Which of the following services would pose the GREATEST risk when used to permit access to and from the Internet?

Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) poses the greatest risk when exposed to the internet because:

Common Attack Vector: Frequently targeted in brute-force attacks and ransomware campaigns.

Privilege Escalation: If compromised, attackers can gain full control of the target system.

Vulnerability History: RDP services have been exploited in numerous attacks (e.g., BlueKeep).

Exploitation Risk: Directly exposing RDP to the internet without proper safeguards (like VPNs or MFA)

is extremely risky.

Incorrect Options:

A . SMB on TCP 445: Risky, but usually confined to internal networks.

B . FTP on TCP 21: Unencrypted but less risky compared to RDP for remote control.

C . DNS on UDP 53: Used for name resolution; rarely exploited for direct system access.

Exact Extract from CCOA Official Review Manual, 1st Edition:

Refer to Chapter 5, Section "Remote Access Security," Subsection "RDP Risks" - Exposing RDP to the

internet presents a critical security risk due to its susceptibility to brute-force and exploitation

attacks.