Exam 'CS0-002: CompTIA CySA+' Registry Key | Malware Investigation

Registry Key for Determining User in Malware Infection

Question

A security analyst is investigating a malware infection that occurred on a Windows system.

The system was not connected to a network and had no wireless capability.

Company policy prohibits using portable media or mobile storage.

The security analyst is trying to determine which user caused the malware to get onto the system.

Which of the following registry keys would MOST likely have this information?

Answers

Explanations

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A. B. C. D. E.

E.

Based on the scenario, the malware infection occurred on a Windows system that was not connected to a network and had no wireless capability. The company policy prohibits the use of portable media or mobile storage, and the security analyst is trying to determine which user caused the malware to get onto the system.

Out of the given registry keys, the most likely one to have the information about the user who caused the malware to get onto the system is:

A. HKEY_USERS<user SID>\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

This registry key is used to store information about the programs that are configured to run when a specific user logs on to the system. The <user SID> placeholder represents the unique Security Identifier (SID) of the user whose information is stored in the key. Therefore, if the malware was executed using a specific user account, it is possible that the information about the malware execution could be found in this registry key.

Option B, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run, is used to store information about the programs that run automatically when the system starts up. This key is not user-specific and would not provide information about which user caused the malware to get onto the system.

Option C, HKEY_USERS<user SID>\Software\Microsoft\Windows\explorer\MountPoints2, is used to store information about the volumes and devices that have been mounted on the system. This key would not provide information about the user who caused the malware to get onto the system.

Option D, HKEY_USERS<user SID>\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Typed URLs, is used to store information about the URLs that the user has typed into Internet Explorer. This key would not provide information about the user who caused the malware to get onto the system.

Option E, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\eventlog\System\iusb3hub, is used to store information about the USB 3.0 hub driver. This key would not provide information about the user who caused the malware to get onto the system.

Therefore, option A, HKEY_USERS<user SID>\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run, is the most likely registry key to have information about the user who caused the malware to get onto the system.