Your company has just hired a contractor to attempt to ident

Your company has just hired a contractor to attempt to ident - CompTIA-N10-009

Question

Your company has just hired a contractor to attempt to identify and exploit any network vulnerabilities they could find. This person has been permitted to perform these actions and only conduct their actions within the contract’s scope of work.

Which of the following will be conducted by the contractor?

Answers

correct

Penetration testing
Hacktivism
Social engineering
Vulnerability scanning

Explanation

Correct Answer: A. Penetration testing

Penetration Testing:
Penetration testing (or "pentesting") is a security assessment where an authorized individual or team attempts to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in a system, network, or application. It simulates real-world attacks to evaluate the security posture of the organization. In this scenario, the contractor has been hired with permission to test the network for vulnerabilities, which aligns directly with penetration testing.

Why the other options are incorrect:

Hacktivism:
- Hacktivism involves unauthorized hacking with a political or social agenda. It is illegal and does not align with the scenario where the contractor is authorized to perform actions within a defined scope.
Social Engineering:
- Social engineering involves manipulating individuals into revealing sensitive information or performing actions that compromise security. While it could be a technique used during a penetration test, it is not the correct answer here since the question refers to identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities broadly.
Vulnerability Scanning:
- Vulnerability scanning is the automated process of identifying potential vulnerabilities in a system without actively exploiting them. It is a part of penetration testing but does not involve actively attempting to exploit vulnerabilities, as described in the scenario.