CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Exam

CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Exam: Exam Objectives Version 5.0
Copyright © 2023 CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved.
CompTIA Security+
Certification Exam
Objectives
EXAM NUMBER: SY0-701
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Exam: Exam Objectives Version 5.0
Copyright © 2023 CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved.
About the Exam
The CompTIA Security+ certification exam will certify the successful candidate has the
knowledge and skills required to:
• Assess the security posture of an enterprise environment and recommend and implement
appropriate security solutions.
• Monitor and secure hybrid environments, including cloud, mobile, and Internet of Things (IoT).
• Operate with an awareness of applicable regulations and policies, including principles of
governance, risk, and compliance.
• Identify, analyze, and respond to security events and incidents.
EXAM DEVELOPMENT
CompTIA exams result from subject matter expert workshops and industry-wide survey results
regarding the skills and knowledge required of an IT professional.
CompTIA AUTHORIZED MATERIALS USE POLICY
CompTIA Certifications, LLC is not affiliated with and does not authorize, endorse, or condone utilizing
any content provided by unauthorized third-party training sites (aka “brain dumps”). Individuals who
utilize such materials in preparation for any CompTIA examination will have their certifications revoked
and be suspended from future testing in accordance with the CompTIA Candidate Agreement. In an
effort to more clearly communicate CompTIA’s exam policies on use of unauthorized study materials,
CompTIA directs all certification candidates to the CompTIA Certification Exam Policies. Please review
all CompTIA policies before beginning the study process for any CompTIA exam. Candidates will be
required to abide by the CompTIA Candidate Agreement. If a candidate has a question as to whether
study materials are considered unauthorized (aka “brain dumps”), he/she should contact CompTIA at
examsecurity@comptia.org to confirm.
PLEASE NOTE
The lists of examples provided in bulleted format are not exhaustive lists. Other examples of
technologies, processes, or tasks pertaining to each objective may also be included on the exam,
although not listed or covered in this objectives document. CompTIA is constantly reviewing the
content of our exams and updating test questions to be sure our exams are current, and the security
of the questions is protected. When necessary, we will publish updated exams based on existing
exam objectives. Please know that all related exam preparation materials will still be valid.
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Exam: Exam Objectives Version 5.0
Copyright © 2023 CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved.
TEST DETAILS
Required exam SY0-701
Number of questions Maximum of 90
Types of questions Multiple-choice and performance-based
Length of test 90 minutes
Recommended experience A minimum of 2 years of experience in IT
administration with a focus on security, hands-on
experience with technical information security,
and broad knowledge of security concepts
EXAM OBJECTIVES (DOMAINS)
The table below lists the domains measured by this examination
and the extent to which they are represented.
DOMAIN PERCENTAGE OF EXAMINATION
1.0 General Security Concepts 12%
2.0 Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations 22%
3.0 Security Architecture 18%
4.0 Security Operations 28%
5.0 Security Program Management and Oversight 20%
Total 100%
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Exam: Exam Objectives Version 5.0
Copyright © 2023 CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved.
1.0 General Security Concepts
1.1
1.2
Compare and contrast various types of security controls.
• Categories
– Technical
– Managerial
– Operational
– Physical
• Control types
– Preventive
– Deterrent
– Detective
– Corrective
– Compensating
– Directive
Summarize fundamental security concepts.
• Confidentiality, Integrity, and
Availability (CIA)
• Non-repudiation
• Authentication, Authorization, and
Accounting (AAA)
– Authenticating people
– Authenticating systems
– Authorization models
• Gap analysis
• Zero Trust
– Control Plane
o Adaptive identity
o Threat scope reduction
o Policy-driven access control
o Policy Administrator
o Policy Engine
– Data Plane
o Implicit trust zones
o Subject/System
o Policy Enforcement Point
• Physical security
– Bollards
– Access control vestibule
– Fencing
– Video surveillance
– Security guard
– Access badge
– Lighting
– Sensors
o Infrared
o Pressure
o Microwave
o Ultrasonic
• Deception and disruption
technology
– Honeypot
– Honeynet
– Honeyfile
– Honeytoken
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Exam: Exam Objectives Version 5.0
Copyright © 2023 CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved.
1.4 Explain the importance of using appropriate cryptographic
solutions.
