ECCouncil ICS-SCADA ICS/SCADA Cyber Security Exam Exam Practice Test

Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and SCADA networks typically operate in environments where the available bandwidth is limited. They are often characterized by:

Low processing threshold: ICS/SCADA devices generally have limited processing capabilities due to their specialized and often legacy nature.

Legacy systems: Many ICS/SCADA systems include older technology that might not support newer security protocols or high-speed data transfer.

Weak network stack: These systems may have incomplete or less robust network stacks that can be susceptible to specific types of network attacks.

High bandwidth networks are not typical of ICS/SCADA environments, as these systems do not usually require or support high-speed data transmission due to their operational requirements and the older technology often used in such environments.

References

"Navigating the Challenges of Industrial Control Systems," by ISA-99 Industrial Automation and Control Systems Security.

"Cybersecurity for Industrial Control Systems," by the Department of Homeland Security.

tcpdumpis a powerful command-line packet analyzer used primarily in UNIX and UNIX-like operating systems; it allows the capture and display of TCP/IP and other packets being transmitted or received over a network to which the computer is attached.

Unlike graphical tools like Wireshark,tcpdumpprovides raw output of the packet captures directly to the terminal or a specified file, making it ideal for deep dive network analysis, especially in environments where a graphical user interface is unavailable.

tcpdumpuses the libpcap library to capture packet data, which allows it to support a wide range of command-line options to filter and display packet information according to user needs.

References

"tcpdump manual page," by the Tcpdump Group.

"Practical Packet Analysis Using Wireshark to Solve Real-World Network Problems," by Chris Sanders, No Starch Press.

In network security, the stance on managing and assessing risk can vary widely depending on the security policies of an organization.

A "Permissive" stance, often referred to as a default permit approach, allows all traffic unless it has been specifically blocked. This approach can be easier to manage from a usability standpoint but is less secure as it potentially allows unwanted or malicious traffic unless explicitly filtered.

This is in contrast to a more restrictive policy, which denies all traffic unless it has been explicitly permitted, typically seen in more secure environments.

References

"Network Security Basics," by Cisco Systems.

"Understanding Firewall Policies," by Fortinet.

NIST Special Publication 800-82, "Guide to Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Security," provides guidance on securing industrial control systems, including SCADA systems, distributed control systems (DCS), and other control system configurations such as programmable logic controllers (PLC). It offers practices and recommendations for protecting and securing ICS systems against disruptions, malicious activities, and other threats to their integrity and availability.References:

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), "Guide to Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Security".

The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) uses several metrics to assess the severity of vulnerabilities. Among them, the Temporal metric group specifically reflects the exploit quotient of a vulnerability.

Temporal metrics consider factors that change over time after a vulnerability is initially assessed. These include:

Exploit Code Maturity: This assesses the likelihood of the vulnerability being exploited based on the availability and maturity of exploit code.

Remediation Level: The level of remediation available for the vulnerability, which influences the ease of mitigation.

Report Confidence: This metric measures the reliability of the reports about the vulnerability.

These temporal factors directly affect the exploitability and potential threat posed by a vulnerability, adjusting the base score to provide a more current view of the risk.

References

Common Vulnerability Scoring System v3.1: User Guide.

"Understanding CVSS," by FIRST (Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams).

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) typically requires two Security Associations (SAs) for a secure communication session. One SA is used for inbound traffic, and the other for outbound traffic.

In the context of IPsec, which is often used to secure VPN connections, these two SAs facilitate the bidirectional secure exchange of packets in a VPN tunnel.

Each SA uniquely defines how traffic should be securely processed, including the encryption and authentication mechanisms. This ensures that data sent in one directionis handled independently from data sent in the opposite direction, maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of both communication streams.

References

"Understanding IPSec VPNs," by Cisco Systems.

"IPsec Security Associations," RFC 4301, Security Architecture for the Internet Protocol.

