A Trojan, short for Trojan horse, is a type of malicious software that misleads users of its true intent.

It disguises itself as a legitimate and useful program, but once executed, it allows unauthorized

access to the user's system. Unlike viruses and worms, Trojans do not replicate themselves but can

be just as destructive. They are often used to create a backdoor to a computer system, allowing an

attacker to gain access to the system or to deliver other malware. Trojans can be used for a variety of

purposes, including stealing information, downloading or uploading files, monitoring the user's

screen and keyboard, and more. The term "Trojan" comes from the Greek story of the wooden horse

that was used to sneak soldiers into the city of Troy, which is analogous to the deceptive nature of

this type of malware in cyber security.

Reference:The EC-Council's Certified Incident Handler (ECIH v3) program covers various types of

malware, including Trojans, in detail, explaining their mechanisms, how they can be identified, and

the steps to take in response to such threats.

By classifying and encrypting customer Personally Identifiable Information (PHI), you are specifically

guarding against the risk of Sensitive Data Exposure. This OWASP security risk involves the accidental

or unlawful exposure of protected data to unauthorized individuals. Encryption serves as a critical

defense mechanism by ensuring that, even if data is accessed without authorization, it remains

unintelligible and useless to the attacker without the decryption keys. Data classification further

supports this by identifying which data is sensitive and requires such protections, ensuring that

appropriate security controls are applied to prevent exposure.

Reference:OWASP Top 10, a widely respected document that outlines the most critical web

application security risks, identifies Sensitive Data Exposure as a key risk area. Incident Handler (ECIH

v3) courses and study guides often refer to the OWASP Top 10 to explain common web security risks

and appropriate countermeasures, including the importance of encrypting sensitive data.

In incident response protocols, incidents are categorized based on their severity, impact, and the

urgency of the response required. The categorization helps in prioritizing incident response activities

and allocating resources accordingly. A CAT 1 (Category 1) incident is typically considered the highest

priority, involving significant threats that require immediate response. Given the scenario where a

malware incident in one of the largest social network companies must be reported within 1 hour of

discovery/detection, this indicates a high-priority incident due to the potential widespread impact

and the need for a rapid response to contain and mitigate the malware's spread. The urgency of the

reporting timeframe suggests that the incident is considered critical, aligning with the characteristics

of a CAT 1 incident, which necessitates immediate action to prevent significant damage or disruption

to the company's operations and services.

Reference:The Incident Handler (ECIH v3) curriculum emphasizes the importance of incident

categorization and the establishment of clear reporting and response protocols based on the severity

and urgency of incidents. This framework enables organizations to respond effectively to incidents

like malware attacks by ensuring that high-priority threats are quickly identified and addressed.

A Permanent Denial-of-Service (PDoS) attack, also known as "phlashing," is a form of attack that

targets hardware, causing irreversible damage to the hardware components, thereby making the

device unusable without a replacement or significant hardware intervention. In the scenario

described with Zaimasoft, the attackers' actions leading to the damage of hardware components

align with the characteristics of a PDoS attack. Unlike Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) or Denial-

of-Service (DoS) attacks, which generally aim to overwhelm a system's resources temporarily, or

DRDoS (Distributed Reflection Denial of Service), which involves amplification techniques using third-

party servers, a PDoS attack directly damages the physical hardware, necessitating its replacement or

reinstallation. This makes PDoS particularly severe due to its permanent impact on the targeted

organization's hardware infrastructure.

Reference:Incident Handler (ECIH v3) educational resources detail various types of denial-of-service

attacks, including PDoS, highlighting the distinct nature of each attack and its implications on the

affected systems, with PDoS being noted for its physical, irreparable impact on hardware

components.

The described attack is a "Watering hole" attack. This type of attack targets specific groups of users

by infecting websites they are known to frequently visit. The attacker first identifies websites that are

popular with the target group, then finds vulnerabilities in those websites to inject malicious code.

When the victims visit the compromised site, the code redirects them to other sites or automatically

downloads malware onto their machines. This attack leverages the trust users have in regularly

visited sites to distribute malware. Unlike obfuscation application, directory traversal, or

cookie/session poisoning attacks, watering hole attacks specifically aim to compromise a commonly

used and trusted website to target its users.

Reference:The ECIH v3 certification materials discuss various cyber attack strategies, including

watering hole attacks, and provide insights into how attackers exploit trusted relationships between

websites and their users.

The first step in securing an employee's account following an email hacking incident involves

restoring access to the email services if necessary and immediately changing the password to

prevent unauthorized access. This action ensures that the attacker is locked out of the account as

quickly as possible. While enabling two-factor authentication, scanning links and attachments, and

disabling automatic file sharing are important security measures, they come into play after ensuring

that the compromised account is first secured by changing its password to halt any ongoing

unauthorized access.

Reference:The ECIH v3 certification materials cover the initial steps to be taken when responding to

incidents involving compromised accounts, emphasizing the importance of quickly changing

passwords to secure the accounts against further unauthorized access.

The scenario described is characteristic of a Trojan. A Trojan is a type of malware that disguises itself

as legitimate software but performs malicious actions once installed. Unlike viruses, which can

replicate themselves, or worms, which can spread across networks on their own, Trojans rely on the

guise of legitimacy to trick users into initiating their execution. In this case, the user believed they

were downloading and installing genuine software, but the reality was that the application contained

a Trojan. The malicious code executed upon installation provided unauthorized remote access to the

user's computer, which could be used by an attacker to control the system, steal data, install

additional malware, or carry out other malicious activities.

Trojans can come in many forms and can be used to achieve a wide range of malicious objectives,

making them a versatile and dangerous type of cyber threat. The deceptive nature of Trojans,

exploiting the trust users have in what appears to be legitimate software, is what makes them

particularly effective and widespread.

Reference:The ECIH v3 curriculum from EC-Council thoroughly covers different types of malware,

including Trojans, and emphasizes understanding their behavior, methods of infection, and strategies

for prevention and response.

The correct sequence of steps involved in forensic readiness planning, based on the activities

described, is as follows:

Identify the potential evidence required for an incident.

Determine the source of the evidence.

Define a policy that determines the pathway to legally extract electronic evidence with minimal

disruption.

Establish a policy for securely handling and storing the collected evidence.

Identify if the incident requires full or formal investigation.

Train the staff to handle the incident and preserve the evidence.

Create a special process for documenting the procedure.

Reference:Incident Handler (ECIH v3) courses and study guides include discussions on forensic

readiness planning, highlighting the importance of preparing organizations for effective legal and

technical handling of incidents.

When a browser does not expire a session after the user fails to logout properly, it is indicative of a

vulnerability related to broken authentication. Broken authentication is a security issue where

attackers can exploit flaws in the authentication mechanism to impersonate other users or take over

their sessions. Failure to properly manage session lifetimes, such as not expiring sessions on logout,

can allow an attacker to reuse old sessions or session IDs, potentially gaining unauthorized access to

user accounts. This vulnerability is classified under A2: Broken Authentication in the OWASP Top 10,

which lists the most critical web application security risks. The OWASP Top 10 serves as a guideline

for developers and web application providers to understand and mitigate common security risks.

Reference:The OWASP Top 10 is a widely recognized standard for web application security, often

referenced in cybersecurity training and certifications, including the EC-Council's Incident Handler

(ECIH v3) curriculum, which covers identification and mitigation of various web application

vulnerabilities, including broken authentication.

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