• Public key infrastructure (PKI)
– Public key
– Private key
– Key escrow
• Encryption
– Level
o Full-disk
o Partition
o File
o Volume
o Database
o Record
– Transport/communication
– Asymmetric
– Symmetric
– Key exchange
– Algorithms
– Key length
• Tools
– Trusted Platform Module (TPM)
– Hardware security module
(HSM)
– Key management system
– Secure enclave
• Obfuscation
o Steganography
o Tokenization
o Data masking
• Hashing
• Salting
• Digital signatures
• Key stretching
• Blockchain
• Open public ledger
• Certificates
– Certificate authorities
– Certificate revocation lists
(CRLs)
– Online Certificate Status
Protocol (OCSP)
– Self-signed
– Third-party
– Root of trust
– Certificate signing request (CSR)
generation
– Wildcard
1.0 | General Security Concepts
1.3 Explain the importance of change management processes
and the impact to security.
• Business processes impacting
security operation
– Approval process
– Ownership
– Stakeholders
– Impact analysis
– Test results
– Backout plan
– Maintenance window
– Standard operating procedure
• Technical implications
– Allow lists/deny lists
– Restricted activities
– Downtime
– Service restart
– Application restart
– Legacy applications
– Dependencies
• Documentation
– Updating diagrams
– Updating policies/procedures
• Version control
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Exam: Exam Objectives Version 5.0
Copyright © 2023 CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved.
2.0 Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations
2.1
2.2
Compare and contrast common threat actors and motivations.
• Threat actors
– Nation-state
– Unskilled attacker
– Hacktivist
– Insider threat
– Organized crime
– Shadow IT
• Attributes of actors
– Internal/external
– Resources/funding
– Level of sophistication/capability
• Motivations
– Data exfiltration
– Espionage
– Service disruption
– Blackmail
– Financial gain
– Philosophical/political beliefs
– Ethical
– Revenge
– Disruption/chaos
– War
Explain common threat vectors and attack surfaces.
• Message-based
o Email
o Short Message Service (SMS)
o Instant messaging (IM)
• Image-based
• File-based
• Voice call
• Removable device
• Vulnerable software
o Client-based vs. agentless
• Unsupported systems and
applications
• Unsecure networks
– Wireless
– Wired
– Bluetooth
• Open service ports
• Default credentials
• Supply chain
– Managed service providers
(MSPs)
– Vendors
– Suppliers
• Human vectors/social engineering
– Phishing
– Vishing
– Smishing
– Misinformation/disinformation
– Impersonation
– Business email compromise
– Pretexting
– Watering hole
– Brand impersonation
– Typosquatting
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Exam: Exam Objectives Version 5.0
Copyright © 2023 CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved.
2.3
2.4
2.5
Explain various types of vulnerabilities.
• Application
– Memory injection
– Buffer overflow
– Race conditions
o Time-of-check (TOC)
o Time-of-use (TOU)
– Malicious update
• Operating system (OS)-based
• Web-based
– Structured Query Language
injection (SQLi)
– Cross-site scripting (XSS)
• Hardware
– Firmware
– End-of-life
– Legacy
• Virtualization
– Virtual machine (VM) escape
– Resource reuse
• Cloud-specific
• Supply chain
– Service provider
– Hardware provider
– Software provider
• Cryptographic
• Misconfiguration
• Mobile device
– Side loading
– Jailbreaking
• Zero-day
Given a scenario, analyze indicators of malicious activity.
Explain the purpose of mitigation techniques used to secure the
enterprise.
• Malware attacks
– Ransomware
– Trojan
– Worm
– Spyware
– Bloatware
– Virus
– Keylogger
– Logic bomb
– Rootkit
• Physical attacks
– Brute force
– Radio frequency identification
(RFID) cloning
– Environmental
• Network attacks
– Distributed denial-of-service
(DDoS)
o Amplified
o Reflected
– Domain Name System (DNS)
attacks
– Wireless
– On-path
– Credential replay
– Malicious code
• Application attacks
– Injection
– Buffer overflow
– Replay
– Privilege escalation
– Forgery
– Directory traversal
• Cryptographic attacks
– Downgrade
– Collision
– Birthday
• Password attacks
– Spraying
– Brute force
• Indicators
– Account lockout
– Concurrent session usage
– Blocked content
– Impossible travel
– Resource consumption
– Resource inaccessibility
– Out-of-cycle logging
– Published/documented
– Missing logs
• Segmentation
• Access control
– Access control list (ACL)
– Permissions
• Application allow list
• Isolation
• Patching
• Encryption
• Monitoring
• Least privilege
• Configuration enforcement
• Decommissioning
• Hardening techniques
– Encryption
– Installation of endpoint
protection
– Host-based firewall
– Host-based intrusion prevention
system (HIPS)
– Disabling ports/protocols
– Default password changes
– Removal of unnecessary
software
2.0 | Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Exam: Exam Objectives Version 5.0
Copyright © 2023 CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved.
