CompTIA Updated CAS-005 Exam Questions and Answers by sulaiman

Homomorphic encryption allows computations to be performed on encrypted data without decrypting it, providing strong privacy guarantees. However, the adoption of homomorphic encryption is challenging due to several factors:

A. Incomplete mathematical primitives: This is not the primary barrier as the theoretical foundations of homomorphic encryption are well-developed.

B. No use cases to drive adoption: There are several compelling use cases for homomorphic encryption, especially in privacy-sensitive fields like healthcare and finance.

C. Quantum computers not yet capable: Quantum computing is not directly related to the challenges of adopting homomorphic encryption.

D. Insufficient coprocessor support: The computational overhead of homomorphic encryption is significant, requiring substantial processing power. Current general-purpose processors are not optimized for the intensive computations required by homomorphic encryption, limiting its practical deployment. Specialized hardware or coprocessors designed to handle these computations more efficiently are not yet widely available.

References:

CompTIA Security+ Study Guide

"Homomorphic Encryption: Applications and Challenges" by Rivest et al.

NIST, "Report on Post-Quantum Cryptography"

To improve the quality of code scanning results and reduce false positives, the best solution is to limit the tool to a specific coding language and fine-tune the rule set. By configuring the code scanning tool to focus on the specific language used in the application, the tool can more accurately identify relevant issues and reduce the number of false positives. Additionally, tuning the rule set ensures that the tool's checks are appropriate for the application's context, further improving the accuracy of the scan results.

References:

CompTIA SecurityX Study Guide: Discusses best practices for configuring code scanning tools, including language-specific tuning and rule set adjustments.

"Secure Coding: Principles and Practices" by Mark G. Graff and Kenneth R. van Wyk: Highlights the importance of customizing code analysis tools to reduce false positives.

OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project): Provides guidelines for configuring and tuning code scanning tools to improve accuracy.

The best solution to address reported vulnerabilities in third-party libraries is integrating a Static Application Security Testing (SAST) tool as part of the development pipeline. Here’s why:

Early Detection: SAST tools analyze source code for vulnerabilities before the code is compiled. This allows developers to identify and fix security issues early in the development process.

Continuous Security: By integrating SAST tools into the CI/CD pipeline, the organization ensures continuous security assessment of the codebase, including third-party libraries, with each code commit and build.

Comprehensive Analysis: SAST tools provide a detailed analysis of the code, identifying potential vulnerabilities in both proprietary code and third-party dependencies, ensuring that known issues in libraries are addressed promptly.

References:

CompTIA Security+ SY0-601 Study Guide by Mike Chapple and David Seidl

OWASP Static Analysis Security Testing (SAST) Cheat Sheet

NIST Special Publication 800-53: Security and Privacy Controls for Information Systems and Organizations

The most secure way to prevent inadvertent data disclosure when encrypted SSDs are reused is to securely delete the encryption keys used by the SSD. Without the encryption keys, the data on the SSD remains encrypted and is effectively unreadable, rendering any residual data useless. This method is more reliable and efficient than overwriting data multiple times or using other physical destruction methods.

References:

CompTIA SecurityX Study Guide: Highlights the importance of managing encryption keys and securely deleting them to protect data.

NIST Special Publication 800-88, "Guidelines for Media Sanitization": Recommends cryptographic erasure as a secure method for sanitizing encrypted storage devices.