220-1102 Question 445
Single answerSpoofingA help desk technician receives several calls from employees who say they got an email from the company's CEO asking them to immediately purchase gift cards and reply with the card numbers. The message displays the CEO's name in the sender field, but when the technician checks the full email header, the Reply-To address points to a free webmail account and the sending domain does not match the company's domain. Which type of attack is MOST likely being used?
- A
Spoofing
- B
Tailgating
- C
Vishing
- D
Brute-force attack
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The best answer is spoofing because the attacker is impersonating a trusted sender by manipulating email identity information. In real environments, technicians should inspect full headers, verify the actual sending domain, and compare the From and Reply-To addresses when messages seem suspicious. This aligns with common security awareness guidance from organizations such as CISA and NIST, which recommend verifying sender authenticity and being cautious with urgent financial requests. In an A+ Core 2 context, recognizing spoofing indicators and escalating suspected phishing or business email compromise attempts is a practical support task.
- A. Correct.
Correct. This scenario describes email spoofing, where the attacker falsifies sender information so the message appears to come from a trusted person, such as the CEO. The mismatched domain and suspicious Reply-To address are common indicators. In practice, spoofing is often used in business email compromise and other social engineering attacks to trick users into sending money or sensitive information.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Tailgating is a physical security attack in which an unauthorized person follows an authorized user into a restricted area. The scenario involves a fraudulent email message, not unauthorized physical entry.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Vishing is voice phishing conducted over phone calls or voicemail. Although employees reported the issue by phone, the attack itself was delivered through email, so vishing does not fit this situation.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. A brute-force attack involves repeatedly attempting passwords or cryptographic keys until access is gained. Nothing in the scenario suggests password guessing or account login attempts.