3.0 Security Architecture
3.1
3.2
Compare and contrast security implications of different
architecture models.
• Architecture and infrastructure
concepts
– Cloud
o Responsibility matrix
o Hybrid considerations
o Third-party vendors
– Infrastructure as code (IaC)
– Serverless
– Microservices
– Network infrastructure
o Physical isolation
° Air-gapped
o Logical segmentation
o Software-defined
networking (SDN)
– On-premises
– Centralized vs. decentralized
– Containerization
– Virtualization
– IoT
– Industrial control systems (ICS)/
supervisory control and data
acquisition (SCADA)
– Real-time operating system
(RTOS)
– Embedded systems
– High availability
• Considerations
– Availability
– Resilience
– Cost
– Responsiveness
– Scalability
– Ease of deployment
– Risk transference
– Ease of recovery
– Patch availability
– Inability to patch
– Power
– Compute
Given a scenario, apply security principles to secure enterprise
infrastructure.
• Infrastructure considerations
– Device placement
– Security zones
– Attack surface
– Connectivity
– Failure modes
o Fail-open
o Fail-closed
– Device attribute
o Active vs. passive
o Inline vs. tap/monitor
– Network appliances
o Jump server
o Proxy server
o Intrusion prevention system
(IPS)/intrusion detection system
(IDS)
o Load balancer
o Sensors
– Port security
o 802.1X
o Extensible Authentication
Protocol (EAP)
– Firewall types
o Web application firewall
(WAF)
o Unified threat management
(UTM)
o Next-generation firewall
(NGFW)
o Layer 4/Layer 7
• Secure communication/access
– Virtual private network (VPN)
– Remote access
– Tunneling
o Transport Layer Security (TLS)
o Internet protocol security
(IPSec)
– Software-defined wide area
network (SD-WAN)
– Secure access service edge
(SASE)
• Selection of effective controls
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Exam: Exam Objectives Version 5.0
Copyright © 2023 CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved.
3.3
3.4
Compare and contrast concepts and strategies to protect data.
Explain the importance of resilience and recovery in security
architecture.
• Data types
– Regulated
– Trade secret
– Intellectual property
– Legal information
– Financial information
– Human- and non-humanreadable
• Data classifications
– Sensitive
– Confidential
– Public
– Restricted
– Private
– Critical
• General data considerations
– Data states
o Data at rest
o Data in transit
o Data in use
– Data sovereignty
– Geolocation
• Methods to secure data
– Geographic restrictions
– Encryption
– Hashing
– Masking
– Tokenization
– Obfuscation
– Segmentation
– Permission restrictions
• High availability
– Load balancing vs. clustering
• Site considerations
– Hot
– Cold
– Warm
– Geographic dispersion
• Platform diversity
• Multi-cloud systems
• Continuity of operations
• Capacity planning
– People
– Technology
– Infrastructure
• Testing
– Tabletop exercises
– Fail over
– Simulation
– Parallel processing
• Backups
– Onsite/offsite
– Frequency
– Encryption
– Snapshots
– Recovery
– Replication
– Journaling
• Power
– Generators
– Uninterruptible power supply
(UPS)
3.0 | Security Architecture
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Exam: Exam Objectives Version 5.0
Copyright © 2023 CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved.
4.0 Security Operations
4.1
4.2
Given a scenario, apply common security techniques to
computing resources.
• Secure baselines
– Establish
– Deploy
– Maintain
• Hardening targets
– Mobile devices
– Workstations
– Switches
– Routers
– Cloud infrastructure
– Servers
– ICS/SCADA
– Embedded systems
– RTOS
– IoT devices
• Wireless devices
– Installation considerations
o Site surveys
o Heat maps
• Mobile solutions
– Mobile device management
(MDM)
– Deployment models
o Bring your own device (BYOD)
o Corporate-owned, personally
enabled (COPE)
o Choose your own device
(CYOD)
– Connection methods
o Cellular
o Wi-Fi
o Bluetooth
• Wireless security settings
– Wi-Fi Protected Access 3
(WPA3)
– AAA/Remote Authentication
Dial-In User Service (RADIUS)
– Cryptographic protocols
– Authentication protocols
• Application security
– Input validation
– Secure cookies
– Static code analysis
– Code signing
• Sandboxing
• Monitoring
Explain the security implications of proper hardware, software,
and data asset management.
