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ISACA CISA Certified Information Systems Auditor Exam Questions and Answers – 13

The latest ISACA CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor) certification actual real practice exam question and answer (Q&A) dumps are available free, which are helpful for you to pass the ISACA CISA exam and earn ISACA CISA certification.

ISACA Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) Exam Questions and Answers

CISA Question 1301

Question

Private Branch Exchange(PBX) environment involves many security risks, one of which is the people both internal and external to an organization.
Which of the following risks are NOT associated with Private Branch Exchange?

1. Theft of service
2. Disclosure of information
3. Data Modifications
4. Denial of service
5. Traffic Analysis

A. 3 and 4
B. 4 and 5
C. 1-4
D. They are ALL risks associated with PBX

Answer

D. They are ALL risks associated with PBX

Explanation

The NOT is a keyword used in the question. You need to find out the risks which are NOT associated with PBX. All the risk listed within the options are associated with PBX.

The threat of the PBX telephone system is many, depending on the goals of these attackers, and include:

  • Theft of service – Toll fraud, probably the most common of motives for attacker.
  • Disclosure of Information – Data disclosed without authorization, either by deliberate actionably accident. Examples includes eavesdropping on conversation and unauthorized access to routing and address data.
  • Data Modification – Data altered in some meaningful way by recording, deleting or modifying it. For example, an intruder may change billing information or modify system table to gain additional services.
  • Unauthorized access – Actions that permit an unauthorized user to gain access to system resources or privileges.
  • Denial of service – Actions that prevent the system from functioning in accordance with its intended purpose. A piece of equipment or entity may be rendered inoperable or forced to operate in a degraded state; operations that depend on timeliness may be delayed.
  • Traffic Analysis – A form of passive attack in which an intruder observes information about calls and make inferences, e.g. from the source and destination number or frequency and length of messages. For example, an intruder observes a high volume of calls between a company’s legal department and patent office, and conclude that a patent is being filed.

The following were incorrect answers:

  • All the risks presented in options are associated with PBX. So other options are not valid.

CISA Question 1302

Question

Which of the following statement is NOT true about Voice-Over IP (VoIP)?

A. VoIP uses circuit switching technology
B. Lower cost per call or even free calls, especially for long distance call
C. Lower infrastructure cost
D. VoIP is a technology where voice traffic is carried on top of existing data infrastructure

Answer

A. VoIP uses circuit switching technology

Explanation

The NOT is a keyword used in the question. You need to find out invalid statement about VoIP. VoIP uses packet switching and not circuit switching.

For your exam you should know below information about VoIP:

Voice-Over-IP – IP telephony, internet telephony, is the technology that makes it possible to have a voice conversation over the Internet or over any dedicated IP network instead of dedicated transmission lines. The protocol is used to carry the signal over the IP network are commonly referred as VoiceOver-IP (VoIP).VoIP is a technology where voice traffic is carried on top of existing data infrastructure. Sounds are digitalized into IP packets and transferred through the network layer before being decode back into the original voice.

VoIP allows the elimination of circuit switching and the associated waste of bandwidth. Instead, packet switching is used, where IP packets with voice data are sent over the network only when data needs to be sent.

It has advantages over traditional telephony:

Unlike traditional telephony, VoIP innovation progresses at market rates rather than at the rates of multilateral committee process of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

Lower cost per call or even free calls, especially for long distance call Lower infrastructure costs. Once IP infrastructure is installed, no or little additional telephony infrastructure is needed VoIP Security Issues –

With the introduction of VoIP, the need for security is more important because it is needed to protect two assets – the data and the voice.

Protecting the security of conversation is vital now.

In VoIP, packets are sent over the network from the user’s computer or VoIP phone to similar equipment at other end. Packets may pass through several intermediate systems that are not under the control of the user‘s ISP.The current Internet architecture does not provide same physical wire security as phone line.

The main concern of VoIP solution is that while, in the case of traditional telephones, if data system is disrupted, then the different sites of the organization could still be reached via telephone. Thus a backup communication facility should be planned for if the availability of communication is vital to organization.

Another issue might arise with the fact that IP telephones and their supporting equipment require the same care and maintenance as computer system do.

To enhance the protection of the telephone system and data traffic, the VoIP infrastructure should be segregated using Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN).

In many cases, session border controllers (SBCs) are utilized to provide security features for VoIP traffic similar to that provided by firewalls.

The following were incorrect answers:

  • Lower cost per call or even free calls, especially for long distance call – This is a valid statement about VoIP. In fact it is an advantage of VoIP.
  • Lower infrastructure cost – This is a valid statement and advantage of using VoIP as compare to traditional telephony system.
  • VoIP is a technology where voice traffic is carried on top of existing data infrastructure – This is also valid statement about VoIP.

