312-38 ECCouncil Certified Network Defender (CND) Free Practice Exam Questions (2025 Updated)

 The Encrypting File System (EFS) is a feature of the NTFS file system that provides encryption at the file system level. It is designed to work specifically with NTFS and does not support the FAT file system. When files encrypted with EFS are copied or backed up to a volume that uses the FAT file system, the encryption is lost because FAT does not support EFS encryption. This is why David found that the backup files were not encrypted after transferring them to a system that supports the FAT file system.

References: The explanation is based on the operational characteristics of EFS and its compatibility with different file systems as described in the Certified Network Defender (CND) course materials and further supported by information from reliable sources on EFS and file system encryption1234.

The benefits of using IoT devices in IoT-enabled environments encompass the ability to connect devices anytime, anywhere, and to anything. This means that IoT devices can be connected and communicate with each other and the internet 24/7 (I), from any location (II), and can be integrated with various systems and applications (III). These capabilities enable a wide range of functionalities, such as remote monitoring, data collection, and control of devices across different environments, leading to improved efficiency, convenience, and decision-making.

References: The benefits mentioned are consistent with the advancements and applications of IoT as outlined in various sources, including environmental monitoring, predictive maintenance, and smart environment systems123456.

 Placing the web server in a separate Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) behind the firewall is a security best practice that allows an organization to isolate its public-facing services from the internal network. This setup ensures that if the web server is compromised, the attacker would not have direct access to the internal network resources. Additionally, the DMZ provides a controlled environment where network traffic to and from the web server can be monitored effectively, facilitating the detection of any future attacks. The firewall serves as a barrier, with specific rules that only allow necessary communication to and from the DMZ, thereby enhancing the overall security posture of the organization.

References: The best practice of using a DMZ is widely recognized in the field of network security and is supported by various security resources, including those provided by the EC-Council’s Certified Network Defender (CND) course and other industry-standard documentation on network security and architecture123.

SYN flood attempts are a type of Denial of Service (DoS) attack. They are designed to exploit the TCP handshake process by sending a large number of SYN packets to a target server, which can overwhelm the server’s resources and prevent legitimate users from establishing a connection. The goal of a SYN flood is not to gain unauthorized access or gather information, but rather to disrupt the normal operation of a service, making it a Denial of Service attack.

References: The categorization of SYN flood attempts as a Denial of Service attack is consistent with the information provided in various cybersecurity resources, including those related to the Certified Network Defender (CND) course, which outlines the different types of network attacks and their characteristics123.

 In the context of Software-Defined Networking (SDN), the Northbound API is the interface that connects the SDN application layer to the SDN controller. It facilitates communication between the network services and business applications. The Northbound API allows applications to communicate their network requirements to the controller, which then translates these requirements into the network configurations necessary to provide the requested services.

References: This information is consistent with the SDN architecture overview provided by the Open Networking Foundation1 and further explained in resources like GeeksforGeeks2 and SDxCentral3, which describe the role of Northbound APIs in SDN environments. These APIs are crucial for enabling the application layer to interact with the control layer, allowing for a dynamic, programmable networking infrastructure.

 In the context of VPNs, when both the header and payload of traffic are encapsulated, it indicates the use of Tunnel Mode. This mode is typically employed in site-to-site VPNs where the entire IP packet is wrapped with a new IP header. Tunnel Mode is designed to secure traffic between different networks over the internet, making it suitable for connecting multiple sites of an organization. Unlike Transport Mode, which only encrypts the payload and leaves the original IP header intact, Tunnel Mode encrypts the entire IP packet and adds a new header, which allows for the secure passage of the traffic through untrusted networks.

References: The explanation provided aligns with standard VPN implementations and the principles outlined in network security documents and study guides related to Certified Network Defender (CND) objectives.

The Encrypting File System (EFS) is a Windows built-in feature that provides filesystem-level encryption, introduced in version 3.0 of NTFS. It enables files to be transparently encrypted to protect confidential data from attackers with physical access to the computer. EFS is available in all versions of Windows from Windows 2000 onwards, except the Home versions. This feature allows users to encrypt files on a per-file, per-directory, or per-drive basis, and some EFS settings can be mandated via Group Policy in Windows domain environments.

