An attacker needs to perform reconnaissance on a target system to help gain access to it. The system has weak passwords, no encryption on the VPN links, and software bugs on the system's applications.

Question

Options

• Aweak passwords for authentication
• Bimproper file security
• Csoftware bugs on applications
• Dunencrypted links for traffic

• A
  4% (2)
• B
  2% (1)
• C
  2% (1)
• D
  92% (49)

Explanation

Unencrypted VPN links (D) allow an attacker to intercept network traffic and read credentials in plaintext - this is a classic passive eavesdropping/sniffing attack. If the VPN link carries no encryption, any data traversing it, including passwords, is visible to anyone on the network path.

• A (weak passwords) is a vulnerability, but weak passwords are still transmitted as credentials - the weakness is in guessing or brute-forcing them, not in reading them in transit.
• B (improper file security) relates to access controls on stored files, not to data moving across a network.
• C (software bugs) could enable exploits like buffer overflows or injection attacks, but bugs alone don't cause plaintext credential exposure over a network link.

Memory tip: Think "clear text = clear wire" - if the link (wire/VPN) has no encryption, everything on it is readable. Unencrypted links are the transmission problem; weak passwords are the credential strength problem. The question asks specifically about seeing passwords being transmitted, which points directly to the transport layer.

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