Redundancy Measures for Preventing Unauthorized Software Insertion

Preventing Unauthorized Software Insertion

Question

Which of the following types of redundancy prevents attacks in which an attacker can get physical control of a machine, insert unauthorized software, and alter data?

Answers

Explanations

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A. B. C. D.

C.

Process redundancy permits software to run simultaneously on multiple geographically distributed locations, with voting on results.

It prevents attacks in which an attacker can get physical control of a machine, insert unauthorized software, and alter data.

The type of redundancy that prevents attacks in which an attacker can get physical control of a machine, insert unauthorized software, and alter data is hardware redundancy.

Hardware redundancy is the process of duplicating critical components of a system to ensure that if one component fails, the other component will continue to function and maintain system availability. This redundancy is achieved by using multiple hardware components, such as processors, storage devices, or network interfaces, which work in tandem to ensure that a system remains functional even if one component fails.

In the case of preventing attacks where an attacker gains physical access to a machine, hardware redundancy can help ensure the integrity of the system by preventing unauthorized software from being installed or data from being altered. This is because even if an attacker gains access to one component, they would not have access to the duplicate component, which would continue to function and maintain system integrity.

In contrast, data redundancy refers to the practice of storing multiple copies of the same data to prevent data loss due to hardware failure, while process redundancy involves having redundant processes in place to ensure that critical functions continue to operate in the event of a failure. Application redundancy, on the other hand, refers to having multiple instances of the same application running in parallel to ensure that if one instance fails, the others can take over.

While these types of redundancy can provide some level of protection against attacks, they do not specifically address the scenario of an attacker gaining physical control of a machine and inserting unauthorized software or altering data. Therefore, hardware redundancy is the most appropriate type of redundancy for preventing such attacks.