References: The explanation is based on the features and capabilities of EFS as described in the official documentation and resources related to the Windows operating system1.

 The network topology where each computer acts as a repeater and data passes from one computer to the other in a single direction until it reaches its destination is known as a ring topology. In a ring topology, each computer is connected to two other computers in the network, forming a circular data path. The data travels in one direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) and is passed along the ring until it reaches its intended recipient. If a device does not need the data, it simply passes it along to the next device in the ring1.

References: This explanation is based on standard networking principles regarding network topologies, specifically ring topology, as outlined in resources like Comparitech’s guide on network topologies1. It is consistent with the objectives and documents of the EC-Council’s Certified Network Defender (CND) program.

 A TCP null scan attempt is a technique used in network scanning where the TCP packet sent has no flags set. This type of scan can sometimes penetrate through routers and firewalls that filter incoming packets based on certain flags because the absence of flags can prevent the packet from being filtered out. The TCP null scan is particularly useful for identifying open ports on a target system. If a port is open, the target system will not respond to the null scan, but if the port is closed, the system will send a TCP RST packet in response. This scanning method is not supported by Windows because Windows systems typically respond with a RST packet regardless of whether the port is open or closed, making it ineffective for distinguishing between the two states on those systems.

References: The TCP null scan’s ability to bypass certain types of filters and its behavior in response to open and closed ports are documented in various network security resources, including the Nmap documentation and other network security analysis articles12. These sources confirm the effectiveness of TCP null scans in penetrating through filters set up by routers and firewalls and their unsupported status on Windows systems.

The Registration Authority (RA) acts as the verifier for the Certificate Authority (CA). The RA is responsible for accepting requests for digital certificates and authenticating the entity making the request before passing the request to the CA for issuance. In essence, the RA serves as a trusted intermediary between the user and the CA, ensuring that the CA can rely on the information provided by the RA when issuing a certificate.

References: The role of the RA in the certificate issuance process is a fundamental concept in network security and is covered in the Certified Network Defender (CND) curriculum. For more detailed information, you can refer to the official EC-Council CND study guides and documents.

A hot backup, also known as an online backup or dynamic backup, is the process of backing up data while the system continues to be in operation. This means that there is no need for system downtime or interruption in services while the backup is taking place. It is mostly used in systems where operations are critical and cannot afford any downtime, such as databases and servers that must be available 24/7. The hot backup method allows for data to be backed up at regular intervals with minimal impact on the system’s performance, ensuring that the organization can maintain continuous service levels.

References: The concept of hot backup is aligned with the ECCouncil’s Network Defender (CND) objectives and is supported by industry best practices as detailed in sources like MiniTool1 and NinjaOne2, which discuss the advantages of hot backups in maintaining uninterrupted service and business continuity.

In Wireshark, a TCP Null Scan can be detected by setting a filter to show packets where no TCP flags are set. This is because a TCP Null Scan is characterized by sending TCP packets with no flags set in an attempt to identify open ports on the target system. The correct filter to use in Wireshark to detect such packets is TCP.flags==0x000, which will display only those packets where all flags are unset.

References: The information provided here is consistent with standard network security practices for detecting TCP Null Scans using Wireshark, as described in various educational resources on network security and penetration testing1.

A True Online UPS is designed to provide continuous, uninterrupted power supply to equipment. It has a pair of inverters and converters that work together to continuously charge the battery and convert the battery’s DC power back to AC power for the equipment. This ensures that there is zero transfer time to the battery when power is lost, providing the most reliable power for sensitive equipment and critical applications that cannot tolerate any interruption in power. Kyle’s choice of a True Online UPS is appropriate for ensuring that the servers, which store confidential data and run applications, are not affected by unreliable power sources.

References: The Certified Network Defender (CND) program by EC-Council includes the study of various types of UPS systems as part of its module on Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery. The program outlines the importance of maintaining power to critical systems and the role of a True Online UPS in providing the highest level of protection against power inconsistencies12.

