Protecting PII

Are you planning to take the SY0-401 or the SY0-501 Security+ exam? If so, make sure you have a basic understanding of privacy concepts.

As an example, see if you can answer this sample practice test question:

Q. Your organization has decided to increase the amount of customer data it maintains and use it for targeted sales. However, management is concerned that they will need to comply with existing laws related to PII. Which of the following should be completed to determine if the customer data is PII?

A. Privacy threshold assessment

B. Privacy impact assessment

C. Tabletop exercise

D. Affinity scheduling

More, do you know why the correct answer is correct and the incorrect answers are incorrect?

Check out the answer here.

Biggest Cybersecurity Threat

Do you know what many experts are referring to as the biggest cybersecurity threat?

You may be surprised.

Check out this sample Security+ practice test question to see if you can answer it. It also gives a hint of what may be the biggest security threat for any organization.

Q. The CEO of a company recently received an email. The email indicates that her company is being sued and names her specifically as a defendant in the lawsuit. It includes an attachment and the email describes the attachment as a subpoena. Which of the following BEST describes the social engineering principle used by the sender in this scenario?
A. Whaling
B. Phishing
C. Consensus
D. Authority

The answer and explanation is here, along with a short discussion of what many organizations consider the biggest security threat.

Security+ and Database Concepts

Are you planning to take the SY0-501 Security+ exam? If so, you should understand some database concepts that weren't tested in the SY0-401 exam.

See if you can you answer this question?

Q. Database administrators have created a database used by a web application. However, testing shows that the application is taking a significant amount of time accessing data within the database. Which of the following actions is MOST likely to improve the overall performance of a database?

A. Normalization

B. Client-side input validation

C. Server-side input validation

D. Obfuscation

Check out the answer and full explanation here.

IDSs and IPSs on the Security+ Exam

Are you planning to take the Security+ exam? If so, make sure you know about IDSs and IPSs.
For example, can you answer this question?

Q. A HIDS reported a vulnerability on a system based on a known attack. After researching the alert from the HIDS, you identify the recommended solution and begin applying it. What type of HIDS is in use?

A. Network-based

B. Signature-based

C. Heuristic-based

D. Anomaly-based

Check out the answer and explanation here.

Stackable Certifications from CompTIA

Have you heard about CompTIAs new stackable certifications? If you've earned more than a couple of CompTIA certifications, you may already have one of them.

As an example, if you an A+ and Network+ certification, you now also have the CompTIA IT Operations Specialist stackable certification.

Check out this blog post for more information. 

Switch Security

Are you planning to take the SY0-401 version or the SY0-501 version of the Security+ exam, you should have a basic understanding of secure network administration principles. This includes deploying switches securely.

See if you can answer this question.

Q. Your organization has several switches within the network. You need to implement a security control to prevent unauthorized access to these switches. Which of the following choices BEST meets this need?

A. Disable unused ports.

B. Implement an implicit deny rule.

C. Disable STP.

D. Enable SSH.

See if you're correct and view the full explanation here.

CompTIA Recertification Exam (RC0-501)

Have you heard about CompTIAs recertification exams (such as the RC0-501 for the Security+ certification).

It's only $175 (compared to $320 USD for SY0-501 exam), includes 35 questions (compared to 90 questions on the SY0-501 exam), and you can take it from home.

Check out this blog post for more information.