D-SF-A-24 Dell Security Foundations Achievement Questions and Answers

Multifactor Authentication (MFA) Definition:MFA requires users to provide multiple forms of identification before gaining access to a resource1.

Security Enhancement:MFA enhances security by combining something the user knows (like a password), something the user has (like a smartphone), and something the user is (like a fingerprint)1.

Protection Against Unauthorized Access:This method protects against unauthorized access by ensuring that even if one factor (like a password) is compromised, the attacker still needs the other factors to gain access1.

Compliance with Regulations:MFA helps organizations comply with various regulations and cloud security controls, which is essential forA .R.T.I.E.as they move to the public cloud1.

Dell’s Commitment to MFA:Dell’s own security guidelines emphasize the importance of MFA, reflecting their commitment to safeguarding data integrity and providing an additional layer of security during the sign-in process1.

MFA is particularly suitable forA .R.T.I.E.'s scenario because it provides robust security for accessing sensitive resources and data, which is crucial for external users who may not be within the secure internal network1.

People Risk Definition:People risk involves the potential for human error or intentional actions that can lead to security incidents1.

Phishing and Social Engineering:The scenario described is typical of phishing, where attackers use seemingly official communications to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information or accessing malicious links1.

Employee Actions:Clicking on the button could potentially lead to the employee inadvertently providing access to the company’s systems or revealing personal or company information1.

Dell’s Security Foundations Achievement:Dell’s Security Foundations Achievement emphasizes the importance of recognizing and minimizing phishing exploits as part of managing people risk21.

Mitigation Measures:Training employees to recognize and respond appropriately to phishing attempts is a key strategy in mitigating people risk1.

In this context, the risk is categorized as ‘people’ because it directly involves the potential actions of an individual employee that could compromise security1.

The main challenge that Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) addresses is the access to the corporate network for third-party vendors.ZTA is a security model that assumes no implicit trust is granted to assets or user accounts based solely on their physical or network location (i.e., local area networks versus the internet) or based on asset ownership (enterprise or personallyowned)12. It mandates that any attempt to access resources be authenticated and authorized within a dynamic policy context.

A .R.T.I.E.'s business model involves contracting with third-party vendors to continue seamless operations, which presents a security challenge.The traditional VPN-based approach to network security is not sufficient for this scenario because it does not provide granular control over user access and does not verify the trustworthiness of devices and users continuously2.

Implementing ZTA would address this challenge by:

Ensuring that all users, even those within the network perimeter, must be authenticated and authorized to access any corporate resources.

Providing continuous validation of the security posture of both the user and the device before granting access to resources.

Enabling the organization to apply more granular security controls, which is particularly important when dealing with third-party vendors who require access to certain parts of the network31.

This approach aligns with the case study’s emphasis on securing the attack surface while supporting vendor access, as it allowsA .R.T.I.E.to grant access based on the principle of least privilege, reducing the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive data and systems4.