• Acquisition/procurement process
• Assignment/accounting
– Ownership
– Classification
• Monitoring/asset tracking
– Inventory
– Enumeration
• Disposal/decommissioning
– Sanitization
– Destruction
– Certification
– Data retention
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Exam: Exam Objectives Version 5.0
Copyright © 2023 CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved.
4.4 Explain security alerting and monitoring concepts and tools.
• Monitoring computing resources
– Systems
– Applications
– Infrastructure
• Activities
– Log aggregation
– Alerting
– Scanning
– Reporting
– Archiving
– Alert response and remediation/
validation
o Quarantine
o Alert tuning
• Tools
– Security Content Automation
Protocol (SCAP)
– Benchmarks
– Agents/agentless
– Security information and event
management (SIEM)
– Antivirus
– Data loss prevention (DLP)
– Simple Network Management
Protocol (SNMP) traps
– NetFlow
– Vulnerability scanners
4.3 Explain various activities associated with vulnerability
management. • Identification methods
– Vulnerability scan
– Application security
o Static analysis
o Dynamic analysis
o Package monitoring
– Threat feed
o Open-source intelligence
(OSINT)
o Proprietary/third-party
o Information-sharing
organization
o Dark web
– Penetration testing
– Responsible disclosure program
o Bug bounty program
– System/process audit
• Analysis
– Confirmation
o False positive
o False negative
– Prioritize
– Common Vulnerability Scoring
System (CVSS)
– Common Vulnerability
Enumeration (CVE)
– Vulnerability classification
– Exposure factor
– Environmental variables
– Industry/organizational impact
– Risk tolerance
• Vulnerability response and
remediation
– Patching
– Insurance
– Segmentation
– Compensating controls
– Exceptions and exemptions
• Validation of remediation
– Rescanning
– Audit
– Verification
• Reporting
4.0 | Security Operations
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Exam: Exam Objectives Version 5.0
Copyright © 2023 CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved.
4.5
4.6 Given a scenario, implement and maintain identity and access
management.
• Firewall
– Rules
– Access lists
– Ports/protocols
– Screened subnets
• IDS/IPS
– Trends
– Signatures
• Web filter
– Agent-based
– Centralized proxy
– Universal Resource Locator
(URL) scanning
– Content categorization
– Block rules
– Reputation
• Operating system security
– Group Policy
– SELinux
• Implementation of secure
protocols
– Protocol selection
– Port selection
– Transport method
• DNS filtering
• Email security
– Domain-based Message
Authentication Reporting and
Conformance (DMARC)
– DomainKeys Identified Mail
(DKIM)
– Sender Policy Framework (SPF)
– Gateway
• File integrity monitoring
• DLP
• Network access control (NAC)
• Endpoint detection and response
(EDR)/extended detection and
response (XDR)
• User behavior analytics
• Provisioning/de-provisioning user
accounts
• Permission assignments and
implications
• Identity proofing
• Federation
• Single sign-on (SSO)
– Lightweight Directory Access
Protocol (LDAP)
– Open authorization (OAuth)
– Security Assertions Markup
Language (SAML)
• Interoperability
• Attestation
• Access controls
– Mandatory
– Discretionary
– Role-based
– Rule-based
– Attribute-based
– Time-of-day restrictions
– Least privilege
• Multifactor authentication
– Implementations
o Biometrics
o Hard/soft authentication
tokens
o Security keys
– Factors
o Something you know
o Something you have
o Something you are
o Somewhere you are
• Password concepts
– Password best practices
o Length
o Complexity
o Reuse
o Expiration
o Age
– Password managers
– Passwordless
• Privileged access management
tools
– Just-in-time permissions
– Password vaulting
– Ephemeral credentials
4.0 | Security Operations
Given a scenario, modify enterprise capabilities to enhance
security.
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Exam: Exam Objectives Version 5.0
Copyright © 2023 CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved.
4.7
4.8
4.9
Explain the importance of automation and orchestration related
to secure operations.
Explain appropriate incident response activities.
Given a scenario, use data sources to support an investigation.
