CompTIA Updated CS0-003 Exam Questions and Answers by fiadh

The best practice for securing access to sensitive data is to implement multifactor authentication (MFA), which combines multiple factors of authentication to enhance security.

Option B (Biometrics + Device with a Personalized Code) uses two strong factors:

Biometrics (something you are)

A device with a personalized code (something you have)This combination significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access​.

Option A (Randomized Code) is good but weaker than biometrics because it relies only on something you have.

Option C (Passphrase) is single-factor authentication, which is susceptible to brute-force attacks​.

Option D (One-time Code + Push Notification) is useful, but email-based authentication can be vulnerable to phishing and MITM attacks.

/etc/shadow is the pattern that the security analyst can use to search the web server logs for evidence of exploitation of the LFI vulnerability that can be exploited to extract credentials from the underlying host. LFI stands for Local File Inclusion, which is a vulnerability that allows an attacker to include local files on the web server into the output of a web application. LFI can be exploited to extract sensitive information from the web server, such as configuration files, passwords, or source code. The /etc/shadow file is a file that stores the encrypted passwords of all users on a Linux system. If an attacker can exploit the LFI vulnerability to include this file into the web application output, they can obtain the credentials of the users on the web server. Therefore, the security analyst can look for /etc/shadow in the request line of the web server logs to see if any attacker has attempted or succeeded in exploiting the LFI vulnerability. Official References:

https://partners.comptia.org/docs/default-source/resources/comptia-cysa-cs0-002-exam-objectives

https://www.comptia.org/certifications/cybersecurity-analyst

https://www.comptia.org/blog/the-new-comptia-cybersecurity-analyst-your-questions-answered

The correct answer is D. In forensic analysis, the analyst should not repair, rebuild, or modify the original device or evidence. Forensic workflows rely on validated, forensically sound images and working copies. If the analysis copy becomes corrupted, the correct approach is to return to a preserved/archived copy or original validated image and continue from a clean copy.

The Sybex CySA+ Study Guide explains that drive and media images must be captured in a forensically sound manner, validated with hashing, and copied so that the original evidence is retained. It also states that multiple copies are made so the original drive can be retained for evidence. The official CySA+ objectives also include evidence acquisition, validating data integrity, preservation, and chain of custody under incident response activities.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A is incorrect because trying to remediate corruption may further alter evidence.

B is incorrect because bootable media may alter the device or evidence state.

C is incorrect because rebuilding the OS destroys or changes forensic evidence.

D is correct because restoring from a preserved copy maintains forensic integrity.

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An on-path attack is a type of man-in-the-middle attack where an attacker intercepts and modifies network traffic between two parties. In this case, someone with internal access may be performing an on-path attack by forcing users into port 80, which is used for HTTP communication, instead of port 443, which is used for HTTPS communication. This would allow the attacker to compromise the user accounts and access the company’s internal portal.