Exam SY0-601 topic 1 question 344 discussion

I believe SoC here is used for "System on a chip". This indicates to me that the only reasonable answer is supply-chain attack.

Modifying/Replacing a SoC? That's a government level ATP with supply chain attack capability! Hardware was already modified -before- it was received.

The most likely occurrence in this scenario is a supply-chain attack (option C). A supply-chain attack involves compromising the security of a product or component during its manufacturing, distribution, or delivery process. In this case, the incident suggests that the SoC (System on a Chip) in one of the specially configured workstations was tampered with or replaced, indicating a compromise in the supply chain. This type of attack allows threat actors to gain unauthorized access to systems or introduce malicious components into trusted systems. By tampering with the hardware at the manufacturing or delivery stage, the attackers can bypass security measures and potentially gain persistent control over the compromised system.

I don't understand how this is a supply-side attack. Supply-side indicates that something from manufacturing was purchased and then attached to the system so that this attack could occur. That makes less sense than a downgrade attack in which someone takes an inferior product and surreptitiously attaches it to the system. That kind of behavior would fall into place with a saboteur because that person would have direct hands on the product, and in that case, wouldn't the answer be a downgrade attack? To be honest, that wasn't my initial answer. But that's what it looks like to me now.

Agree with C here.

The only one that makes sense is C. A supply-chain attack