• Use cases of automation and
scripting
– User provisioning
– Resource provisioning
– Guard rails
– Security groups
– Ticket creation
– Escalation
– Enabling/disabling services
and access
– Continuous integration and testing
– Integrations and Application
programming interfaces (APIs)
• Benefits
– Efficiency/time saving
– Enforcing baselines
– Standard infrastructure
configurations
– Scaling in a secure manner
– Employee retention
– Reaction time
– Workforce multiplier
• Other considerations
– Complexity
– Cost
– Single point of failure
– Technical debt
– Ongoing supportability
• Process
– Preparation
– Detection
– Analysis
– Containment
– Eradication
– Recovery
– Lessons learned
• Training
• Testing
– Tabletop exercise
– Simulation
• Root cause analysis
• Threat hunting
• Digital forensics
– Legal hold
– Chain of custody
– Acquisition
– Reporting
– Preservation
– E-discovery
• Log data
– Firewall logs
– Application logs
– Endpoint logs
– OS-specific security logs
– IPS/IDS logs
– Network logs
– Metadata
• Data sources
– Vulnerability scans
– Automated reports
– Dashboards
– Packet captures
4.0 | Security Operations
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Exam: Exam Objectives Version 5.0
Copyright © 2023 CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved.
5.0 Security Program Management
and Oversight
5.1
5.2
Summarize elements of effective security governance.
• Guidelines
• Policies
– Acceptable use policy (AUP)
– Information security policies
– Business continuity
– Disaster recovery
– Incident response
– Software development lifecycle
(SDLC)
– Change management
• Standards
– Password
– Access control
– Physical security
– Encryption
• Procedures
– Change management
– Onboarding/offboarding
– Playbooks
• External considerations
– Regulatory
– Legal
– Industry
– Local/regional
– National
– Global
• Monitoring and revision
• Types of governance structures
– Boards
– Committees
– Government entities
– Centralized/decentralized
• Roles and responsibilities for
systems and data
– Owners
– Controllers
– Processors
– Custodians/stewards
Explain elements of the risk management process.
• Risk identification
• Risk assessment
– Ad hoc
– Recurring
– One-time
– Continuous
• Risk analysis
– Qualitative
– Quantitative
– Single loss expectancy (SLE)
– Annualized loss expectancy
(ALE)
– Annualized rate of occurrence
(ARO)
– Probability
– Likelihood
– Exposure factor
– Impact
• Risk register
– Key risk indicators
– Risk owners
– Risk threshold
• Risk tolerance
• Risk appetite
– Expansionary
– Conservative
– Neutral
• Risk management strategies
– Transfer
– Accept
o Exemption
o Exception
– Avoid
– Mitigate
• Risk reporting
• Business impact analysis
– Recovery time objective (RTO)
– Recovery point objective (RPO)
– Mean time to repair (MTTR)
– Mean time between failures
(MTBF)
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Exam: Exam Objectives Version 5.0
Copyright © 2023 CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved.
5.3
5.4
5.5
Explain the processes associated with third-party risk assessment
and management.
Summarize elements of effective security compliance.
Explain types and purposes of audits and
assessments.
• Vendor assessment
– Penetration testing
– Right-to-audit clause
– Evidence of internal audits
– Independent assessments
– Supply chain analysis
• Vendor selection
– Due diligence
– Conflict of interest
• Agreement types
– Service-level agreement (SLA)
– Memorandum of agreement
(MOA)
– Memorandum of understanding
(MOU)
– Master service agreement (MSA)
– Work order (WO)/statement of
work (SOW)
– Non-disclosure agreement
(NDA)
– Business partners agreement
(BPA)
• Vendor monitoring
• Questionnaires
• Rules of engagement
• Compliance reporting
– Internal
– External
• Consequences of non-compliance
– Fines
– Sanctions
– Reputational damage
– Loss of license
– Contractual impacts
• Compliance monitoring
– Due diligence/care
– Attestation and
acknowledgement
– Internal and external
– Automation
• Privacy
– Legal implications
o Local/regional
o National
o Global
– Data subject
– Controller vs. processor
– Ownership
– Data inventory and retention
– Right to be forgotten
• Attestation
• Internal
– Compliance
– Audit committee
– Self-assessments
• External
– Regulatory
– Examinations
– Assessment
– Independent thirdparty audit
• Penetration testing
– Physical
– Offensive
– Defensive
– Integrated
– Known environment
– Partially known environment
– Unknown environment
– Reconnaissance
o Passive
o Active
5.0 | Security Program Management and Oversight
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Exam: Exam Objectives Version 5.0
Copyright © 2023 CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved.
5.6 Given a scenario, implement security awareness practices.
• Phishing
– Campaigns
– Recognizing a phishing attempt
– Responding to reported
suspicious messages
• Anomalous behavior recognition
– Risky
– Unexpected
– Unintentional
• User guidance and training
– Policy/handbooks
– Situational awareness
– Insider threat
– Password management
– Removable media and cables
– Social engineering
– Operational security
– Hybrid/remote work
environments
• Reporting and monitoring
– Initial
– Recurring
• Development
• Execution
5.0 | Security Program Management and Oversight
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Exam: Exam Objectives Version 5.0
Copyright © 2023 CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved.