CISA Question 1303

Question

The drives of a tile server are backed up at a hot site. Which of the following is the BEST way to duplicate the files stored on the server for forensic analysis?

A. Capture a bit-by-bit image of the file server’s drives.
B. Run forensic analysis software on the backup drive.
C. Create a logical copy of the file server‘s drives.
D. Replicate the server’s volatile data to another drive.

Answer

A. Capture a bit-by-bit image of the file server’s drives.

CISA Question 1304

Question

Which of the following malware technical fool’s malware by appending section of themselves to files `” somewhat in the same way that file malware appends themselves?

A. Scanners
B. Active Monitors
C. Immunizer
D. Behavior blocker

Answer

C. Immunizer

Explanation

Immunizers defend against malware by appending sections of themselves to files – sometime in the same way Malware append themselves.

Immunizers continuously check a file for changes and report changes as possible malware behavior. Other type of Immunizers are focused to a specific malware and work by giving the malware the impression that the malware has already infected to the computer. This method is not always practical since it is not possible to immunize file against all known malware.

For your exam you should know below mentioned different kinds of malware Controls

A. Scanners – Look for sequences of bit called signature that are typical malware programs.

The two primary types of scanner are

1. Malware mask or Signatures – Anti-malware scanners check files, sectors and system memory for known and new (unknown to scanner) malware, on the basis of malware masks or signatures. Malware masks or signature are specific code strings that are recognized as belonging to malware. For polymorphic malware, the scanner sometimes has algorithms that check for all possible combinations of a signature that could exist in an infected file.

2. Heuristic Scanner – Analyzes the instructions in the code being scanned and decide on the basis of statistical probabilities whether it could contain malicious code. Heuristic scanning result could indicate that malware may be present, that is possibly infected. Heuristic scanner tend to generate a high level false positive errors (they indicate that malware may be present when, in fact, no malware is present)

Scanner examines memory disk- boot sector, executables, data files, and command files for bit pattern that match a known malware. Scanners, therefore, need to be updated periodically to remain effective.

B. Immunizers – Defend against malware by appending sections of themselves to files – sometime in the same way Malware append themselves. Immunizers continuously check a file for changes and report changes as possible malware behavior. Other type of Immunizers are focused to a specific malware and work by giving the malware the impression that the malware has already infected to the computer. This method is not always practical since it is not possible to immunize file against all known malware.

C. Behavior Blocker – Focus on detecting potential abnormal behavior such as writing to the boot sector or the master boot record, or making changes to executable files. Blockers can potentially detect malware at an early stage. Most hardware based anti-malware mechanism are based on this concept.

D. Integrity CRC checker – Compute a binary number on a known malware free program that is then stored in a database file. The number is called Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC). On subsequent scans, when that program is called to execute, it checks for changes to the file as compare to the database and report possible infection if changes have occurred. A match means no infection; a mismatch means change in the program has occurred. A change in the program could mean malware within it. These scanners are effective in detecting infection; however, they can do so only after infection has occurred. Also, a CRC checker can only detect subsequent changes to files, because they assume files are malware free in the first place. Therefore, they are ineffective against new files that are malware infected and that are not recorded in the database. Integrity checker take advantage of the fact that executable programs and boot sectors do not change often, if at all.

E. Active Monitors – Active monitors interpret DOS and read-only memory (ROM) BIOS calls, looking for malware like actions. Active monitors can be problematic because they can not distinguish between a user request and a program or a malware request. As a result, users are asked to confirm actions, including formatting a disk or deleting a file or set of files.

The following were incorrect answers:

  • Scanners – Look for sequences of bit called signature that are typical malware programs.
  • Active Monitors – Active monitors interpret DOS and read-only memory (ROM) BIOS calls, looking for malware like actions. Active monitors can be problematic because they can not distinguish between a user request and a program or a malware request. As a result, users are asked to confirm actions, including formatting a disk or deleting a file or set of files.
  • Behavior Blocker – Focus on detecting potential abnormal behavior such as writing to the boot sector or the master boot record, or making changes to executable files. Blockers can potentially detect malware at an early stage. Most hardware based anti-malware mechanism are based on this concept.

CISA Question 1305

Question

Which are the two primary types of scanner used for protecting against Malware?

A. Malware mask/signatures and Heuristic Scanner
B. Active and passive Scanner
C. Behavioral Blockers and immunizer Scanner
D. None of the above

Answer

A. Malware mask/signatures and Heuristic Scanner

Explanation

Scanners Look for sequences of bit called signature that are typical malware programs.

