312-49 · Question #456
Your company's network just finished going through a SAS 70 audit. This audit reported that overall, your network is secure, but there are some areas that needs improvement. The major area was SNMP…
The correct answer is B. Change the default community string names. SNMP uses 'community strings' as a rudimentary authentication mechanism. The default strings - 'public' (read-only) and 'private' (read-write) - are universally known and are the first thing attackers try. Changing them to non-default values is the most impactful quick-win for…
Question
Your company's network just finished going through a SAS 70 audit. This audit reported that overall, your network is secure, but there are some areas that needs improvement. The major area was SNMP security. The audit company recommended turning off SNMP, but that is not an option since you have so many remote nodes to keep track of. What step could you take to help secure SNMP on your network?
Options
- ABlock access to TCP port 171
- BChange the default community string names
- CBlock all internal MAC address from using SNMP
- DBlock access to UDP port 171
How the community answered
(25 responses)- A8% (2)
- B88% (22)
- D4% (1)
Explanation
SNMP uses 'community strings' as a rudimentary authentication mechanism. The default strings - 'public' (read-only) and 'private' (read-write) - are universally known and are the first thing attackers try. Changing them to non-default values is the most impactful quick-win for SNMP security. The other options are incorrect: SNMP operates on UDP port 161/162, not port 171 (port 171 is XNS Courier). Blocking by internal MAC address is not a standard or reliable SNMP access control mechanism.
Topics
Community Discussion
No community discussion yet for this question.