USMLE STEP2 Exam Prep
Step2 (Page 49 )

• The listener uses a virtual IP address shared by the availability-group replicas.
• Floating IP, also called Direct Server Return (DSR), allows the SQL Server nodes to respond using the listener’s IP address rather than their individual VM IP addresses.
• This is required for the availability-group listener to function correctly with an Azure internal load balancer.

• Security controls
• Processes and procedures
• Compliance evidence
• Performance against contractual requirements

• Service-level agreement (SLA): Defines expected service performance, such as uptime and response times.
• Memorandum of agreement (MOA): Documents a general agreement between parties, but does not necessarily provide audit rights.
• Supply chain analysis: Identifies risks across suppliers and dependencies, but is not a contractual mechanism for reviewing vendor controls.

• Un AG puede tener réplicas en Windows y Linux desde SQL Server 2017; por tanto, una réplica Windows y otra Linux es posible.
• Sin embargo, las réplicas de un AG deben utilizar normalmente la misma versión principal de SQL Server. Una instancia SQL Server 2017 no puede tener directamente una réplica secundaria SQL Server 2019 como configuración normal y permanente.
• En tu escenario, SQL Server 2017 en Windows y SQL Server 2019 en Linux no se pueden añadir directamente como réplicas equivalentes de AG1. Primero habría que realizar un proceso de actualización/migración compatible, por ejemplo mediante una actualización gradual o una tecnología de migración como log shipping o distributed availability groups, según el diseño.

• Tipo de clúster y mecanismo de quorum.
• Failover normalmente manual en configuraciones multiplataforma.
• Edición y características compatibles.
• Configuración de endpoints y permisos.
• Limitaciones específicas de SQL Server en Linux.

• Espionage: Stealing information for intelligence or competitive purposes.
• Data exfiltration: Unauthorized removal or transfer of data.
• Nation-state attack: A sophisticated attack sponsored by a government.
• Shadow IT: Unapproved technology or access methods used by employees.

• Accept: Acknowledging the risk without taking additional action.
• Transfer: Shifting responsibility or financial impact to another party, such as through insurance or outsourcing.
• Mitigate: Reducing the likelihood or impact of the risk through controls.
• Avoid: Eliminating the activity or condition that creates the risk.

• Response and resolution time frames
• Availability or uptime requirements
• Performance targets
• Support obligations
• Penalties for failing to meet requirements

• SOW (Statement of Work): Defines the project’s scope, tasks, and deliverables.
• MOA (Memorandum of Agreement): Describes cooperation and responsibilities between parties.
• MOU (Memorandum of Understanding): Records a general mutual understanding, usually without detailed enforceable service targets.

• Lower order numbers appear first.
• For example, a variable with order 100 appears before one with order 200.
• The Sequence field is not the control used for catalog variable display order.
• The Default Value sets a value, not placement.
• The Choice field defines selectable options, not the variable’s position.

• The users currently have Office 365 Enterprise E3 licenses assigned directly.
• Assigning Microsoft 365 Enterprise E5 through a group does not automatically remove their directly assigned E3 licenses.
• From the Licenses blade, you can select the E3 product and remove it from all assigned users in one operation. This requires less effort than editing 2,500 users individually.

• Identity Governance manages access reviews, entitlement management, and related governance—not bulk license removal.
• Set-AzureAdUser does not remove product licenses.
• Set-WindowsProductKey applies Windows product keys and is unrelated to Microsoft 365 licensing.

• The type of change: standard, normal, or emergency
• The risk, impact, and complexity
• The change model being used

• A standard change may be pre-authorized through its change model.
• A normal change may require assessment and approval by an appropriate change authority.
• An emergency change may be authorized by an emergency change authority, often using an expedited process.

• Change authorities are not only needed for emergency changes.
• They are not assigned only when a change is deployed.
• They are not only required for normal changes.

• s3:GetObject for the relevant objects
• s3:ListBucket if listing is required
• Appropriate bucket and object resource permissions

• B: Making the bucket public is insecure and unnecessary.
• C: Prompt engineering cannot override AWS IAM or encryption permissions.
• D: Data sensitivity does not determine whether the role can access it.

• Fileless malware: Nothing in the command indicates malware executing only in memory.
• Living-off-the-land binaries: Mimikatz is a credential-access tool, not a normal system utility used for LOLBin abuse.
• Social engineering: The command shows technical credential abuse, not manipulation of an accountant.

