: wiretapping.) The following are all incorrect answers because they are all passive attacks:
Traffic Analysis - Is the process of intercepting and examining messages in order to deduce information from patterns in communication. It can be performed even when the messages are encrypted and cannot be decrypted. In general, the greater the number of messages observed, or even intercepted and stored, the more can be inferred from the traffic. Traffic analysis can be performed in the context of military intelligence or counter-intelligence, and is a concern in computer security.
Eavesdropping - Eavesdropping is another security risk posed to networks. Because of the way some networks are built, anything that gets sent out is broadcast to everyone. Under normal circumstances, only the computer that the data was meant for will process that information. However, hackers can set up programs on their computers called "sniffers" that capture all data being broadcast over the network. By carefully examining the data, hackers can often reconstruct real data that was never meant for them. Some of the most damaging things that get sniffed include passwords and credit card information.
In the cryptographic context, Eavesdropping and sniffing data as it passes over a network are considered passive attacks because the attacker is not affecting the protocol, algorithm, key, message, or any parts of the encryption system. Passive attacks are hard to detect, so in most cases methods are put in place to try to prevent them rather than to detect and stop them. Altering messages, modifying system files, and masquerading as another individual are acts that are considered active attacks because the attacker is actually doing something instead of sitting back and gathering data. Passive attacks are usually used to gain information prior to carrying out an active attack." Wiretapping - Wiretapping refers to listening in on electronic communications on telephones, computers, and other devices. Many governments use it as a law enforcement tool, and it is also used in fields like corporate espionage to gain access to privileged information. Depending on where in the world one is, wiretapping may be tightly controlled with laws that are designed to protect privacy rights, or it may be a widely accepted practice with little or no protections for citizens. Several advocacy organizations have been established to help civilians understand these laws in their areas, and to fight illegal wiretapping.
Reference(s) used for this question:
HARRIS, Shon, All-In-One CISSP Certification Exam Guide, 6th Edition, Cryptography, Page 865 and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_%28computing%29
and
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-wiretapping.htm
and
https://pangea.stanford.edu/computing/resources/network/security/risks.php and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_analysis