A company's website is hit by a DDoS attack that overwhelms its internet connection. The attack traffic originates from a botnet of compromised IoT devices. The company wants to keep the website available for legitimate users. Which mitigation strategy is most effective in this scenario?

Shut down the website until the attack stops

Block the IP addresses of the IoT devices

Use a DDoS protection service that filters traffic before it reaches the origin server

Increase the bandwidth of the internet connection

A user on a public Wi-Fi network at a coffee shop logs into their bank account. Later, they notice unauthorized transactions. The attacker had set up a rogue access point with the same name as the coffee shop's Wi-Fi. Which attack did the user fall victim to, and what is the best defense?

Smishing; disable Wi-Fi when not in use

Phishing; use a stronger password

Tailgating; enable two-factor authentication

A security team is investigating a breach where an attacker has been present in the network for over a year. The attacker used legitimate credentials, moved laterally between systems, and exfiltrated data slowly to avoid detection. The attacker's objective appears to be intellectual property theft. Which characteristic most clearly distinguishes this as an APT rather than a typical cybercriminal attack?

The use of malware, which is typical of all attacks

The use of a MitM attack to intercept communications

The exfiltration of data, which is common in all attacks

The use of legitimate credentials and slow, stealthy exfiltration over a long period

A network administrator is troubleshooting a user's complaint that their web sessions are being redirected to fake login pages. The administrator checks the ARP cache on the user's machine and finds that the gateway's MAC address has changed. Which attack has occurred, and what is the most effective mitigation?

Ransomware; reimage the machine

ARP spoofing; enable Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI) on the switch

A security team is investigating a breach where an attacker maintained access for over a year, using legitimate credentials and moving slowly to avoid detection. The attacker's goal was to steal research data. Which characteristic most clearly distinguishes this as an APT rather than a typical malware infection?

The attacker used a well-known malware strain

The attacker used legitimate credentials and maintained persistence over a long period

The attack was detected within days

CiscoCertified Support Technician (CCST) Cybersecurity

Domain 1Objective 2

Explain Common Threats and Vulnerabilities 100-160 Practice Questions (Page 5)

Part of the Essential Security Principles domain, which makes up ~18% of our current practice bank. Cisco does not publish an official question count, but from its 50-minute exam (~20–35 total, ~4–6 in this domain), expect 1–2 from this objective — we provide 50 practice questions to prepare you well beyond it. (estimate)

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Questions 21–25

21expert · hard
A company's website is hit by a DDoS attack that overwhelms its internet connection. The attack traffic originates from a botnet of compromised IoT devices. The company wants to keep the website available for legitimate users. Which mitigation strategy is most effective in this scenario?
Select an answer first
22application · medium
A user on a public Wi-Fi network at a coffee shop logs into their bank account. Later, they notice unauthorized transactions. The attacker had set up a rogue access point with the same name as the coffee shop's Wi-Fi. Which attack did the user fall victim to, and what is the best defense?
Select an answer first
23expert · hard
A security team is investigating a breach where an attacker has been present in the network for over a year. The attacker used legitimate credentials, moved laterally between systems, and exfiltrated data slowly to avoid detection. The attacker's objective appears to be intellectual property theft. Which characteristic most clearly distinguishes this as an APT rather than a typical cybercriminal attack?
Select an answer first
24expert · hard
A network administrator is troubleshooting a user's complaint that their web sessions are being redirected to fake login pages. The administrator checks the ARP cache on the user's machine and finds that the gateway's MAC address has changed. Which attack has occurred, and what is the most effective mitigation?
Select an answer first
25expert · hard
A security team is investigating a breach where an attacker maintained access for over a year, using legitimate credentials and moving slowly to avoid detection. The attacker's goal was to steal research data. Which characteristic most clearly distinguishes this as an APT rather than a typical malware infection?
Select an answer first

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Explain Common Threats and Vulnerabilities 100-160 Practice Questions (Page 5)

Questions 21–25

A company's website is hit by a DDoS attack that overwhelms its internet connection. The attack traffic originates from a botnet of compromised IoT devices. The company wants to keep the website available for legitimate users. Which mitigation strategy is most effective in this scenario?

A user on a public Wi-Fi network at a coffee shop logs into their bank account. Later, they notice unauthorized transactions. The attacker had set up a rogue access point with the same name as the coffee shop's Wi-Fi. Which attack did the user fall victim to, and what is the best defense?

Keep studying — Essential Security Principles