S/MIME (for Secure MIME, or Secure Multipurpose Mail Extension) is a security process used for e-mail exchanges that makes it possible to guarantee the confidentiality and non-repudiation of electronic messages. S/MIME is based on the MIME standard, the goal of which is to let users attach files other than ASCII text files to electronic messages. The MIME standard therefore makes it possible to attach all types of files to e-mails.
S/MIME was originally developed by the company RSA Data Security. Ratified in July 1999 by the IETF, S/MIME has become a standard, whose specifications are contained in RFCs 2630 to 2633. How S/MIME works
The S/MIME standard is based on the principle of public-key encryption. S/MIME therefore makes it possible to encrypt the content of messages but does not encrypt the communication.
The various sections of an electronic message, encoded according to the MIME standard, are each encrypted using a session key.
The session key is inserted in each section’s header, and is encrypted using the recipient’s
public key. Only the recipient can open the message’s body, using his private key, which
guarantees the confidentiality and integrity of the received message.
In addition, the message’s signature is encrypted with the sender’s private key. Anyone
intercepting the communication can read the content of the message’s signature, but this
ensures the recipient of the sender’s identity, since only the sender is capable of encrypting
a message (with his private key) that can be decrypted with his public key.
Reference(s) used for this question:
http://en.kioskea.net/contents/139-cryptography-s-mime
RFC 2630: Cryptographic Message Syntax;
OPPLIGER, Rolf, Secure Messaging with PGP and S/MIME, 2000, Artech House;
HARRIS, Shon, All-In-One CISSP Certification Exam Guide, 2001, McGraw-Hill/Osborne,
page 570;
SMITH, Richard E., Internet Cryptography, 1997, Addison-Wesley Pub Co.

Section: Access Control
Explanation/Reference:
SSO can be implemented by using scripts that replay the users multiple log-ins against authentication servers to verify a user’s identity and to permit access to system services.
Single Sign on was the best answer in this case because it would include Kerberos.
When you have two good answers within the 4 choices presented you must select the BEST one. The high level choice is always the best. When one choice would include the other one that would be the best as well.
Reference(s) used for this question:
KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Page 40.

X.509 is used in digital certificates. X.400 is used in e-mail as a message handling protocol. X.25 is a standard for the network and data link levels of a communication network and X.75 is a standard defining ways of connecting two X.25 networks. Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter 4: Cryptography (page 164).

Section: Security Operation Adimnistration
Explanation
Explanation/Reference:
Job rotations reduce the risk of collusion of activities between individuals. Companies with individuals working with sensitive information or systems where there might be the opportunity for personal gain through collusion can benefit by integrating job rotation with segregation of duties. Rotating the position may uncover activities that the individual is performing outside of the normal operating procedures, highlighting errors or fraudulent behavior.
Rotation of duties is a method of reducing the risk associated with a subject performing a (sensitive) task by limiting the amount of time the subject is assigned to perform the task before being moved to a different task.
The following are incorrect answers:
Key escrow is related to the protection of keys in storage by splitting the key in pieces that will be controlled by different departments. Key escrow is the process of ensuring a third party maintains a copy of a private key or key needed to decrypt information. Key escrow also should be considered mandatory for most organization’s use of cryptography as encrypted information belongs to the organization and not the individual; however often an individual’s key is used to encrypt the information.
Separation of duties is a basic control that prevents or detects errors and irregularities by assigning responsibility for different parts of critical tasks to separate individuals, thus limiting the effect a single person can have on a system. One individual should not have the capability to execute all of the steps of a particular process. This is especially important in critical business areas, where individuals may have greater access and capability to modify, delete, or add data to the system. Failure to separate duties could result in individuals embezzling money from the company without the involvement of others.
The need-to-know principle specifies that a person must not only be cleared to access classified or other sensitive information, but have requirement for such information to carry out assigned job duties. Ordinary or limited user accounts are what most users are assigned. They should be restricted only to those privileges that are strictly required, following the principle of least privilege. Access should be limited to specific objects following the principle of need-to-know.
The principle of least privilege requires that each subject in a system be granted the most restrictive set of privileges (or lowest clearance) needed for the performance of authorized tasks. Least privilege refers to granting users only the accesses that are required to perform their job functions. Some employees will require greater access than others based upon their job functions. For example, an individual performing data entry on a mainframe system may have no need for Internet access or the ability to run reports regarding the information that they are entering into the system. Conversely, a supervisor may have the need to run reports, but should not be provided the capability to change information in the database.
Reference(s) used for this question:
Hernandez CISSP, Steven (2012-12-21). Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK, Third Edition ((ISC)2 Press) (Kindle Locations 10628-10631). Auerbach Publications. Kindle Edition.
and
Hernandez CISSP, Steven (2012-12-21). Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK, Third Edition ((ISC)2 Press) (Kindle Locations 10635-10638). Auerbach Publications. Kindle Edition.
and
Hernandez CISSP, Steven (2012-12-21). Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK, Third Edition ((ISC)2 Press) (Kindle Locations 10693-10697). Auerbach Publications. Kindle Edition.
and
Hernandez CISSP, Steven (2012-12-21). Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK, Third Edition ((ISC)2 Press) (Kindle Locations 16338-16341). Auerbach Publications. Kindle Edition.

