A user clicked an email link that led to a website than infected the workstation with a virus.
The virus encrypted all the network shares to which the user had access.
The virus was not deleted or blocked by the company's email filter, website filter, or antivirus.
Which of the following describes what occurred?
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A. B. C. D.D.
The most likely scenario based on the given information is that the user clicked on a malicious link in an email, which led to a website that infected the workstation with a virus. This virus then encrypted all the network shares to which the user had access. The company's email filter, website filter, and antivirus were all unable to detect or block the virus, indicating that it was a new and previously unknown attack, known as a zero-day attack.
Option A, which states that the user's account was over-privileged, may be a contributing factor but is not the primary cause of the attack. Over-privileged accounts may provide attackers with access to sensitive information or systems, but they do not necessarily lead to the encryption of network shares.
Option B, which suggests that improper error handling triggered a false negative in all three controls, is also unlikely. While false negatives can occur in security controls, it is improbable that all three controls (email filter, website filter, and antivirus) would fail simultaneously due to a single error.
Option C, which suggests that the email originated from a private email server with no malware protection, may be a factor, but it is unlikely that this alone would result in the successful encryption of network shares. Email filters, website filters, and antivirus software are designed to protect against malicious links and files regardless of their origin.
Therefore, the most plausible scenario is that the user was tricked into clicking a link that led to a website that exploited a previously unknown vulnerability in the workstation, allowing the virus to spread and encrypt the network shares. This type of attack is known as a zero-day attack, as it takes advantage of a vulnerability that has not yet been identified or patched by the software vendor.