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.

• A — Capacity: The system must handle all current records and anticipated future records. A system that cannot cope with volume will quickly become ineffective.
• C — Accuracy: Academic records are critical, so the new system must be at least as accurate as the existing system and comparable systems. Poor accuracy could cause serious administrative and reputational problems.
• D — Integration: Linking with the university’s financial systems supports consistency and avoids duplicate data entry, especially for registration, deregistration and fee-related transactions.

• B — Parallel running: This is a useful implementation and risk-control technique, but it is not an essential feature of the system itself. It may also be expensive and time-consuming.
• E — Internet access for all information: This creates significant confidentiality and security risks. External access might be needed for selected services, but unrestricted access to all information is not essential and would be inappropriate for student records.

• Sales process: Controls which Opportunity Stage values are available.
• Record type: Associates the appropriate sales process with a business scenario and controls available picklist values.
• Page layout: Controls which fields are displayed and whether they are required or read-only.

• Energy Market Team 1 ? Record Type 1, Sales Process 1, Page Layout 1
• Energy Market Team 2 ? Record Type 2, Sales Process 2, Page Layout 2
• Services/Installation Team ? Record Type 3, Sales Process 3, Page Layout 3

• Escape to host: A virtualization attack where code escapes a guest VM and accesses the host system. Nothing in the scenario mentions virtualization.
• Browser extension: Can redirect or manipulate web-browser traffic, but not normally database-server traffic.
• Valid accounts: Describes using stolen or compromised credentials, not redirecting network traffic.
• Process injection: Injecting malicious code into a legitimate database or networking process could allow an attacker to alter how that process handles outgoing traffic.

• T?o m?t Systems Manager Automation runbook d? ch?y l?nh kh?i d?ng l?i ?ng d?ng trên các EC2 instance.
• T?o m?t Amazon EventBridge rule ph?n ?ng khi CloudWatch alarm chuy?n sang tr?ng thái ALARM.
• Ð?t Automation runbook làm target c?a EventBridge rule.

1. Log c?a ?ng d?ng du?c ghi vào CloudWatch Logs.
2. CloudWatch alarm phát hi?n nhi?u l?i liên quan d?n vi?c restart.
3. Alarm chuy?n sang tr?ng thái ALARM.
4. EventBridge nh?n s? ki?n thay d?i tr?ng thái này.
5. EventBridge g?i Systems Manager Automation runbook.
6. Runbook restart ?ng d?ng trên các EC2 instance, không restart c? instance.

• A: SNS không tr?c ti?p g?i Systems Manager Automation runbook nhu m?t target native.
• B: Lambda có th? th?c hi?n vi?c restart, nhung ph?i t? x? lý vi?c xác d?nh instance và ch?y l?nh t? xa.
• C: Lambda ch? làm trung gian d? g?i runbook, không c?n thi?t vì EventBridge có th? g?i runbook tr?c ti?p.

• Link-local — FE80::/10; valid only on the local link/subnet and not routed by routers.
• Multicast — FF00::/8; identifies a group of interfaces rather than a private address range.
• Global unicast — 2000::/3; publicly routable IPv6 addressing.

• Employees can work from any location, including remote sites and offices worldwide.
• Login can be relatively seamless after the device is registered.
• It does not require distributing additional physical authentication equipment.

• Geotagging: Identifies location, but location alone is not a strong authentication method and may prevent legitimate remote access.
• Smart cards: Provide strong authentication but require card readers and physical cards, increasing equipment and management requirements.
• Time-based logins: Typically involve one-time codes that users must enter, making the experience less seamless and potentially requiring a token or authenticator app.

• Third-party enterprise application with embedded AI: The provider manages most security controls. The customer mainly manages users, data, and configuration.
• Application using an existing third-party FM: The customer controls the application and its inputs/outputs, but the provider controls the underlying model and infrastructure.
• Fine-tuning a third-party FM: The customer has additional responsibility for training data, data protection, and model behavior, but still depends on the provider’s base model and platform.
• Building and training a model from scratch: The customer controls the model, training data, application, deployment, and many security safeguards. This creates the greatest security ownership.

