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Difficulty: EasyThreat Actors, Attributes, and Attack Vectors

A university research laboratory discovers that confidential quantum computing project files were accessed by an unauthorized external party. The investigation reveals that a lead researcher had set up an unapproved personal cloud storage folder to easily share files with external colleagues, bypassing university security controls. The external party accessed the folder by running automated public scripts that guessed default administrative credentials on the storage service. Which of the following threat actor attributes and attack vectors are demonstrated in this scenario? (Select TWO.)

  1. Shadow IT deployment serving as an attack vectorAnswer
  2. Low sophistication level of the external threat actorAnswer
  3. C
    Advanced persistent threat (APT) capabilities funded by a nation-state
  4. D
    Direct physical access attack vector against on-premises infrastructure

Answer

Shadow IT deployment serving as an attack vector AND Low sophistication level of the external threat actor.
The scenario highlights two distinct elements: an internal employee deploying unapproved personal cloud services (Shadow IT serving as an attack vector) and an external attacker utilizing simple automated default credential guessing (demonstrating low technical sophistication).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze how initial unauthorized access was facilitated to determine the attack vector.
The file exposure stemmed from an unapproved personal cloud storage folder configured by internal staff.
Shadow IT occurs when personnel deploy technology solutions without organizational IT authorization, introducing unaccounted attack vectors.
2
Evaluate the threat actor's attributes based on their demonstrated techniques and tools.
The attacker used public automated scripts to guess default admin credentials.
Using publicly available basic tools against default settings demonstrates low technical sophistication rather than custom zero-day exploits or advanced TTPs.

Key Concept

Threat Actor Attributes and Attack Vectors
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Topics

Threat Actors, Attributes, and Attack Vectors

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