USMLE STEP2 Exam Prep
Step2 (Page 47 )

• Injection
• Broken access control
• Authentication failures
• Security misconfiguration
• Cross-site scripting

• STIX: A standardized language and format for exchanging threat intelligence.
• OVAL: Used to describe and assess system vulnerabilities and configuration issues.
• Threat intelligence feed: Provides current indicators and intelligence about threats, but not necessarily a structured overview of common application exploitation methods.
• CVE: A catalog of individually identified, publicly disclosed vulnerabilities.

• Disable high concurrency: Changes workspace-wide behavior and is not the targeted way to isolate these workloads.
• Modify the number of executors: Adjusts capacity and performance, but does not provide workload isolation.
• Set the default environment: Controls libraries and runtime configuration, not compute isolation.

• Accept: Acknowledges the risk without taking additional action.
• Transfer: Shifts the risk or financial impact to another party, such as an insurer.
• Mitigate: Reduces the likelihood or impact through controls like patching, MFA, or segmentation.
• Avoid: Eliminates the activity that creates the risk.

• Training or coaching
• Mentoring
• Additional support or resources
• Targeted performance improvement plans

• A: Recognition may be appropriate, but awards do not address identified gaps.
• C: Rotating schedules does not necessarily improve the specific competencies that are missing.
• D: Assessment results should be handled sensitively, but keeping them entirely private prevents useful feedback and development discussions.

• Restrict a port to a defined number of MAC addresses
• Use statically assigned or “sticky” MAC addresses
• Shut down or restrict the port when violations occur

• Load balancer: Distributes application traffic; it does not protect switch MAC tables.
• IPS: May detect suspicious network activity, but is not the primary control for limiting switch MAC entries.
• NGFW: Filters traffic at the network boundary; it does not directly prevent MAC table flooding on access switches.

• UPS battery-backed outlets: Connect only essential devices needed during an outage:

• Surge-protector-only outlets: Connect nonessential devices, especially the printer. Printing does not need to continue while you are saving work and shutting down.
• UPS power source: Plug the UPS directly into a wall outlet.
• Surge protector power source: Plug it directly into a wall outlet as well. Do not normally plug a surge protector into the UPS, because that creates a daisy chain and can overload the UPS.

1. Yes — One account can manage multiple subscriptions

1. No — You cannot merge two subscriptions into one

1. Yes — A resource belongs to only one subscription

• Accept: Acknowledge the risk and take no additional action.
• Transfer: Shift the risk or financial impact to another party, such as through insurance or a contract.
• Mitigate: Reduce the likelihood or impact using controls, such as firewalls, training, or backups.
• Avoid: Eliminate the activity that creates the risk.

• Proxy server: Acts as an intermediary for requests, but does not necessarily provide an encrypted connection to the corporate network.
• NGFW: A firewall with advanced inspection and filtering capabilities; it may support VPNs but is not the remote-access solution itself.
• Security zone: A logical network grouping based on trust or security requirements, not a method for remote access.

• Domain controllers, because the requirement specifically excludes them. However, note that both member servers and domain controllers run Windows Server, so OS targeting alone cannot distinguish them unless the targeting option allows selecting the relevant server role/version. In the usual exam interpretation, target the applicable server OS category.
• Client computers, because they run a client Windows operating system.

• Domain: Targets membership in a domain, not the computer’s operating-system type.
• Security Group: Would require creating and maintaining a group containing all member servers, increasing administrative effort.
• Environment Variable: Not designed to reliably identify member servers.

• QuickVisualize is used to create and render a Power BI report from a DataFrame.
• The typical pattern is:

python 
PBI_visualize = QuickVisualize( 
    get_dataset_config(df), 
    auth=device_auth 
) 


PBI_visualize

• get_dataset_config(df) prepares the dataset configuration.
• auth=device_auth supplies authentication for the Power BI connection.
• Evaluating PBI_visualize renders the report in the notebook.

• Box 1: No
• Box 2: Yes
• Box 3: Yes

• Design Studio > Emails ? create an email-template folder
• Design Studio > Landing Pages ? create a landing-page-template folder
• Add the relevant assets to each folder
• Right-click the folder and choose Share Folder
• Select the destination workspaces

• B. Deploy to a SageMaker endpoint: This is needed for SageMaker-hosted models, not for a model intended to be used directly in Amazon Bedrock.
• C. Register with SageMaker Model Registry: SageMaker Model Registry is unrelated to invoking custom models in Bedrock.
• D. Grant access in Bedrock: Access permissions may be necessary, but they do not replace the required provisioned capacity.

• Virus signatures: Primarily associated with antivirus or antimalware tools.
• Security agent deployment: Usually handled by endpoint-management or endpoint-security platforms.
• Vulnerability scanning: Performed by vulnerability-assessment tools, although a SIEM may ingest their results.

• Endpoint Manager: manages hosts and sensor-related settings.
• Falcon Investigator: supports investigation and analysis, but does not necessarily grant RTR access.
• Remediation Manager: handles remediation-related actions rather than interactive host access.

