Theoretical Questions

Question 1

What is Cryptography?

Answer 1

The science of securing information and communication to ensure confidentiality

Question 2

What is the difference between Symmetric and Asymmetric encryption?

Answer 2

Symmetric encryption uses the same key for encryption/decryption; asymmetric uses different keys

Question 3

What is the difference between IDS and IPS?

Answer 3

An IDS detects cyber attacks while an IPS prevents attacks based on predefined filters, patterns, etc.

Question 4

CIA triad

Answer 4

Stands for confidentiality, integrity, and available. used as a model to guide/create security policies.

Question 5

Define encryption

Answer 5

encryption = concealing data and communication that can later be decrypted

Question 6

Define hashing

Answer 6

hashing = processing data (with a function) to produce a unique message digest, not intended to be decrypted

Question 7

What is a firewall?

Answer 7

A firewall is a network security device that monitors network traffic and blocks data packets depending on a set of security rules.

Question 8

What is a vulnerability assessment?

Answer 8

This is the process of finding “predefined” security weaknesses in a system

Question 9

What is penetration testing?

Answer 9

This is the process of finding “undefined” security weaknesses in a system

Question 10

What is a three-way handshake?

Answer 10

the method used in a TCP/IP network to create a connection between a host and a client.

Question 11

What are the response codes that can be received from a Web Application?

Answer 11

1xx – Informational responses
2xx – Success
3xx – Redirection
4xx – Client-side error
5xx – Server-side error

Question 12

What is traceroute? Why is it used?

Answer 12

Traceroute is a tool that shows the path of a packet.

Question 13

What steps will you take to secure a server?

Answer 13

Step 1: Make sure you have a secure password for your root and administrator users

Step 2: The next thing you need to do is make new users on your system. These will be the users you use to manage the system

Step 3: Remove remote access from the default root/administrator accounts

Step 4: The next step is to configure your firewall rules for remote access

Question 14

Explain Data Leakage

Answer 14

Data Leakage is an intentional or unintentional transmission of data from within the organization to an external unauthorized destination.

Question 15

What are some of the common Cyberattacks?

Answer 15

Malware
Phishing
Password Attacks
DDoS
Man in the Middle
Drive-By Downloads
Malvertising
Rogue Software

Question 16

What is a Brute Force Attack? How can you prevent it?

Answer 16

Brute Force is a way of finding out the right credentials by repetitively trying all the permutations and combinations of possible credentials.

Question 17

What is Port Scanning?

Answer 17

Port Scanning is the technique used to identify open ports and service available on a host.

Question 18

What is a VPN?

Answer 18

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. It is used to create a safe and encrypted connection.

Question 19

What do you understand by Risk, Vulnerability & Threat in a network?

Answer 19

Threat: Someone with the potential to harm a system or an organization
Vulnerability: Weakness in a system that can be exploited by a potential hacker
Risk: Potential for loss or damage when threat exploits a vulnerability

Question 20

What are black hat, white hat and grey hat hackers?

Answer 20

Black hat hackers are known for having vast knowledge about breaking into computer networks.

White hat (ethical) hackers specialize in penetration testing to protect the information system of an organization

Grey hat hackers sometimes violate ethical standards without malicious intent

Question 21

What is cybersecurity?

Answer 21

Cybersecurity refers to the protection of hardware, software, and data from attackers.

Question 22

Explain botnet.

Answer 22

A botnet is short for robot network. A botnet is a network of computers infected by malware that is under the control of an attacking party.

Question 23

Explain the differences between a worm and a virus

Answer 23

The main difference is that viruses must be triggered with a host’s help (human interaction), while worms are stand-alone malicious programs that act independently.

Question 24

Explain TCP Three-Way Handshake

Answer 24

It’s a three–step process in which the client establishes a connection with a server, the server responds to its request, and the client acknowledges the response to create a stable connection to transfer data.

Question 25

What is phishing?

Answer 25

Phishing is the cybercrime where targets are reached by email, phone, or text message by a hacker posing as a legitimate institution to gain access to sensitive information, such as social security numbers, financial data, and passwords.

Question 26

What are the differences between HTTPS, SSL, and TLS?

Answer 26

HTTP is the protocol used by browsers and web servers to communicate and exchange information. HTTPS (S stands for SSL) is the secured version of this protocol. TLS is a transport layer security and the successor protocol to SSL.

Question 27

Explain SSL

Answer 27

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. It is a technology creating encrypted connections between a web server and a web browser. I

Question 28

What do you mean by data leakage?

Answer 28

Data leakage is an unauthorized transfer of data to the outside world.

Question 29

What is encoding?

Answer 29

Encoding involves changing data into a new format using a scheme; data can be decoded

Question 30

What is hashing?

Answer 30

hashing involves computing a fixed-length mathematical summary of data, can’t be reversed, and is commonly used to verify data integrity.

Question 31

What is encryption?

Answer 31

The process of securely encoding data and only authorized users with a key or password can decrypt to access the original data.

Question 32

What is SQL injection?

Answer 32

SQL Injection (SQLi) is a code injection attack where an attacker manipulates the data being sent to the server to execute malicious SQL statements

Question 33

What is 2FA?

Answer 33

An extra layer of security that is known as “multi-factor authentication“.

Question 34

What are salted hashes?

Answer 34

Salt is a random data, often combined with a hash value to ensure password confidentiality

Question 35

What is ARP?

Answer 35

a protocol for mapping an Internet Protocol address (IP address) to a physical machine address that is recognized in the local network

Question 36

What is a MITM attack?

Answer 36

a type of attack where the hacker places himself in between the communication of two parties and steal the information.

Question 37

What are some of the common Cyberattacks?

Answer 37

Malware
Phishing
Password Attacks
DDoS
Man in the Middle
Drive-By Downloads
Malvertising
Rogue Software