COBIT (Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies) is a framework designed to help organizations develop, implement, monitor, and improve IT governance and management practices. It is recognized for its comprehensive approach to aligning IT goals with business objectives, ensuring that IT investments support the overall strategic direction of the company. COBIT provides a set of controls over IT and consolidates them into a framework that helps organizations ensure that their IT infrastructure is secure, reliable, and efficient, while also being aligned with their business goals12.

References:

ISACA’s “Connecting Business and IT Goals Through COBIT 5” article provides insights into how COBIT 5 connects business goals with IT goals using non-technical, business language1.

The Interface Technical Training blog post on “Aligning IT goals using the COBIT5 Goals Cascade” explains the process of translating stakeholder needs into enterprise goals, IT-related goals, and enabler goals, which is key to supporting alignment between an enterprise’s needs and IT solutions and services2.

 The /etc/login.defs file in Linux systems contains the configuration for user login settings, which includes the default password policy settings. This file is used to control several aspects of user management, including password requirements such as password aging, password length, and password complexity. When the head of network defense, like Myron, wants to change these settings, he would access and modify the /etc/login.defs file to implement the new password policies across the company’s Linux systems.

References: The explanation is based on standard Linux system documentation and best practices for user password policy management. The Red Hat Enterprise Linux documentation provides detailed information on defining password policies, which is applicable to other Linux distributions as well1. Additionally, resources like OSTechNix’s guide on setting password policies in Linux corroborate the use of /etc/login.defs for this purpose2.

 RAID level 50, also known as RAID 5+0, combines the features of RAID 5 and RAID 0. It requires a minimum of six drives and offers high fault tolerance and high speed for data read and write operations. RAID 50 arrays are created by striping data across RAID 5 arrays, which are themselves striped sets with distributed parity. This configuration provides both the speed of RAID 0 and the redundancy of RAID 51.

References:

The TechTarget article on “RAID 50: How to select the right RAID level” explains that RAID 50 is suitable for applications that require high reliability and can handle high request rates and high data transfer, with a lower cost of disks than RAID 101.

The DNSChecker RAID Calculator mentions that RAID 50 requires a minimum of six disks2.

 Stateful multilayer inspection (SMLI) firewalls provide a robust security mechanism that combines the features of both packet filtering and application-based filtering. They are capable of inspecting the state of active connections and make decisions based on the context of the traffic. Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances (ASA) utilize this technology to offer an integrated approach to network security, which includes application-aware firewall capabilities, intrusion prevention, and content security services. This technology is particularly effective as it not only looks at the state and attributes of the packets but also examines the data within the packet, enabling it to provide more comprehensive protection against various types of network threats.

References: The information about the use of stateful multilayer inspection in Cisco ASA is supported by Cisco’s official documentation, which outlines the capabilities of the ASA series and its use of SMLI to deliver a powerful multifunction network security appliance family that provides security breadth, precision, and depth for protecting business networks of all sizes123.

The correct commands to update the respective Linux distributions are as follows:

Red Hat: Uses the yum command or the newer dnf command for package management and updates.

Fedora: Originally used yum but now has transitioned to dnf as the default package manager.

Debian: Utilizes the apt-get command for package management tasks, including updates.

The matching from the options provided would be:

1-v: Slackware based systems use Autoupdate.

2-iii: RPM-based systems, which include Fedora, use Swaret.

3-i: Debian based systems use apt-get.

4-iv: Red Hat based systems use up2date.

References: This information is based on general knowledge of Linux distribution package managers and their respective update commands. For the most accurate and detailed information, please refer to the official documentation of each Linux distribution and the Certified Network Defender (CND) study materials provided by the EC-Council1.

In an infrastructure network topology, all wireless devices communicate through an access point/base station. The access point serves as the central transmitter and receiver of wireless radio signals. Mainstream wireless APs support the configuration of the same channel name (frequency) and SSID (Service Set Identifier) to facilitate seamless communication between devices. This setup is essential for devices to identify and connect to the correct network, especially in environments where multiple networks may overlap.

References: The information aligns with standard networking practices and the objectives of the EC-Council’s Certified Network Defender (CND) program, which emphasizes understanding and implementing network security controls and protocols.