CAS-001 · Question #405
A security engineer at a bank has detected a Zeus variant, which relies on covert communication channels to receive new instructions and updates from the malware developers. As a result, NIPS and AV…
The correct answer is B. Stenography. Steganography (B, listed as 'Stenography' in the choices-a common exam typo) is the practice of concealing data within an ordinary, non-secret carrier file such as an image, audio file, or document. The Zeus variant embedded its malicious command-and-control configuration data…
Question
A security engineer at a bank has detected a Zeus variant, which relies on covert communication channels to receive new instructions and updates from the malware developers. As a result, NIPS and AV systems did not detect the configuration files received by staff in emails that appeared as normal files. Which of the following BEST describes the technique used by the malware developers?
Options
- APerfect forward secrecy
- BStenography
- CDiffusion
- DConfusion
- ETransport encryption
How the community answered
(29 responses)- B83% (24)
- C3% (1)
- D3% (1)
- E10% (3)
Explanation
Steganography (B, listed as 'Stenography' in the choices-a common exam typo) is the practice of concealing data within an ordinary, non-secret carrier file such as an image, audio file, or document. The Zeus variant embedded its malicious command-and-control configuration data inside files that appeared completely normal to both users and security tools. Because the carrier files were legitimate-looking, NIPS signatures and AV heuristics did not flag them. Perfect forward secrecy (A) is a TLS key-exchange property. Diffusion (C) and Confusion (D) are properties of symmetric ciphers describing how ciphertext relates to plaintext/key. Transport encryption (E) would protect data in transit but would be visible to network inspection tools. None of A, C, D, or E explains how malicious data can hide inside files that appear normal.
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