An Intrusion Detection System (IDS) is designed to monitor network or system activities for malicious activities or policy violations and can perform several functions:

Monitor:Observing network traffic and system activities for unusual or suspicious behavior.

Detect:Identifying potential security breaches including both known threats and unusual activities that could indicate new threats.

Respond:Executing pre-defined actions to address detected threats, which can include alerts or triggering automatic countermeasures.References:

Cisco Systems, "Intrusion Detection Systems".

A "watering hole" attack is a security exploit in which the attacker seeks to compromise a specific group of end users by infecting websites that members of the group are known to visit.

The goal is to infect a website that members of a targeted community frequently use with malware. Once a user visits the compromised website, malware can be delivered to the user’s system, exploiting vulnerabilities on their device.

This attack vector is used in scenarios where attackers want to breach secure environments indirectly by targeting less secure points in a network's ecosystem, such as third-party software used within the organization.

References

"Watering Hole Attacks: Detect, Disrupt, and Prevent," by Kaspersky Lab.

"Emerging Threats in Cybersecurity: Understanding Watering Hole Attacks," published in the Journal of Network Security.

IEC 62443 defines multiple security levels (SLs) tailored to address different types of threats and attackers in industrial control systems.

Security Level 4 (SL4) is designed to protect against sophisticated attacks by adversaries such as hacktivists or terrorists. SL4 involves threats that are targeted with specific intent against the organization, using advanced skills and means.

This level assumes that the adversary is capable of sustained and focused efforts with significant resources, including state-level actors or well-funded groups, aiming at causing widespread disruption or damage.

References

IEC 62443-3-3: System security requirements and security levels.

"Industrial Network Security: Securing Critical Infrastructure Networks for Smart Grid, SCADA, and Other Industrial Control Systems," by Eric Knapp.

NIST SP 800-53 is a publication that provides a catalog of security and privacy controls for federal information systems and organizations and promotes the development of secure and resilient federal information and information systems.

According to the NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, the framework defines a comprehensive set of controls, which are divided into different families. Among these families, there are specifically nine families categorized under management controls. These include categories such as risk assessment, security planning, program management, and others.

References

"NIST Special Publication 800-53 (Rev. 5) Security and Privacy Controls for Information Systems and Organizations."

NIST website:

The default size of a Windows Echo Request packet, commonly known as a ping request, is 28 bytes. This size is derived from the following components:

ICMP Header: The Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) header is 8 bytes.

IPv4 Header: The IP header for an IPv4 packet is typically 20 bytes.

Therefore, the total size of the default Windows Echo Request packet is 28 bytes (8 bytes for ICMP header + 20 bytes for IPv4 header).

References

"Ping (networking utility)," Wikipedia,Ping.

"ICMP Header Format," Cisco, ICMP Header.

ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) is used in network devices, like routers, to send error messages and operational information indicating success or failure when communicating with another IP address.

An ICMP type 8 packet specifically is an "Echo Request." It is used primarily by the ping command to test the connectivity between two nodes.

When a device sends an ICMP Echo Request, it expects to receive an ICMP Echo Reply (type 0) from the target node. This mechanism helps in diagnosing the state and reachability of a network on the Internet or within a private network.

References

RFC 792 Internet Control Message Protocol:

Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) ICMP Parameters:

Stuxnet is a highly sophisticated piece of malware discovered in 2010 that specifically targeted Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems used to control and monitor industrial processes.

The primary targets of Stuxnet were Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), which are critical components in industrial control systems.

Stuxnet was designed to infect Siemens Step7 software PLCs. It altered the operation of the PLCs to cause physical damage to the connected hardware, famously used against Iran's uranium enrichment facility, where it caused the fast-spinning centrifuges to tear themselves apart.

References

Langner, R. "Stuxnet: Dissecting a Cyberwarfare Weapon." IEEE Security & Privacy, May-June 2011.

