CPA: ISC S3 EXAM 2025 WITH 100%
CORRECT ANSWERS
Cybersecurity - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔practice of protecting organizations IT infrastructure and
critical data from bad actors by deploying a variety of technologies, internal control processes,
and best practices to mitigate the business impact of attacks
Data Breaches - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔Occur when information is compromised and utilized
without the authorization of the owner
Service Disruptions - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔unplanned events that cause general system /
major application to be inoperable for an unacceptable length of time
Cyberattacks - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔any kind of malicious activity that targets computer
information systems, infrastructures, computer networks, or personal computer devices, and
attempts to collect, disrupt, deny, degrade, destroy information system resources or the
information itself
Threat Agent - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔internal/external attacker that could negatively impact our
data security
Attacker, Threat Actor, or Hacker - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔individuals, or groups of individuals,
that target people or organizations to gain access to systems, networks, or data
Adversary - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔actors with interest in conflict with the organization.
Incentivized to perform malicious actions against organization's cyber resources
,Government-Sponsored / State-Sponsored Actors - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔threat actors that are
funded, directed, or sponsored by nations
Hacktivists - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔groups of hackers that operate to promote certain social
causes or political agendas
Insiders - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔employees that either organically developed into a person with
malicious intentions or intentionally infiltrated an organization to achieve nefarious objectives
External Threats - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔Threats that originate outside an organization
Network Based Attack - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔attack targets the infrastructure of a network
including switches, routers, servers, and cabling, with the intent to gain unauthorized access or
disrupt operations for users
Backdoors/Trapdoors - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔methods to bypass security access procedures by
creating an entry and exit point to a network that is undocumented
Covert Channel - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔mechanisms used to transmit data using methods not
originally intended for data transmission by the system designers. Violate the entity security
policy but do not exceed entity access authorization, so they can communicate data in small
parts. (example of person stealing .005 off of 100 million business each transaction by re-
routing into personal bank account)
Storage Channel - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔data is transmitted by modifying a storage location,
allowing another party with lower security permission to access the data
Timing Channel - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔the delay or gap in transmitting data packets is used to
hide a transmission
, Buffer Overflows - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔Insertion of malicious code into memory by
overrunning buffers outside of their assigned memory space.
Denial of Service (DoS) - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔One or more attackers attempt to flood a server
with so many incoming messages that the server is unable to handle legitimate business
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔Multiple machines simultaneously
launch attacks on the server to force it offline (multiple attackers)
Man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔attacker acts as an intermediary
between two parties intercepting communications, acting as a legitimate entity within a typical
secure session
Port-Scanning Attack - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔scanning networks for open ports is done by
attackers to find vulnerabilities that can be exploited so they can gain unauthorized access to a
company's network
Ransomware Attack - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔these are attackers that come in the form of
malware that locks a user or a company's operating systems, applications, and the ability to
access data unless a ransom is paid
Reverse Shell Attacks - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔a victim initiates communication with an attacker
from behind company firewall so the attacker can bypass the firewall and other safeguards and
remotely control the victims machine
Replay Attacks - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔cybercriminal eavesdrops on a secure network
communication, intercepts it, and then replays the message at a later time to the intended
target to gain access to the network and the data behind the firewall
CORRECT ANSWERS
Cybersecurity - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔practice of protecting organizations IT infrastructure and
critical data from bad actors by deploying a variety of technologies, internal control processes,
and best practices to mitigate the business impact of attacks
Data Breaches - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔Occur when information is compromised and utilized
without the authorization of the owner
Service Disruptions - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔unplanned events that cause general system /
major application to be inoperable for an unacceptable length of time
Cyberattacks - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔any kind of malicious activity that targets computer
information systems, infrastructures, computer networks, or personal computer devices, and
attempts to collect, disrupt, deny, degrade, destroy information system resources or the
information itself
Threat Agent - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔internal/external attacker that could negatively impact our
data security
Attacker, Threat Actor, or Hacker - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔individuals, or groups of individuals,
that target people or organizations to gain access to systems, networks, or data
Adversary - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔actors with interest in conflict with the organization.
Incentivized to perform malicious actions against organization's cyber resources
,Government-Sponsored / State-Sponsored Actors - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔threat actors that are
funded, directed, or sponsored by nations
Hacktivists - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔groups of hackers that operate to promote certain social
causes or political agendas
Insiders - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔employees that either organically developed into a person with
malicious intentions or intentionally infiltrated an organization to achieve nefarious objectives
External Threats - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔Threats that originate outside an organization
Network Based Attack - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔attack targets the infrastructure of a network
including switches, routers, servers, and cabling, with the intent to gain unauthorized access or
disrupt operations for users
Backdoors/Trapdoors - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔methods to bypass security access procedures by
creating an entry and exit point to a network that is undocumented
Covert Channel - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔mechanisms used to transmit data using methods not
originally intended for data transmission by the system designers. Violate the entity security
policy but do not exceed entity access authorization, so they can communicate data in small
parts. (example of person stealing .005 off of 100 million business each transaction by re-
routing into personal bank account)
Storage Channel - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔data is transmitted by modifying a storage location,
allowing another party with lower security permission to access the data
Timing Channel - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔the delay or gap in transmitting data packets is used to
hide a transmission
, Buffer Overflows - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔Insertion of malicious code into memory by
overrunning buffers outside of their assigned memory space.
Denial of Service (DoS) - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔One or more attackers attempt to flood a server
with so many incoming messages that the server is unable to handle legitimate business
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔Multiple machines simultaneously
launch attacks on the server to force it offline (multiple attackers)
Man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔attacker acts as an intermediary
between two parties intercepting communications, acting as a legitimate entity within a typical
secure session
Port-Scanning Attack - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔scanning networks for open ports is done by
attackers to find vulnerabilities that can be exploited so they can gain unauthorized access to a
company's network
Ransomware Attack - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔these are attackers that come in the form of
malware that locks a user or a company's operating systems, applications, and the ability to
access data unless a ransom is paid
Reverse Shell Attacks - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔a victim initiates communication with an attacker
from behind company firewall so the attacker can bypass the firewall and other safeguards and
remotely control the victims machine
Replay Attacks - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔cybercriminal eavesdrops on a secure network
communication, intercepts it, and then replays the message at a later time to the intended
target to gain access to the network and the data behind the firewall
