Unsuccessful Login Attempts | Analyzing a Hacked Linux Server | Exam XK0-004

Find Unsuccessful Login Attempts

Question

An administrator is analyzing a Linux server which was recently hacked.

Which of the following will the administrator use to find all unsuccessful login attempts?

Answers

Explanations

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A. B. C. D.

C.

The correct answer is C. pam_tally2.

PAM (Pluggable Authentication Modules) is a security framework in Linux that provides a way to configure authentication mechanisms used by services and applications. The pam_tally2 module is used to keep track of login attempts for each user.

When a user attempts to log in, pam_tally2 checks the current tally count for that user and takes an appropriate action based on the tally count. The administrator can configure pam_tally2 to lock out a user's account after a certain number of unsuccessful login attempts.

To view the current tally count for a user, the administrator can use the pam_tally2 command with the -u option and the username as an argument. For example, pam_tally2 -u username.

In contrast, nsswitch is a Linux configuration file that determines the sources that are used for system databases, such as user accounts and passwords. faillock is a utility that allows administrators to configure rules for locking user accounts based on failed login attempts. passwd is a command used to change a user's password.

Therefore, the correct answer to find all unsuccessful login attempts in a Linux server that was recently hacked is the pam_tally2 module.