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Acronym List
The following is a list of acronyms that appears on the CompTIA Security+
SY0-701 exam. Candidates are encouraged to review the complete
list and attain a working knowledge of all listed acronyms as part of a
comprehensive exam preparation program.
Acronym Spelled Out
AAA Authentication, Authorization, and
Accounting
ACL Access Control List
AES Advanced Encryption Standard
AES-256 Advanced Encryption Standards 256-bit
AH Authentication Header
AI Artificial Intelligence
AIS Automated Indicator Sharing
ALE Annualized Loss Expectancy
AP Access Point
API Application Programming Interface
APT Advanced Persistent Threat
ARO Annualized Rate of Occurrence
ARP Address Resolution Protocol
ASLR Address Space Layout Randomization
ATT&CK Adversarial Tactics, Techniques, and
Common Knowledge
AUP Acceptable Use Policy
AV Antivirus
BASH Bourne Again Shell
BCP Business Continuity Planning
BGP Border Gateway Protocol
BIA Business Impact Analysis
BIOS Basic Input/Output System
BPA Business Partners Agreement
BPDU Bridge Protocol Data Unit
BYOD Bring Your Own Device
CA Certificate Authority
CAPTCHA Completely Automated Public Turing Test to
Tell Computers and Humans Apart
CAR Corrective Action Report
CASB Cloud Access Security Broker
CBC Cipher Block Chaining
CCMP Counter Mode/CBC-MAC Protocol
CCTV Closed-circuit Television
CERT Computer Emergency Response Team
CFB Cipher Feedback
Acronym Spelled Out
CHAP Challenge Handshake Authentication
Protocol
CIA Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability
CIO Chief Information Officer
CIRT Computer Incident Response Team
CMS Content Management System
COOP Continuity of Operation Planning
COPE Corporate Owned, Personally Enabled
CP Contingency Planning
CRC Cyclical Redundancy Check
CRL Certificate Revocation List
CSO Chief Security Officer
CSP Cloud Service Provider
CSR Certificate Signing Request
CSRF Cross-site Request Forgery
CSU Channel Service Unit
CTM Counter Mode
CTO Chief Technology Officer
CVE Common Vulnerability Enumeration
CVSS Common Vulnerability Scoring System
CYOD Choose Your Own Device
DAC Discretionary Access Control
DBA Database Administrator
DDoS Distributed Denial of Service
DEP Data Execution Prevention
DES Digital Encryption Standard
DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
DHE Diffie-Hellman Ephemeral
DKIM DomainKeys Identified Mail
DLL Dynamic Link Library
DLP Data Loss Prevention
DMARC Domain Message Authentication Reporting
and Conformance
DNAT Destination Network Address Translation
DNS Domain Name System
DoS Denial of Service
DPO Data Privacy Officer
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Exam: Exam Objectives Version 5.0
Copyright © 2023 CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved.
Acronym Spelled Out
DRP Disaster Recovery Plan
DSA Digital Signature Algorithm
DSL Digital Subscriber Line
EAP Extensible Authentication Protocol
ECB Electronic Code Book
ECC Elliptic Curve Cryptography
ECDHE Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman Ephemeral
ECDSA Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm
EDR Endpoint Detection and Response
EFS Encrypted File System
ERP Enterprise Resource Planning
ESN Electronic Serial Number
ESP Encapsulated Security Payload
FACL File System Access Control List
FDE Full Disk Encryption
FIM File Integrity Management
FPGA Field Programmable Gate Array
FRR False Rejection Rate
FTP File Transfer Protocol
FTPS Secured File Transfer Protocol
GCM Galois Counter Mode
GDPR General Data Protection Regulation
GPG Gnu Privacy Guard
GPO Group Policy Object
GPS Global Positioning System
GPU Graphics Processing Unit
GRE Generic Routing Encapsulation
HA High Availability
HDD Hard Disk Drive
HIDS Host-based Intrusion Detection System
HIPS Host-based Intrusion Prevention System
HMAC Hashed Message Authentication Code
HOTP HMAC-based One-time Password
HSM Hardware Security Module
HTML Hypertext Markup Language
HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol
HTTPS Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure
HVAC Heating, Ventilation Air Conditioning
IaaS Infrastructure as a Service
IaC Infrastructure as Code
IAM Identity and Access Management
ICMP Internet Control Message Protocol
ICS Industrial Control Systems
IDEA International Data Encryption Algorithm
IDF Intermediate Distribution Frame
IdP Identity Provider
IDS Intrusion Detection System
Acronym Spelled Out
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers
IKE Internet Key Exchange
IM Instant Messaging
IMAP Internet Message Access Protocol
IoC Indicators of Compromise