"W32.Stuxnet Dossier," Symantec Corporation, Version 1.4, February 2011.

Code Red is not ICS specific malware; it was a famous worm that targeted computers running Microsoft's IIS web server. Unlike Flame, Havex, and Stuxnet, which were specifically designed to target industrial control systems or perform espionage related to ICS environments, Code Red was aimed at exploiting vulnerabilities in internet-facing software to perform denial-of-service attacks and other malicious activities.References:

CERT Coordination Center, "Code Red Worm Exploiting Buffer Overflow In IIS Indexing Service DLL".

A vulnerability that is exploited before the vendor has issued a patch or even before the vulnerability is known to the vendor is referred to as a "zero-day" vulnerability. The term "zero-day" refers to the number of days the software vendor has had to address and patch the vulnerability since it was made public—zero, in this case.References:

Symantec Security Response, "Zero Day Initiative".

The Authentication Header (AH) is a component of the IPsec protocol suite that provides authentication and integrity to the communications. AH ensures that the contents of the communications have not been altered in transit (integrity) and verifies the sending and receiving parties (authentication). However, AH does not provide confidentiality, which would involve encrypting the payload data. Confidentiality is provided by the Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP), another component of IPsec.References:

RFC 4302, "IP Authentication Header".

The most common ICS/SCADA architecture typically includes two firewalls. This dual firewall configuration often involves one firewall placed between the enterprise network and the ICS/SCADA network, and another between the ICS/SCADA network and the plant floor devices. This arrangement, known as a "demilitarized zone" (DMZ) between the two firewalls, adds an additional layer of security to help isolate and protect sensitive operational technology (OT) environments from threats originating from IT networks.References:

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), "Guide to Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Security".

The maximum transmission unit (MTU) for Ethernet, which is the largest size of an Ethernet packet or frame that can be sent over the network, is typically 1500 bytes. This size does not include the Ethernet frame's preamble and start frame delimiter but does include all other headers and the payload. Ethernet's MTU of 1500 bytes is a standard for most Ethernet networks, especially those conforming to the IEEE 802.3 standard.References:

IEEE 802.3-2012, "Standard for Ethernet".

The Authentication Header (AH) in the context of IPsec has a fixed header portion of 24 bits and a mutable part that can vary, but when considering the fixed structure of the AH itself, the width is typically considered to be 32 bits at its core structure for basic operations in providing integrity and authentication, without confidentiality.References:

RFC 4302, "IP Authentication Header".

In the context of physical to logical asset protection in network security, several threats can be directed against the network, including:

Elevation of Privileges: Where unauthorized users gain higher-level permissions improperly.

Flood the Switch: Typically involves a DoS attack where the switch is overwhelmed with traffic, preventing normal operations.

Crack the Password: An attack aimed at gaining unauthorized access by breaking through password security. All these threats can potentially compromise the network's security and the safety of its physical and logical assets.References:

CompTIA Security+ Guide to Network Security Fundamentals.

In ICS/SCADA systems, the highest priority typically is Availability, due to the critical nature of the services and infrastructures they support. These systems often control vital processes in industries like energy, water treatment, and manufacturing. Any downtimecan lead to significant disruptions, safety hazards, or economic losses. Thus, ensuring that systems are operational and accessible is a primary security focus in the context of ICS/SCADA security.References:

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), "Guide to Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Security".

IPsec uses two main protocols to secure network communications: Authentication Header (AH) and Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP).

Both AH and ESP use a Security Parameters Index (SPI), which is a critical component of their headers. The SPI is a unique identifier that enables the receiver to select the correct security association for processing incoming packets.

AH provides authentication and integrity, while ESP provides confidentiality, in addition to authentication and integrity. Both protocols use the SPI to manage these functions securely.

References

"IPsec Security Architecture," RFC 4302 (AH) and RFC 4303 (ESP).

"IPsec Explained," by Juniper Networks.