The two primary types of scanner are

1. Malware mask or Signatures – Anti-malware scanners check files, sectors and system memory for known and new (unknown to scanner) malware, on the basis of malware masks or signatures. Malware masks or signature are specific code strings that are recognized as belonging to malware. For polymorphic malware, the scanner sometimes has algorithms that check for all possible combinations of a signature that could exist in an infected file.

2. Heuristic Scanner – Analyzes the instructions in the code being scanned and decide on the basis of statistical probabilities whether it could contain malicious code. Heuristic scanning result could indicate that malware may be present, that is possibly infected. Heuristic scanner tend to generate a high level false positive errors (they indicate that malware may be present when, in fact, no malware is present)

Scanner examines memory disk- boot sector, executables, data files, and command files for bit pattern that match a known malware. Scanners, therefore, need to be updated periodically to remain effective.

For CISA exam you should know below mentioned different kinds of malware Controls

A. Active Monitors – Active monitors interpret DOS and read-only memory (ROM) BIOS calls, looking for malware like actions. Active monitors can be problematic because they can not distinguish between a user request and a program or a malware request. As a result, users are asked to confirm actions, including formatting a disk or deleting a file or set of files.

B. Immunizers – Defend against malware by appending sections of themselves to files – sometime in the same way Malware append themselves. Immunizers continuously check a file for changes and report changes as possible malware behavior. Other types of Immunizers are focused to a specific malware and work by giving the malware the impression that the malware has already infected to the computer. This method is not always practical since it is not possible to immunize file against all known malware.

C. Behavior Blocker – Focus on detecting potential abnormal behavior such as writing to the boot sector or the master boot record, or making changes to executable files. Blockers can potentially detect malware at an early stage. Most hardware based anti-malware mechanism are based on this concept.

D. Integrity CRC checker – Compute a binary number on a known malware free program that is then stored in a database file. The number is called Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC). On subsequent scans, when that program is called to execute, it checks for changes to the file as compare to the database and report possible infection if changes have occurred. A match means no infection; a mismatch means change in the program has occurred. A change in the program could mean malware within it. These scanners are effective in detecting infection; however, they can do so only after infection has occurred. Also, a CRC checker can only detect subsequent changes to files, because they assume files are malware free in the first place. Therefore, they are ineffective against new files that are malware infected and that are not recorded in the database. Integrity checker take advantage of the fact that executable programs and boot sectors do not change often, if at all.

The following were incorrect answers:

  • The other options presented are not a valid primary types of scanner.

CISA Question 1306

Question

An auditor needs to be aware of technical controls which are used to protect computer from malware. Which of the following technical control interrupts DoS and ROM BIOS call and look for malware like action?

A. Scanners
B. Active Monitors
C. Immunizer
D. Behavior blocker

Answer

B. Active Monitors

Explanation

Active monitors interpret DoS and read-only memory (ROM) BIOS calls, looking for malware like actions. Active monitors can be problematic because they can not distinguish between a user request and a program or a malware request. As a result, users are asked to confirm actions, including formatting a disk or deleting a file or set of files.

For CISA exam you should know below mentioned different kinds of malware Controls

A. Scanners Look for sequences of bit called signature that are typical malware programs.

The two primary types of scanner are

1. Malware mask or Signatures – Anti-malware scanners check files, sectors and system memory for known and new (unknown to scanner) malware, on the basis of malware masks or signatures. Malware masks or signature are specific code strings that are recognized as belonging to malware. For polymorphic malware, the scanner sometimes has algorithms that check for all possible combinations of a signature that could exist in an infected file.

2. Heuristic Scanner – Analyzes the instructions in the code being scanned and decide on the basis of statistical probabilities whether it could contain malicious code. Heuristic scanning result could indicate that malware may be present, that is possibly infected. Heuristic scanner tend to generate a high level false positive errors (they indicate that malware may be present when, in fact, no malware is present). Scanners examines memory disk- boot sector, executables, data files, and command files for bit pattern that match a known malware. Scanners, therefore, need to be updated periodically to remain effective.

B. Immunizers – Defend against malware by appending sections of themselves to files – sometime in the same way Malware append themselves. Immunizers continuously check a file for changes and report changes as possible malware behavior. Other types of Immunizers are focused to a specific malware and work by giving the malware the impression that the malware has already infected to the computer. This method is not always practical since it is not possible to immunize file against all known malware.