IoT Internet of Things
IP Internet Protocol
IPS Intrusion Prevention System
IPSec Internet Protocol Security
IR Incident Response
IRC Internet Relay Chat
IRP Incident Response Plan
ISO International Standards Organization
ISP Internet Service Provider
ISSO Information Systems Security Officer
IV Initialization Vector
KDC Key Distribution Center
KEK Key Encryption Key
L2TP Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol
LAN Local Area Network
LDAP Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
LEAP Lightweight Extensible Authentication
Protocol
MaaS Monitoring as a Service
MAC Mandatory Access Control
MAC Media Access Control
MAC Message Authentication Code
MAN Metropolitan Area Network
MBR Master Boot Record
MD5 Message Digest 5
MDF Main Distribution Frame
MDM Mobile Device Management
MFA Multifactor Authentication
MFD Multifunction Device
MFP Multifunction Printer
ML Machine Learning
MMS Multimedia Message Service
MOA Memorandum of Agreement
MOU Memorandum of Understanding
MPLS Multi-protocol Label Switching
MSA Master Service Agreement
MSCHAP Microsoft Challenge Handshake
Authentication Protocol
MSP Managed Service Provider
MSSP Managed Security Service Provider
MTBF Mean Time Between Failures
MTTF Mean Time to Failure
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Exam: Exam Objectives Version 5.0
Copyright © 2023 CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved.
Acronym Spelled Out
MTTR Mean Time to Recover
MTU Maximum Transmission Unit
NAC Network Access Control
NAT Network Address Translation
NDA Non-disclosure Agreement
NFC Near Field Communication
NGFW Next-generation Firewall
NIDS Network-based Intrusion Detection System
NIPS Network-based Intrusion Prevention System
NIST National Institute of Standards & Technology
NTFS New Technology File System
NTLM New Technology LAN Manager
NTP Network Time Protocol
OAUTH Open Authorization
OCSP Online Certificate Status Protocol
OID Object Identifier
OS Operating System
OSINT Open-source Intelligence
OSPF Open Shortest Path First
OT Operational Technology
OTA Over the Air
OVAL Open Vulnerability Assessment Language
P12 PKCS #12
P2P Peer to Peer
PaaS Platform as a Service
PAC Proxy Auto Configuration
PAM Privileged Access Management
PAM Pluggable Authentication Modules
PAP Password Authentication Protocol
PAT Port Address Translation
PBKDF2 Password-based Key Derivation Function 2
PBX Private Branch Exchange
PCAP Packet Capture
PCI DSS Payment Card Industry Data Security
Standard
PDU Power Distribution Unit
PEAP Protected Extensible Authentication
Protocol
PED Personal Electronic Device
PEM Privacy Enhanced Mail
PFS Perfect Forward Secrecy
PGP Pretty Good Privacy
PHI Personal Health Information
PII Personally Identifiable Information
PIV Personal Identity Verification
PKCS Public Key Cryptography Standards
PKI Public Key Infrastructure
POP Post Office Protocol
POTS Plain Old Telephone Service
PPP Point-to-Point Protocol
PPTP Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol
PSK Pre-shared Key
PTZ Pan-tilt-zoom
PUP Potentially Unwanted Program
RA Recovery Agent
RA Registration Authority
RACE Research and Development in Advanced
Communications Technologies in Europe
RAD Rapid Application Development
RADIUS Remote Authentication Dial-in User Service
RAID Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks
RAS Remote Access Server
RAT Remote Access Trojan
RBAC Role-based Access Control
RBAC Rule-based Access Control
RC4 Rivest Cipher version 4
RDP Remote Desktop Protocol
RFID Radio Frequency Identifier
RIPEMD RACE Integrity Primitives Evaluation
Message Digest
ROI Return on Investment
RPO Recovery Point Objective
RSA Rivest, Shamir, & Adleman
RTBH Remotely Triggered Black Hole
RTO Recovery Time Objective
RTOS Real-time Operating System
RTP Real-time Transport Protocol
S/MIME Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail
Extensions
SaaS Software as a Service
SAE Simultaneous Authentication of Equals
SAML Security Assertions Markup Language
SAN Storage Area Network
SAN Subject Alternative Name
SASE Secure Access Service Edge
SCADA Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
SCAP Security Content Automation Protocol
SCEP Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol
SD-WAN Software-defined Wide Area Network
SDK Software Development Kit
SDLC Software Development Lifecycle
SDLM Software Development Lifecycle
Methodology
Acronym Spelled Out
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Certification Exam: Exam Objectives Version 5.0
Copyright © 2023 CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved.
