A manufacturer of industrial controllers is designing a new product. They want to allow field technicians to update firmware via a USB port. The firmware update file is signed with the manufacturer's private key, and the bootloader verifies the signature before installing. However, the bootloader also has a 'developer mode' that can be enabled by setting a specific GPIO pin to high during boot, which skips signature verification. An attacker with physical access to a controller enables developer mode and installs malicious firmware. What is the most effective mitigation?

Encrypt the firmware update file

Use a stronger signing algorithm

Require a password to enter developer mode

Remove the developer mode backdoor from production firmware

Which approach best describes a lack of end-to-end security in an IoT solution?

Using strong encryption for all communications

Implementing secure boot on all devices

Securing the device and network but leaving the cloud backend unprotected

Conducting regular penetration tests

What is the primary risk of installing firmware that is not digitally signed?

The firmware could be tampered with or replaced by malicious code without detection

The firmware will consume more power

The firmware will be slower to install

The firmware will not be compatible with the device

Which risk is most directly associated with an update mechanism that downloads firmware over HTTP without any integrity verification?

The device becoming permanently bricked due to a failed update

The device being unable to connect to the network

Malicious modification of the firmware during transmission

The update being rejected by the device's secure boot

What is the primary danger of storing cryptographic keys in plaintext within a device's file system?

An attacker who gains access to the file system can easily extract the keys

The keys will be backed up automatically

The keys will expire automatically

CertNexusCertified IoT Security Practitioner (CIoTSP)

Domain 6Objective 1

Objective 6.1 Identify Common Threats Used to Exploit Unsecure Software/firmware. CERTIFIED-IOT-SECURITY-PRACTITIONER Practice Questions (Page 4)

Part of the 6.0 Securing Software/Firmware domain, which accounts for 10% of the CERTIFIED-IOT-SECURITY-PRACTITIONER exam.

30questions here

6free pages

9concepts

10%of the exam

Questions 16–20

16expert · hard
A manufacturer of industrial controllers is designing a new product. They want to allow field technicians to update firmware via a USB port. The firmware update file is signed with the manufacturer's private key, and the bootloader verifies the signature before installing. However, the bootloader also has a 'developer mode' that can be enabled by setting a specific GPIO pin to high during boot, which skips signature verification. An attacker with physical access to a controller enables developer mode and installs malicious firmware. What is the most effective mitigation?
Select an answer first
17foundation · easy
Which approach best describes a lack of end-to-end security in an IoT solution?
Select an answer first
18foundation · easy
What is the primary risk of installing firmware that is not digitally signed?
Select an answer first
19foundation · easy
Which risk is most directly associated with an update mechanism that downloads firmware over HTTP without any integrity verification?
Select an answer first
20foundation · easy
What is the primary danger of storing cryptographic keys in plaintext within a device's file system?
Select an answer first

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