Explanation/Reference:
In order to offer more independence and get more attention from management, an IT security function should be independent from IT and report directly to the CEO. Having it report to a specialized business unit (e.g. legal) is not recommended as it promotes a low technology view of the function and leads people to believe that it is someone else’s problem.
Source: HARE, Chris, Security management Practices CISSP Open Study Guide, version 1.0, april 1999.

XSS or Cross-Site Scripting is a threat to web applications where malicious
code is placed on a website that attacks the use using their existing authenticated session status.
Cross-Site Scripting attacks are a type of injection problem, in which malicious scripts are
injected into the otherwise benign and trusted web sites. Cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks
occur when an attacker uses a web application to send malicious code, generally in the
form of a browser side script, to a different end user. Flaws that allow these attacks to
succeed are quite widespread and occur anywhere a web application uses input from a
user in the output it generates without validating or encoding it.
An attacker can use XSS to send a malicious script to an unsuspecting user. The end
user’s browser has no way to know that the script should not be trusted, and will execute
the script. Because it thinks the script came from a trusted source, the malicious script can
access any cookies, session tokens, or other sensitive information retained by your
browser and used with that site. These scripts can even rewrite the content of the HTML page.
Mitigation:
Configure your IPS – Intrusion Prevention System to detect and suppress this traffic.
Input Validation on the web application to normalize inputted data.
Set web apps to bind session cookies to the IP Address of the legitimate user and only
permit that IP Address to use that cookie.
See the XSS (Cross Site Scripting) Prevention Cheat Sheet
See the Abridged XSS Prevention Cheat Sheet
See the DOM based XSS Prevention Cheat Sheet
See the OWASP Development Guide article on Phishing.
See the OWASP Development Guide article on Data Validation.
The following answers are incorrect:
Intrusion Detection Systems: Sorry. IDS Systems aren’t usually the target of XSS attacks
but a properly-configured IDS/IPS can “detect and report on malicious string and suppress
the TCP connection in an attempt to mitigate the threat.
Firewalls: Sorry. Firewalls aren’t usually the target of XSS attacks.
DNS Servers: Same as above, DNS Servers aren’t usually targeted in XSS attacks but
they play a key role in the domain name resolution in the XSS attack process.
The following reference(s) was used to create this question: CCCure Holistic Security+ CBT and Curriculum and https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Cross-site_Scripting_%28XSS%29

When using packet switching, messages are broken down into packets. Source and destination address are added to each packet so that when passing through a network node, they can be examined and eventually rerouted through different paths as conditions change. All message packets may travel different paths and not arrive in the same order as sent. Packets need to be collected and reassembled into the original message at destination.
Source: TIPTON, Hal, (ISC)2, Introduction to the CISSP Exam presentation.