• An active relationship is used automatically when filters are evaluated. An inactive relationship does not propagate filters unless explicitly activated in DAX, so it would not reliably enforce the required security behavior.
• Apply security filter in both directions allows RLS filters to propagate across the relationship in both directions. This ensures that bidirectional filtering respects the RLS rules applied to both tables.
• Assume referential integrity is unrelated to RLS. It is mainly a DirectQuery optimization that allows Power BI to use an inner join when matching keys are guaranteed to exist.
• The relationship must therefore be active, with security filtering enabled in both directions.

• Box 1: No — The rule requires user.department to equal Engineering. Engineer does not match, so User1 is not in AU1. Admin1 cannot reset User1’s password.
• Box 2: No — Admin1’s role is scoped to AU1 and cannot manage users outside that AU.
• Box 3: Yes — Admin2 is a Global Administrator and can reset User3’s password.

• A. IDS attack signatures: An IDS primarily detects suspicious network activity; it is not the best tool for scanning uploaded files.
• C. Load balancer: Improves availability and distributes traffic but does not inspect files for malware.
• D. WAF: Protects web applications against attacks such as SQL injection and command injection. It may inspect HTTP requests, but malware scanning of uploaded PDFs is the key requirement here.

1. Search & Intelligence in the Microsoft 365 admin center — No

1. Audit in the Microsoft Defender portal — Yes

1. Audit in the Microsoft Purview portal — Yes

• AB’s own PPE: $100m
• CD’s PPE in its individual accounts: $50m
• Fair value uplift at acquisition: $40m
• Remaining useful life: 10 years
• Extra depreciation each year: $40m ÷ 10 = $4m
• Four years’ extra depreciation to 31 December 20X4: 4 × $4m = $16m
• Remaining fair value uplift: $40m - $16m = $24m

• SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language): Commonly used for enterprise SSO between an identity provider and cloud applications. It sends signed authentication assertions to the service provider.
• RADIUS: Primarily used for centralized authentication to network devices, VPNs, and wireless networks.
• EAP: An authentication framework commonly used with network access technologies; it is not typically the SSO protocol for SaaS applications.
• OpenID: Related to identity authentication, but traditional enterprise SSO questions involving cloud applications generally expect SAML. OpenID Connect is a newer authentication layer built on OAuth 2.0.

• Load balancer: Distributes application traffic; it does not protect switch MAC tables.
• IPS: May detect some attack traffic, but it is not the primary control for switch-port MAC learning.
• NGFW: Protects at network boundaries but does not directly limit MAC addresses learned on access ports.

1. The specific table — for example, incident
2. The parent table — for example, task
3. The wildcard table — *, which applies broadly

• Initial Intrusion: The compromised VPN account and stolen phishing credentials describe how the attacker first gained access, but that happened months earlier.
• Persistence: The scheduled tasks and recurring C2 connections show how the attacker maintained and automated continued access.
• Search and Exfiltration: This would involve locating and transferring data. The scenario does not primarily describe data discovery or theft.
• Cleanup: Cleanup involves removing evidence or covering tracks. Obfuscated scripts may make detection harder, but the main behavior here is maintaining access.

• Prevention costs: Avoiding defects, such as staff training and improved product design. The company has invested in these.
• Appraisal costs: Detecting defects before products reach customers, such as inspection and testing. The planned batch sampling has not been implemented.
• Internal failure costs: Correcting defects found before delivery.
• External failure costs: Dealing with defects after delivery, such as refunds, replacements, complaints and lost sales.

• Unfamiliar locations or IP addresses
• Anonymous or malicious IP addresses
• Leaked credentials
• Unusual sign-in behavior

• Report on the discount approval time for quotes

• Dashboard of opportunity stage duration

• Lead conversion trends measure lead-generation effectiveness, not opportunity closing time.
• Campaign ROI evaluates marketing performance, not delays in the sales process.

• Structure requirements documents
• Draft user stories and acceptance criteria
• Create templates for functional and nonfunctional requirements
• Turn natural-language descriptions into organized documentation or implementation examples

• A: “Automatically generating detailed requirements documents” overstates Copilot’s role; it assists but does not independently determine complete requirements.
• C: /help provides guidance about Copilot features, not reliable requirements-conflict detection.
• D: Stakeholder communication and meetings remain human responsibilities.

• Active-active routers: Provide redundant Internet connections/devices. Both can operate, so traffic can fail over or be load-balanced.
• Active-active firewalls: Avoid a single firewall becoming a failure point while maintaining security inspection.
• Load balancers: Distribute requests across multiple web servers. If one server fails, traffic can go to the other.
• Redundant power supplies: A server with separate power supplies should connect to independent power sources or circuits.
• UPS A and UPS B: Provide backup power and redundancy. Ideally, each power supply is connected to a different UPS.
• SONET ring: A ring topology provides alternate paths if a fiber link or segment fails.

