Exam CAS-004 topic 1 question 267 discussion

Deception involves creating a false reality that attackers or malware will interact with, in order to detect and respond to threats

While it is best to secure this in a sandbox, the actual effort employed by the analyst can be called Deception trying to fool the malware. Analyst can also use Static, Dynamic, Behavioral analysis, as well as Reverse Engineering.

Don't overthink it. He's deceiving regardless if he's in a sandbox or love environment. Question wants what method is spoofing os fingerprint not where he's performing jt

Deception techniques involve creating an environment or modifying a system in a way that misleads attackers or malware. This could include altering system behavior or making the malware believe it is operating in a different environment than it actually is (like modifying system calls to mimic Linux responses or hiding files). The goal is to confuse or distract the malware, preventing it from successfully completing its attack. While D. Sandboxing: Sandboxing is a technique where a program or process is isolated from the rest of the system to prevent it from causing harm. While related to security, this involves creating isolated environments for testing, not modifying the operating system to deceive the malware. So, Deception (B) is the correct answer because the analyst is intentionally modifying system behaviors to confuse or mislead the malware.

It seems like overall it is D because the pen tester is trying all these techniques in a safe environment and not actively on the network

B. This is the definition of Deception.

D sand boxing since deception is used to mislead hackers but here it looks like they are just testing out malware and denoting them

Deception techniques involve altering the environment to mislead malware or attackers, making them believe they are in a different environment than they are. By "modifying the Windows server to respond like a Linux server and preventing the malware from identifying target files", this use to confuse and potentially neutralize the malware’s effectiveness.

I was torn between C and D, but sandboxing is more specific to security analysts so that's what I'll go with.

No where in the question does it state that the analyst is doing this in a separate environment isolated form the current environment. So it can't be a sandbox. In the question it even tells us " As a test, the analyst modifies a Windows server to respond to system calls as if it was a Linux server" This means he is doing it on an actual sever to SIMULATE a linux sever.

It comes down to B and D. No where in the scenario talks about isolating and modifying files on a server. So it would be deception, the analyst is deliberately modifying the system to respond falsely to system calls, creating deception for the malware

deception is the best answer from the scenario

Going with Sandboxing (D) on this one. Only other option would be (B) Deception, but that doesn't quite fit this scenario according to the definition below: "Deception technology is a category of incident detection and response technology that helps security teams detect, analyze, and defend against advanced threats by enticing attackers to interact with false IT assets deployed within your network." https://www.rapid7.com/fundamentals/deception-technology/

Sandbox

Im going with sandboxing here. From reading, it seems deception is a more in-depth and automated version of honey-potting, which can be scaled up to a mimic of a production network to be used to monitor advanced cyber threats.

Deception technology is used to observe how an attacker moves through the network and exploits an asset. I haven't read on deceptive technology being actively modified to test malware. This sounds more like a sandbox.

B. Deception The analyst is most likely using deception techniques to deceive the malware and hinder its functionality. Deception involves creating an environment that misleads or confuses attackers or malware, making it harder for them to carry out their malicious activities. In the given scenario, the analyst modifies the Windows server to respond to system calls as if it was a Linux server. This deceptive modification aims to confuse the malware, which might be specifically designed to target Windows systems. By presenting a different system environment, the analyst disrupts the malware's ability to execute its intended functionality. Additionally, the analyst modifies the operating system to prevent the malware from identifying target files. This manipulation further adds to the deception strategy by hiding or altering the expected system behavior, making it challenging for the malware to locate and access its intended targets. Overall, these actions align with the concept of deception as a defensive technique to mislead and impede the functionality of malware.