• Minimum
• Maximum
• Average
• Count
• Null/empty values
• Distinct values

• Enable column profile
• Enable details pane
• Show column profile in details pane

• Amazon SageMaker — charges apply for compute, storage, and other resources used.
• AWS Config — generally charges for configuration recording and rule evaluations.
• Amazon CloudWatch — has a limited free tier, but many metrics, logs, alarms, and API usage can incur charges.

sql 
ALTER TABLE dbo.DimCustomer 
ADD CONSTRAINT PK_DimCustomer 
PRIMARY KEY NONCLUSTERED (CustomerKey) 
NOT ENFORCED;

1. ALTER TABLE dbo.DimCustomer
2. ADD CONSTRAINT PK_DimCustomer PRIMARY KEY NONCLUSTERED (CustomerKey)
3. NOT ENFORCED

1. Define Power Platform DLP policies

1. Add custom prompt modifications

1. Conduct adversarial testing

• 16GB RAM: A 64-bit OS is needed to use more than roughly 4GB effectively, but RAM capacity does not prove the CPU supports 64-bit operation.
• 500GB HDD: Storage capacity has no bearing on OS architecture.
• 1Gbps Ethernet: Network speed is unrelated to CPU architecture.

• Compare each server’s drive specifications and performance data.
• Identify the drive that is faulty, slow, or mismatched.
• Replace it with a drive that matches the required interface, capacity, and performance characteristics.
• Avoid selecting a slower drive, because storage performance can bottleneck the entire server.
• In a redundant array, use a compatible replacement so rebuilding does not create unnecessary performance degradation.

• Authentication — verifies who the user is.
• Authorization — determines what the authenticated user is allowed to access.
• Accounting — records session activity, such as login time and resource usage.

• CIA — confidentiality, integrity, and availability; core security objectives.
• ACL — access control list; rules that permit or deny traffic or access.
• PEM — Privacy Enhanced Mail, an older email security standard.

1. Define – establish the project’s objectives, scope, feasibility and requirements.
2. Design – plan how the project will be carried out, including resources, schedules and controls.
3. Deliver – execute the project and produce the required outputs.
4. Develop – close the project formally and capture learning for future projects.

• Filing documentation and records
• Closing project and accounting systems
• Settling costs
• Handing over the completed work and obtaining sign-off
• Reviewing performance and giving feedback

• 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.

• Firewall
• Intrusion prevention and detection
• Antivirus or antimalware
• Web and email filtering
• Virtual private networking (VPN)
• Sometimes content filtering and centralized reporting

• The servers are powered on.
• The network is functioning.
• Devices can still reach the server network.

• ARP poisoning: Redirects or intercepts local network traffic; it usually affects communication paths rather than overwhelming a service.
• Jamming: Disrupts wireless or radio signals. It would not fit a system that remains accessible from devices on the server network.
• Kerberoasting: Attempts to crack service-account credentials from Kerberos tickets; it does not normally cause an immediate outage.

• 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.

• Periodic vulnerability assessments: Identify technical weaknesses but do not establish governance or ensure risks are managed.
• Established information security metrics: Help measure performance and report status, but measurement alone does not make governance effective.
• Advanced security technologies: Support security operations, but governance is primarily about direction, accountability, decision-making, and alignment with business objectives.

• User1 (user1@contoso.com) — This is an external guest in the Fabrikam tenant. Assuming the guest uses email one-time passcode authentication, Azure AD emails a passcode to user1@contoso.com.
• User2 (user2@outlook.com) — An Outlook.com address can authenticate with a Microsoft account, so Azure AD uses that account’s authentication rather than sending an email OTP. The fact that User2 has never accessed Fabrikam resources does not by itself trigger OTP.
• User3 (user3@fabrikam.com) — This is an internal Fabrikam user, so the user signs in with the organization’s normal credentials and does not receive a guest OTP.

• Domínios personalizados.
• Armazenamento suficiente.
• Instâncias dedicadas.
• Balanceamento de carga.
• Menor custo entre os planos que atendem a tudo.

• Planning and designing products and services
• Developing and delivering them
• Managing risks, suppliers, and resources
• Measuring performance
• Continually improving value delivery

• Value stream steps describe activities used to create and deliver value; they do not themselves provide the broader capabilities.
• Vision and operating model provide direction and structure, but they are not the practical management capabilities that enable the work.
• Value chain is the operating model showing how activities combine to create value; it is enabled by practices and resources.