• B — The most significant risks are held by SQ.

• C — SQ should recognise the cars as inventory.

• F — SQ recognises revenue when LM sells a car to a third party.

• A: LM does not hold the most significant risks.
• D: LM does not recognise the cars as inventory.
• E: SQ should not recognise revenue when cars are merely delivered to LM.

• Customer needs: Primary focus in agile; guides prioritization and decision-making.
• Organization’s needs: Important constraints, but processes should be tailored when they create waste.
• Agile lead/project manager: Their role is to facilitate value delivery, not prioritize their own preferences.

• Deterrent control: The signs warning people they may be filmed discourage unauthorized or malicious behavior. They may prevent incidents by influencing behavior, but their primary purpose is to deter.
• Detective control: The CCTV system monitors and records activity so security personnel can identify suspicious or unauthorized actions.

• Preventive: Blocks or prevents an incident, such as a lock or access-control system.
• Corrective: Fixes or restores systems after an incident.
• Directive: Tells people what they must do, typically through policies or procedures.
• Compensating: Provides an alternative control when the preferred control cannot be used.

• Due diligence: Investigating and evaluating a third party before entering a business relationship.
• Attestation: An independent auditor’s examination and formal report—such as the SOC 2 report itself. The analyst is reviewing the attestation, not performing it.
• Internal audit: Examines the organization’s own processes and controls.
• Penetration testing: Actively tests systems for exploitable vulnerabilities.

Correct reasoning

• Create storage5 as a General-purpose v2 (StorageV2) account.
• Configure Blob object replication from storage5 to an existing compatible storage account.
• The destination must support object replication—typically another StorageV2 or premium block blob account.
• Blob versioning must be enabled on both accounts.
• Blob change feed must be enabled on the source account.
• The accounts must meet Azure’s object-replication requirements, including being in supported regions and having compatible configuration.

• Installing software
• Applying configuration changes
• Calling PowerShell scripts
• Running setup or customization commands

cmd 
powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\Scripts\ConfigureVM.ps1

• GPO logon script: Runs only when a user logs on and depends on domain/GPO processing.
• GPO startup script: Runs during startup, but requires the VM to be domain joined and receives the applicable GPO.
• Place scripts in a VHD: Merely makes the scripts available; it does not automatically execute them.

• The ERSPAN source is the device or interface whose traffic is being copied.
• The ERSPAN destination is the device receiving the encapsulated copy and forwarding it to the traffic analyzer.
• The local monitor session number is locally significant. Therefore, the source and destination do not need matching session IDs such as 47 or 48.
• The erspan-id identifies the ERSPAN stream and must correspond between the source and destination configuration.

• Base table — the table containing common inherited fields
• Parent table — the table directly extended by the child
• Other tables in the hierarchy

Manager role

DAX 
Country[Manager] = USERPRINCIPALNAME()

• Sales
• Human Resources

CFO role

• See sales for all countries
• See no Human Resources data

• Do not restrict the Country table or Sales table.
• Apply a filter to Human Resources that always returns false, such as:

DAX 
FALSE()

• A business-hours greeting
• An after-hours greeting
• A holiday greeting

• Weekday evenings/nights
• Saturdays and Sundays

1. Auto attendant 1

1. Auto attendant 2

• Active remediation actions role in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

• Security Reader role in Azure AD/Entra ID

• Security Administrator is broader than necessary because it grants extensive security-management permissions, violating least privilege.
• Compliance Data Administrator is intended for compliance data management, not Defender for Endpoint remediation approvals.

• D — Managers focus on keeping costs low in the short term to maximise profits.

• E — Managers are given incentives to meet or undercut budgets.

• F — Managers delegate responsibility simply to reduce their workload.

• Which host first communicated with the suspected malicious source
• Whether that host initiated suspicious traffic or merely received it
• Which other hosts show evidence of infection, such as connections from the originating host
• Which hosts have no related suspicious activity and are therefore clean

• An outbound connection to a suspicious external address
• A downloaded or executed malicious file
• Later lateral connections from that host to other internal systems
• Firewall logs showing the direction and timing of the traffic

• Annual interest payments net of tax relief (A): future cash outflows for the issuer.
• Redemption value (B): the final cash outflow when the bond is redeemed.
• Market value now (C): the cash proceeds received now, acting as the initial cash flow in the IRR calculation.

• The vulnerability scan identifies a vulnerability.
• The administrator verifies that the vulnerability is not present.
• Therefore, the scan produced a false positive.

• True positive: A vulnerability is reported and genuinely exists.
• False negative: A vulnerability exists, but the scan fails to detect it.
• True negative: No vulnerability exists, and the scan correctly reports no issue.

• Code signing: Verifies the software’s authenticity and integrity; it does not hide the source code or prevent reverse engineering.
• Tokenization: Replaces sensitive data with tokens, mainly for protecting data such as payment information—not software logic.
• Blockchain: Provides a tamper-resistant record of transactions or data; it does not protect compiled code from analysis.