IoT and OT Attacks and Countermeasures EHE Practice Questions (Page 1)

Questions 1–5

1. 1expert · hard

   A city deploys smart meters for electricity and water. The meters communicate with a central system via a mesh network. A security researcher discovers that the meters have a hardcoded encryption key that is shared across all devices. An attacker could decrypt traffic and forge meter readings. The city wants to mitigate this risk without replacing all meters. Which approach is most effective?

   • AImplement a key rotation mechanism that allows each meter to use a unique key
   • BMonitor the mesh network for anomalies
   • CAdd a firewall at the central system to filter incoming traffic
   • DDisable remote reading and require manual meter readings
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
2. 2application · medium

   A chemical plant wants to improve its OT security posture. The plant has a mix of legacy and modern equipment, and the OT network is flat. The management is concerned about insider threats and external attacks. Which approach provides the most comprehensive improvement?

   • AConduct a one-time security audit and fix the findings.
   • BInstall a commercial antivirus on all OT servers and workstations.
   • CReplace all legacy equipment with modern, secure devices.
   • DImplement network segmentation, deploy OT-specific monitoring, and enforce strict access control with role-based permissions.
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
4. 3application · medium

   A cyber-physical attack on a dam control system resulted in the manipulation of water levels. The attack was traced back to a phishing email that compromised an engineer's workstation. Which OT-specific characteristic made this attack particularly dangerous?

   • AThe dam control system was not connected to the internet.
   • BThe direct manipulation of industrial processes can cause physical damage and safety hazards.
   • CThe phishing email was sent from a legitimate domain.
   • DThe engineer's workstation was running outdated software.
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
5. 4application · medium

   A manufacturer deploys a fleet of smart thermostats that connect to a cloud service using MQTT over TLS. Each thermostat has a hardcoded credential for the MQTT broker, and the firmware update mechanism uses an unencrypted HTTP endpoint. During a security review, an analyst identifies that an attacker could intercept firmware updates and push malicious code. Which combination of countermeasures would most directly address this specific risk?

   • ASegment the thermostat network from the corporate network and disable unused ports
   • BUse a stronger encryption algorithm for MQTT traffic and rotate the hardcoded credential
   • CImplement signed firmware images and require HTTPS for the update endpoint
   • DIncrease the frequency of firmware updates and monitor for unusual MQTT traffic
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
6. 5foundation · easy

   Which IoT attack involves an attacker gaining control of a device and using it to send spam or participate in DDoS attacks without the owner's knowledge?

   • AData interception
   • BDevice hijacking
   • CFirmware injection
   • DBotnet recruitment
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first