Acronym Spelled Out
SDN Software-defined Networking
SE Linux Security-enhanced Linux
SED Self-encrypting Drives
SEH Structured Exception Handler
SFTP Secured File Transfer Protocol
SHA Secure Hashing Algorithm
SHTTP Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol
SIEM Security Information and Event Management
SIM Subscriber Identity Module
SLA Service-level Agreement
SLE Single Loss Expectancy
SMS Short Message Service
SMTP Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
SMTPS Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Secure
SNMP Simple Network Management Protocol
SOAP Simple Object Access Protocol
SOAR Security Orchestration, Automation,
Response
SoC System on Chip
SOC Security Operations Center
SOW Statement of Work
SPF Sender Policy Framework
SPIM Spam over Internet Messaging
SQL Structured Query Language
SQLi SQL Injection
SRTP Secure Real-Time Protocol
SSD Solid State Drive
SSH Secure Shell
SSL Secure Sockets Layer
SSO Single Sign-on
STIX Structured Threat Information eXchange
SWG Secure Web Gateway
TACACS+ Terminal Access Controller Access Control
System
TAXII Trusted Automated eXchange of Indicator
Information
TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol
TGT Ticket Granting Ticket
TKIP Temporal Key Integrity Protocol
TLS Transport Layer Security
TOC Time-of-check
Acronym Spelled Out
TOTP Time-based One-time Password
TOU Time-of-use
TPM Trusted Platform Module
TTP Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures
TSIG Transaction Signature
UAT User Acceptance Testing
UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
UDP User Datagram Protocol
UEFI Unified Extensible Firmware Interface
UEM Unified Endpoint Management
UPS Uninterruptable Power Supply
URI Uniform Resource Identifier
URL Universal Resource Locator
USB Universal Serial Bus
USB OTG USB On the Go
UTM Unified Threat Management
UTP Unshielded Twisted Pair
VBA Visual Basic
VDE Virtual Desktop Environment
VDI Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
VLAN Virtual Local Area Network
VLSM Variable Length Subnet Masking
VM Virtual Machine
VoIP Voice over IP
VPC Virtual Private Cloud
VPN Virtual Private Network
VTC Video Teleconferencing
WAF Web Application Firewall
WAP Wireless Access Point
WEP Wired Equivalent Privacy
WIDS Wireless Intrusion Detection System
WIPS Wireless Intrusion Prevention System
WO Work Order
WPA Wi-Fi Protected Access
WPS Wi-Fi Protected Setup
WTLS Wireless TLS
XDR Extended Detection and Response
XML Extensible Markup Language
XOR Exclusive Or
XSRF Cross-site Request Forgery
XSS Cross-site Scripting
Equipment
• Tablet
• Laptop
• Web server
• Firewall
• Router
• Switch
• IDS
• IPS
• Wireless access point
• Virtual machines
• Email system
• Internet access
• DNS server
• IoT devices
• Hardware tokens
• Smartphone
Spare Hardware
• NICs
• Power supplies
• GBICs
• SFPs
• Managed Switch
• Wireless access point
• UPS
Tools
• Wi-Fi analyzer
• Network mapper
• NetFlow analyzer
Software
• Windows OS
• Linux OS
• Kali Linux
• Packet capture software
• Pen testing software
• Static and dynamic analysis tools
• Vulnerability scanner
• Network emulators
• Sample code
• Code editor
• SIEM
• Keyloggers
• MDM software
• VPN
• DHCP service
• DNS service
Other
• Access to cloud environments
• Sample network documentation/diagrams
• Sample logs
© 2023 CompTIA, Inc., used under license by CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved. All certification programs and education related to such
programs are operated exclusively by CompTIA, Inc. CompTIA is a registered trademark of CompTIA, Inc. in the U.S. and internationally.
Other brands and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks or service marks of CompTIA, Inc. or of their respective owners.
Reproduction or dissemination prohibited without the written consent of CompTIA, Inc. Printed in the U.S. 10179-Jan2023
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Hardware and
Software List
CompTIA has included this sample list of hardware and software to assist
candidates as they prepare for the Security+ SY0-701 certification exam.
This list may also be helpful for training companies that wish to create a
lab component for their training offering. The bulleted lists below each
topic are sample lists and are not exhaustive.