Digital Signal level 1 (DS-1) is the framing specification used for transmitting digital signals at 1.544 Mbps on a T1 facility. DS-0 is the framing specification used in transmitting digital signals over a single 64 Kbps channel over a T1 facility. DS-3 is the framing specification used for transmitting digital signals at 44.736 Mbps on a T3 facility. DS-2 is not a defined framing specification.
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter 3: Telecommunications and Network Security (page 114).

IPSec provide replay protection that ensures data is not delivered multiple times, however IPsec does not ensure that data is delivered in the exact order in which it is sent. IPSEC uses TCP and packets may be delivered out of order to the receiving side depending which route was taken by the packet.
Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) has emerged as the most commonly used network layer security control for protecting communications. IPsec is a framework of open standards for ensuring private communications over IP networks. Depending on how IPsec is implemented and configured, it can provide any combination of the following types of protection:
Confidentiality. IPsec can ensure that data cannot be read by unauthorized parties. This is accomplished by encrypting data using a cryptographic algorithm and a secret key a value known only to the two parties exchanging data. The data can only be decrypted by someone who has the secret key.
Integrity. IPsec can determine if data has been changed (intentionally or unintentionally) during transit. The integrity of data can be assured by generating a message authentication code (MAC) value, which is a cryptographic checksum of the data. If the data is altered and the MAC is recalculated, the old and new MACs will differ.
Peer Authentication. Each IPsec endpoint confirms the identity of the other IPsec endpoint with which it wishes to communicate, ensuring that the network traffic and data is being sent from the expected host.
Replay Protection. The same data is not delivered multiple times, and data is not delivered grossly out of order. However, IPsec does not ensure that data is delivered in the exact order in which it is sent.
Traffic Analysis Protection. A person monitoring network traffic does not know which parties are communicating, how often communications are occurring, or how much data is being exchanged. However, the number of packets being exchanged can be counted.
Access Control. IPsec endpoints can perform filtering to ensure that only authorized IPsec users can access particular network resources. IPsec endpoints can also allow or block certain types of network traffic, such as allowing Web server access but denying file sharing.
The following are incorrect answers because they are all features provided by IPSEC:
“Data cannot be read by unauthorized parties” is wrong because IPsec provides confidentiality through the usage of the Encapsulating Security Protocol (ESP), once encrypted the data cannot be read by unauthorized parties because they have access only to the ciphertext. This is accomplished by encrypting data using a cryptographic algorithm and a session key, a value known only to the two parties exchanging data. The data can only be decrypted by someone who has a copy of the session key.
“The identity of all IPsec endpoints are confirmed by other endpoints” is wrong because IPsec provides peer authentication: Each IPsec endpoint confirms the identity of the other IPsec endpoint with which it wishes to communicate, ensuring that the network traffic and data is being sent from the expected host.
“The number of packets being exchanged can be counted” is wrong because although
IPsec provides traffic protection where a person monitoring network traffic does not know
which parties are communicating, how often communications are occurring, or how much
data is being exchanged, the number of packets being exchanged still can be counted.
Reference(s) used for this question:
NIST 800-77 Guide to IPsec VPNs . Pages 2-3 to 2-4

Explanation/Reference:
Biometrics; Biometrics are defined as an automated means of identifying or authenticating the identity of a living person based on physiological or behavioral characteristics.
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Pages 37,38.