C. Behavior Blocker – Focus on detecting potential abnormal behavior such as writing to the boot sector or the master boot record, or making changes to executable files. Blockers can potentially detect malware at an early stage. Most hardware based anti-malware mechanism are based on this concept.

D. Integrity CRC checker – Compute a binary number on a known malware free program that is then stored in a database file. The number is called Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC). On subsequent scans, when that program is called to execute, it checks for changes to the file as compare to the database and report possible infection if changes have occurred. A match means no infection; a mismatch means change in the program has occurred. A change in the program could mean malware within it. These scanners are effective in detecting infection; however, they can do so only after infection has occurred. Also, a CRC checker can only detect subsequent changes to files, because they assume files are malware free in the first place. Therefore, they are ineffective against new files that are malware infected and that are not recorded in the database. Integrity checker take advantage of the fact that executable programs and boot sectors do not change often, if at all.

The following were incorrect answers:

  • Scanners – Look for sequences of bit called signature that are typical malware programs.
  • Immunizers – Defend against malware by appending sections of themselves to files – sometime in the same way Malware append themselves. Immunizers continuously check a file for changes and report changes as possible malware behavior.
  • Behavior Blocker – Focus on detecting potential abnormal behavior such as writing to the boot sector or the master boot record, or making changes to executable files. Blockers can potentially detect malware at an early stage. Most hardware based anti-malware mechanism are based on this concept.

CISA Question 1307

Question

Which of the following protocol is developed jointly by VISA and Master Card to secure payment transactions among all parties involved in credit card transactions on behalf of cardholders and merchants?

A. S/MIME
B. SSH
C. SET
D. S/HTTP

Answer

C. SET

Explanation

Secure Electronic Transaction(SET) is a protocol developed jointly by VISA and Master Card to secure payment transaction among all parties involved in credit card transactions among all parties involved in credit card transactions on behalf of cardholders and merchants. As an open system specification, SET is an application-oriented protocol that uses trusted third party’s encryption and digital-signature process, via PKI infrastructure of trusted third party institutions, to address confidentiality of information, integrity of data, cardholders authentication, merchant authentication and interoperability.

The following were incorrect answers:

  • S/MIME – Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension (S/MIME) is a standard secure email protocol that authenticates the identity of the sender and receiver, verifies message integrity, and ensures the privacy of message’s content’s, including attachments.
  • SSH – A client server program that opens a secure, encrypted command-line shell session from the Internet for remote logon. Similar to a VPN, SSH uses strong cryptography to protect data, including password, binary files and administrative commands, transmitted between system on a network. SSH is typically implemented between two parties by validating each other’s credential via digital certificates. SSH is useful in securing Telnet and FTP services, and is implemented at the application layer, as opposed to operating at network layer (IPSec Implementation)
  • Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (S/HTTP) – As an application layer protocol, S/HTTP transmits individual messages or pages securely between a web client and server by establishing SSL-type connection. Using the https:// designation in the URL, instead of the standard http://, directs the message to a secure port number rather than the default web port address. This protocol utilizes SSL secure features but does so as a message rather than the session-oriented protocol.

CISA Question 1308

Question

Which of the following statement correctly describes the difference between IPSec and SSH protocols?

A. IPSec works at the transport layer where as SSH works at the network layer of an OSI Model
B. IPSec works at the network layer where as SSH works at the application layer of an OSI Model
C. IPSec works at the network layer and SSH works at the transport layer of an OSI Model
D. IPSec works at the transport layer and SSH works at the network layer of an OSI Model

Answer

B. IPSec works at the network layer where as SSH works at the application layer of an OSI Model

Explanation

For CISA exam you should know below information about SSH and IPSec protocol

SSH – A client server program that opens a secure, encrypted command-line shell session from the Internet for remote logon. Similar to a VPN, SSH uses strong cryptography to protect data, including password, binary files and administrative commands, transmitted between system on a network. SSH is typically implemented between two parties by validating each other’s credential via digital certificates. SSH is useful in securing Telnet and FTP services, and is implemented at the application layer, as opposed to operating at network layer (IPSec Implementation)

IPSec – The IP network layer packet security protocol establishes VPNsvia transport and tunnel mode encryption methods. For the transport method, the data portion of each packet referred to as the encapsulation security payload(ESP) is encrypted, achieving confidentiality over a process. In the tunnel mode, the ESP payload and its header’s are encrypted. To achieve non-repudiation, an additional authentication header (AH) is applied. In establishing IPSec sessions in either mode, Security Association (SAs) are established. SAs defines which security parameters should be applied between communication parties as encryption algorithms, key initialization vector, life span of keys, etc. Within either ESP or AH header, respectively. An SAsis established when a 32-bit security parameter index (SPI) field is defined within the sending host.

