Joseph, a cloud administrator, was recruited for the management and deployment of the software
containers. As part of his job, Joseph employed an automated solution that converts images into containers, deploys them to the hosts, and further monitors container workflow from a single location.
Identify the solution employed by Joseph in the above scenario.
Orchestrators are tools that automate container deployment, administration, and scaling tasks. They allow you to reliably manage fleets of hundreds or thousands of containers in production environments. Orchestrators simplify container admin by letting you think in terms of application components instead of individual containers. They're able to take control of all your app's requirements, including config values, secrets, and network services. Orchestrators are the solution employed by Joseph in the above scenario, as he used an automated solution that converts images into containers, deploys them to the hosts, and further monitors container workflow from a single location. Reference:
13 Most Useful Container Orchestration Tools in 2024 - Spacelift
Network Defense Essentials - CERT - EC-Council - Module 6: Virtualization and Cloud Computing
Which of the following algorithms uses a sponge construction where message blocks are XORed into the initial bits of the state that the algorithm then invertible permutes?
SHA-3 is the algorithm that uses a sponge construction where message blocks are XORed into the initial bits of the state that the algorithm then invertible permutes. SHA-3 is a family of cryptographic hash functions that was standardized by NIST in 2015 as a successor to SHA-2. SHA-3 is based on the Keccak algorithm, which won the NIST hash function competition in 2012. SHA-3 uses a sponge construction, which is a simple iterated construction that can produce variable-length output from a fixed-length permutation. The sponge construction operates on a state of b bits, which is divided into two sections: the bitrate r and the capacity c. The sponge construction has two phases: the absorbing phase and the squeezing phase. In the absorbing phase, the input message is padded and divided into blocks of r bits. Each block is XORed into the first r bits of the state, and then the state is transformed by the permutation function f. This process continues until all the input blocks are processed. In the squeezing phase, the output is generated by repeatedly applying the permutation function f to the state and extracting the first r bits as output blocks. The output can be truncated to the desired length. SHA-3 uses a permutation function f that is based on a round function that consists of five steps: theta, rho, pi, chi, and iota. These steps perform bitwise operations, rotations, permutations, and additions on the state. The permutation function f is invertible, meaning that it can be reversed to obtain the previous state. SHA-3 has four variants with different output lengths: SHA3-224, SHA3-256, SHA3-384, and SHA3-512. SHA-3 also supports two additional modes: SHAKE128 and SHAKE256, which are extendable-output functions that can produce arbitrary-length output. Reference:
Network Defense Essentials Courseware, EC-Council, 2020, pp. 3-23 to 3-25
SHA-3 - Wikipedia, Wikipedia, March 16, 2021
The sponge and duplex constructions - Keccak Team, Keccak Team, 2020
John has recently joined an organization and completed his security training. The organization conducted a security campaign on their employees by sending a fake email stating the urgency of password reset. John identified that it was an illegitimate mail and reported it as spam.
Identify the type of attack initiated by the organization as part of the security campaign discussed in the above scenario.
Identify the backup mechanism that is performed within the organization using external devices such as hard disks and requires human interaction to perform the backup operations, thus, making it suspectable to theft or natural disasters.
Onsite data backup is the backup mechanism that is performed within the organization using external devices such as hard disks and requires human interaction to perform the backup operations, thus, making it susceptible to theft or natural disasters. Onsite data backup means storing the backup data on a local storage device, such as an external hard drive, a USB flash drive, a CD/DVD, or a tape drive, that is physically located in the same premises as the original data source. Onsite data backup has some advantages, such as fast backup and restore speed, easy access, and low cost. However, it also has some disadvantages, such as requiring manual intervention, occupying physical space, and being vulnerable to damage, loss, or theft. If a disaster, such as a fire, flood, earthquake, or power outage, occurs in the organization, both the original data and the backup data may be destroyed or inaccessible. Therefore, onsite data backup is not a reliable or secure way to protect the data from unforeseen events. Reference:
Should I Use an External Hard Drive for Backup in 2024?, Cloudwards, February 8, 2024
How to Back Up a Computer to an External Hard Drive, Lifewire, April 1, 2022
Best Way to Backup Multiple Computers to One External Drive, AOMEI, December 29, 2020
Bob, a security professional, was recruited by an organization to ensure that application services are being delivered as expected without any delay. To achieve this, Bob decided to maintain different backup servers for the same resources so that if one backup system fails, another will serve the purpose.
Identify the IA principle employed by Bob in the above scenario.
