GIAC Security Essentials Certification (GSEC) — Question 12

The previous system administrator at your company used to rely heavily on email lists, such as vendor lists and Bug Traq to get information about updates and patches. While a useful means of acquiring data, this requires time and effort to read through. In an effort to speed things up, you decide to switch to completely automated updates and patching. You set up your systems to automatically patch your production servers using a cron job and a scripted apt-get upgrade command. Of the following reasons, which explains why you may want to avoid this plan?

Answer options

• A. The apt-get upgrade command doesn't work with the cron command because of incompatibility
• B. Relying on vendor and 3rd party email lists enables updates via email, for even faster patching
• C. Automated patching of production servers without prior testing may result in unexpected behavior or failures
• D. The command apt-get upgrade is incorrect, you need to run the apt-get update command

Correct answer: D

Explanation

The correct answer is D because the apt-get upgrade command is not the proper command for initiating updates without first updating the package list. Options A and B are incorrect as they misrepresent the functionality of apt-get and the nature of email lists, while option C, although a valid concern, does not address the command issue at hand.