The SPI is unique identifier that enables the sending host to reference the security parameter to apply, as specified, on the receiving host. IPSec can be made more secure by using asymmetric encryption through the use of Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol/Oakley (ISAKMP/Oakley), which allows the key management, use of public keys, negotiation, establishment, modification and deletion of SAs and attributes. For authentication, the sender uses digital certificates. The connection is made secure by supporting the generation, authentication, distribution of the SAs and those of the cryptographic keys.

The following were incorrect answers:

  • The other options presented are invalid as IPSec works at network layer where as SSH works at application layer of an OSI Model.

CISA Question 1309

Question

Within IPSEC which of the following defines security parameters which should be applied between communicating parties such as encryption algorithms, key initialization vector, life span of keys, etc?

A. Security Parameter Index (SPI)
B. Security Association (SA)
C. Encapsulation Security Payload (ESP)
D. Authentication Header (AH)

Answer

B. Security Association (SA)

Explanation

Security Association (SA)s defines which security parameters should be applied between communication parties as encryption algorithms, key initialization vector, life span of keys, etc.

For your exam you should know the information below about the IPSec protocol:

The IP network layer packet security protocol establishes VPNs via transport and tunnel mode encryption methods.

For the transport method, the data portion of each packet is encrypted, encryption within IPSEC is referred to as the encapsulation security payload (ESP), it is ESP that provides confidentiality over the process.

In the tunnel mode, the ESP payload and its header’s are encrypted. To achieve non-repudiation, an additional authentication header (AH) is applied.

In establishing IPSec sessions in either mode, Security Associations (SAs) are established. SAs defines which security parameters should be applied between communicating parties as encryption algorithms, key initialization vector, life span of keys, etc. Within either ESP or AH header, respectively. An SAs is established when a 32-bit security parameter index (SPI) field is defined within the sending host. The SPI is unique identifier that enables the sending host to reference the security parameter to apply, as specified, on the receiving host.

IPSec can be made more secure by using asymmetric encryption through the use of Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol/Oakley (ISAKMP/Oakley), which allows automated key management, use of public keys, negotiation, establishment, modification and deletion of SAs and attributes. For authentication, the sender uses digital certificates. The connection is made secure by supporting the generation, authentication, distribution of the SAs and the cryptographic keys.

The following were incorrect answers:

  • Security Parameter Index (SPI) – A Security Parameter Index (SPI) is an unique identifier that enables the sending host to reference the security parameters to apply.
  • Encapsulation Security Payload (ESP) – Encapsulation Security Payload (ESP) is used support authentication of sender and encryption of data.
  • Authentication Header(AH) – Authentication Header allows authentication of a sender of a data.

CISA Question 1310

Question

Which of the following is the unique identifier within and IPSec packet that enables the sending host to reference the security parameter to apply?

A. SPI
B. SA
C. ESP
D. AH

Answer

A. SPI

Explanation

The Security Parameter Index (SPI) is the unique identifier that enables the sending host to reference the security parameter to apply in order to decrypt the packet.

For your exam you should know the information below about the IPSec protocol:

The IP network layer packet security protocol establishes VPNs via transport and tunnel mode encryption methods.

For the transport method, the data portion of each packet is encrypted, encryption within IPSEC is referred to as the encapsulation security payload (ESP), it is ESP that provides confidentiality over the process.

In the tunnel mode, the ESP payload and its header’s are encrypted. To achieve non-repudiation, an additional authentication header (AH) is applied.

In establishing IPSec sessions in either mode, Security Associations (SAs) are established. SAs defines which security parameters should be applied between communicating parties as encryption algorithms, key initialization vector, life span of keys, etc. Within either ESP or AH header, respectively. An SAs is established when a 32-bit security parameter index (SPI) field is defined within the sending host. The SPI is unique identifier that enables the sending host to reference the security parameter to apply, as specified, on the receiving host.

IPSec can be made more secure by using asymmetric encryption through the use of Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol/Oakley (ISAKMP/Oakley), which allows automated key management, use of public keys, negotiation, establishment, modification and deletion of SAs and attributes. For authentication, the sender uses digital certificates. The connection is made secure by supporting the generation, authentication, distribution of the SAs and the cryptographic keys.

The following were incorrect answers:

  • SA – Security Association (SA) defines which security parameters should be applied between communicating parties as encryption algorithms, key initialization vector, life span of keys, etc.
  • ESP – Encapsulation Security Payload (ESP) is used to support authentication of sender and encryption of data
  • AH – Authentication Header allows authentication of a sender of a data.