A. Owner

Answer DescriptionExplanation: The data owner is the role responsible for identifying risks to data and determining who should have access to that data. The owner has the authority to make decisions about the protection and usage of the data, including setting access controls and ensuring that appropriate security measures are in place.
References = CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 study materials, particularly in the domain of data governance and the roles and responsibilities associated with data management.

B. Behavioral-based

Answer DescriptionExplanation: To minimize the impact of the increasing number of various traffic types during attacks, a security engineer is most likely to configure behavioral-based rules on a Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW). Behavioral-based rules analyze the behavior of traffic patterns and can detect and block unusual or malicious activity that deviates from normal behavior. Behavioral-based: Detects anomalies by comparing current traffic behavior to known good behavior, making it effective against various traffic types during attacks. Signature-based: Relies on known patterns of known threats, which might not be as effective against new or varied attack types. URL-based: Controls access to websites based on URL categories but is not specifically aimed at handling diverse traffic types during attacks. Agent-based: Typically involves software agents on endpoints to monitor and enforce policies, not directly related to NGFW rules. Reference: CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Exam Objectives, Domain 4.5 - Modify enterprise capabilities to enhance security (Behavioral-based rules on NGFW).

D. Load balancer

Answer DescriptionExplanation: In a cloud environment, high availability is typically ensured through the use of a load balancer. A load balancer distributes network or application traffic across multiple servers, ensuring that no single server becomes overwhelmed and that services remain available even if one or more servers fail. This setup enhances the reliability and availability of applications. Load balancer: Ensures high availability by distributing traffic across multiple servers or instances, preventing overload and ensuring continuous availability. Access broker: Typically refers to a service that facilitates secure access to resources, not directly related to high availability. Cloud HSM (Hardware Security Module): Provides secure key management in the cloud but does not specifically ensure high availability.
WAF (Web Application Firewall): Protects web applications by filtering and monitoring HTTP traffic but is not primarily focused on ensuring high availability.
Reference: CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Exam Objectives, Domain 4.4 - Security operations (Load balancing for high availability).

D. Risk appetite

Answer DescriptionExplanation: Risk appetite refers to the level of risk that an organization is willing to accept in order to achieve its objectives. In this scenario, the security engineer is concerned that the timeframe for implementing a new application does not allow for sufficient cybersecurity due diligence. This reflects a situation where the organization’s risk appetite might be too high if it proceeds without the necessary security checks.

A. Honey pot

Answer DescriptionExplanation: A honey pot is a system or a network that is designed to mimic a real production server and attract potential attackers. A honey pot can be used to identify the attacker’s methods, techniques, and objectives without affecting the actual production servers. A honey pot can also divert the attacker’s attention from the real targets and waste their time and resources12.
The other options are not effective ways to identify potential attacker activities without affecting production servers:
Video surveillance: This is a physical security technique that uses cameras and monitors to record and observe the activities in a certain area. Video surveillance can help to deter, detect, and investigate physical intrusions, but it does not directly identify the attacker’s activities on the network or the servers3.
Zero Trust: This is a security strategy that assumes that no user, device, or network is trustworthy by default and requires strict verification and validation for every request and transaction. Zero Trust can help to improve the security posture and reduce the attack surface of an organization, but it does not directly identify the attacker’s activities on the network or the servers4. Geofencing: This is a security technique that uses geographic location as a criterion to restrict or allow access to data or resources. Geofencing can help to protect the data sovereignty and compliance of an organization, but it does not directly identify the attacker’s activities on the network or the servers5.
References = 1: CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Study Guide, page 542: Honeypots and Deception – SY0-601 CompTIA Security+ : 2.1, video by Professor Messer3: CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Study Guide, page 974: CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Study Guide, page 985: CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Study Guide, page 99.

D. Critical

Answer DescriptionExplanation: The category of data that is most impacted when it is lost is "Critical." Critical data is essential to the organization’s operations and often includes sensitive information such as financial records, proprietary business information, and vital operational data. The loss of critical data can severely disrupt business operations and have significant financial, legal, and reputational consequences.
Confidential: Refers to data that must be protected from unauthorized access to maintain privacy and security.
Public: Refers to data that is intended for public disclosure and whose loss does not have severe consequences.
Private: Typically refers to personal data that needs to be protected to ensure privacy.
Critical: Refers to data that is essential for the operation and survival of the organization, and its loss can have devastating impacts.

B. Pushing GPO update

Answer DescriptionExplanation: A group policy object (GPO) is a mechanism for applying configuration settings to computers and users in an Active Directory domain. By pushing a GPO update, the systems administrator can quickly and uniformly enforce the new password policy across all systems in the domain. Deploying PowerShell scripts, enabling PAP, and updating EDR profiles are not the most efficient or effective ways to change the password policy within an enterprise environment. References: CompTIA Security+ Study Guide: Exam SY0-701, 9th Edition, page 115; Password Policy - Windows Security

D. Third-party attestation

Answer DescriptionThird-party attestation involves an external, independent party performing a network security assessment and providing documented proof, ensuring objectivity and compliance with regulatory or client requirements.