• Microservices: An application-design approach that divides an application into smaller services. It does not inherently reduce the number of operating systems.
• Virtualization: Creates virtual machines, but each VM generally requires its own complete operating system. This improves isolation but does not minimize OS instances as effectively.
• Infrastructure as code: Uses code to automate infrastructure deployment and configuration. It improves consistency but does not determine how many operating systems are used.

• Honeypots: Deliberately vulnerable or attractive systems designed to lure attackers. Legitimate users should not access them, so activity on a honeypot is a strong indicator of compromise.
• DNS sinkholes: Redirect requests for known malicious domains to a controlled internal system instead of allowing the connection. This can identify infected hosts attempting to contact command-and-control infrastructure.

• Tokenization: Replaces sensitive data with non-sensitive tokens; it protects data but does not primarily detect attackers.
• CI/CD: Automates software development and deployment processes.
• Threat modeling: Identifies potential threats and weaknesses before or during system design.
• Data obfuscation: Makes data harder to understand, but it is not an attacker-detection method.

• SQL injection
• Cross-site scripting (XSS)
• Malicious or malformed web requests
• Some application-layer abuse

• Layer 4 firewall: Filters based mainly on IP addresses, ports, and connections; it lacks detailed web-request inspection.
• NGFW: Provides broader network security, but a WAF is more specialized for protecting web applications.
• UTM: Combines multiple security functions, but it is not necessarily optimized for web-application protection.

• If the hashes match, the software has likely not changed.
• If they differ, the software was modified or corrupted.

• Encryption: Protects confidentiality by making data unreadable; it does not primarily verify that software was unchanged.
• Baselines: Establish expected configurations or states, but hashing is the specific method for checking file integrity.
• Tokenization: Replaces sensitive data with non-sensitive tokens and is unrelated to software integrity.

• Keep earlier prompt versions.
• Identify the last version that produced acceptable output.
• Restore it as a baseline.
• Make small, controlled changes—ideally one significant change at a time.
• Test the output after each change.

• A: Discards useful information about what worked.
• B: Large simultaneous changes make it difficult to identify the cause of problems.
• D: Accepts output that does not meet the requirements.

• Resources that do not need internet access should remain on private network segments.
• Internet-facing access should be restricted to systems that require it.
• Access should be explicitly allowed rather than broadly exposed.

• A: A single administrator with access to core functions may violate least privilege if that access is broader than necessary.
• B: Inspecting traffic supports monitoring and defense, but does not itself limit privileges.
• C: Updating routing configurations supports availability and connectivity, not least privilege.

• Access controls — ensuring only authorized users can access it.
• Encryption — protecting the data if it is intercepted or exposed.

• Tactics: The attacker’s overall goal, such as gaining persistence or exfiltrating data
• Techniques: The methods used to achieve that goal
• Procedures: The specific implementation or sequence of actions

• IP addresses and hash values: Useful indicators, but they can change quickly.
• Indicators of compromise: TTPs may help identify IOCs, but their main value is describing behavior.
• Tools: Attackers can replace tools or use legitimate administrative utilities.

• Transport and handling
• Storage and warehousing
• Refrigeration
• Shelf-stacking or replenishment
• Other costs directly attributable to product P

• Managerial: policies, standards, risk management, governance
• Operational: procedures carried out by people, such as training, incident response, and backups
• Technical: firewalls, encryption, access-control systems
• Physical: locks, guards, cameras

• 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.

• Namespace: The namespace associated with the code where the checkpoint was set.
• Time: When the checkpoint was captured or executed.

• Exception: Exceptions are viewed through debug logs or execution results, not as the primary Checkpoints tab information.
• Debug Statement: System.debug() output belongs in the Logs tab. A checkpoint captures program state, such as variables and their values, at a specific point in execution.

• HTTPS: Secure web traffic, not general command-line server administration.
• SNMPv3: Secure network monitoring and management, not interactive server login.
• RDP: Provides graphical remote desktop access. It can be secure, but it is not the direct replacement for Telnet in this scenario.
• SMTP: Used to send email.

• The product is already in production.
• The organization is examining the product’s functions and cost drivers.
• The objective is to reduce cost without reducing perceived value or required quality.

• Kaizen costing focuses on continuous, usually incremental, cost reductions during the manufacturing stage. It is not specifically the systematic examination of a product’s functions.
• Standard costing compares actual costs with predetermined standards; it is a control technique, not a product redesign method.
• Process innovation concerns developing significantly improved production processes, rather than analysing the product’s functions and value.