Section: Security Operation Adimnistration
Explanation/Reference:
Multiprocessing is an organizational technique in which a number of processor units are employed in a single computer system to increase the performance of the system in its application environment above the performance of a single processor of the same kind. In order to cooperate on a single application or class of applications, the processors share a common resource. Usually this resource is primary memory, and the multiprocessor is called a primary memory multiprocessor. A system in which each processor has a private (local) main memory and shares secondary (global) memory with the others is a secondary memory multiprocessor, sometimes called a multicomputer system because of the looser coupling between processors.
The more common multiprocessor systems incorporate only processors of the same type and performance and thus are called homogeneous multiprocessors; however, heterogeneous multiprocessors are also employed. A special case is the attached processor, in which a second processor module is attached to a first processor in a closely coupled fashion so that the first can perform input/output and operating system functions, enabling the attached processor to concentrate on the application workload.
The following were incorrect answers:
Multiprogramming: The interleaved execution of two or more programs by a computer, in which the central processing unit executes a few instructions from each program in succession.
Multitasking: The concurrent operation by one central processing unit of two or more processes.
Pipelining: A procedure for processing instructions in a computer program more rapidly, in which each instruction is divided into numerous small stages, and a population of instructions are in various stages at any given time. One instruction does not have to wait for the previous one to complete all of the stages before it gets into the pipeline. It would be similiar to an assembly chain in the real world.
References:
TIPTON, Hal, (ISC)2, Introduction to the CISSP Exam presentation.
http://www.answers.com/Q/multiprocessing?cat=technology
http://www.answers.com/multitasking?cat=biz-fin
http://www.answers.com/pipelining?cat=technology

Explanation/Reference:
Detective/Technical measures include intrusion detection systems and automatically-generated violation reports from audit trail information. These reports can indicate variations from “normal” operation or detect known signatures of unauthorized access episodes. In order to limit the amount of audit information flagged and reported by automated violation analysis and reporting mechanisms, clipping levels can be set.
Source: KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Page 35.

Explanation/Reference:
The main issue with media reuse is data remanence, where residual information still resides on a media that has been erased. Degaussing, purging and destruction are ways to handle media that contains data that is no longer needed or used.
Source: WALLHOFF, John, CBK#10 Physical Security (CISSP Study Guide), April 2002 (page 5).

Section: Network and Telecommunications
Explanation/Reference:
In link encryption, each entity has keys in common with its two neighboring nodes in the transmission chain.
Thus, a node receives the encrypted message from its predecessor, decrypts it, and then re-encrypts it with a new key, common to the successor node. Obviously, this mode does not provide protection if anyone of the nodes along the transmission path is compromised.
Encryption can be performed at different communication levels, each with different types of protection and implications. Two general modes of encryption implementation are link encryption and end-to-end encryption.
Link encryption encrypts all the data along a specific communication path, as in a satellite link, T3 line, or telephone circuit. Not only is the user information encrypted, but the header, trailers, addresses, and routing data that are part of the packets are also encrypted. The only traffic not encrypted in this technology is the data link control messaging information, which includes instructions and parameters that the different link devices use to synchronize communication methods. Link encryption provides protection against packet sniffers and eavesdroppers.
In end-to-end encryption, the headers, addresses, routing, and trailer information are not encrypted, enabling attackers to learn more about a captured packet and where it is headed.
Reference(s) used for this question:
Harris, Shon (2012-10-25). CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, 6th Edition (pp. 845-846). McGraw-Hill.
And:
KRUTZ, Ronald L. & VINES, Russel D., The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, Chapter 4: Cryptography (page 132).

A “Degausser (Otherwise known as a Bulk Eraser) has the main function of reducing to near zero the magnetic flux stored in the magnetized medium. Flux density is measured in Gauss or Tesla. The operation is speedier than overwriting and done in one short operation. This is achieved by subjecting the subject in bulk to a series of fields of alternating polarity and gradually decreasing strength.
The following answers are incorrect:Parity Bit Manipulation. Parity has to do with disk lerror detection, not data removal. A bit or series of bits appended to a character or block of characters to ensure that the information received is the same as the infromation that was sent.
Zeroization. Zeroization involves overwrting data to sanitize it. It is time-consuming and not foolproof. The potential of restoration of data does exist with this method. Buffer overflow. This is a detractor. Although many Operating Systems use a disk buffer to temporarily hold data read from disk, its primary purpose has no connection to data removal. An overflow goes outside the constraints defined for the buffer and is a method used by an attacker to attempt access to a system.
The following reference(s) were/was used to create this question:
Shon Harris AIO v3. pg 908 Reference: What is degaussing.