Cybersecurity Interview Preparation Questions.pdf

Quick set of commonly asked Cybersecurity interview questions.

Questions are categorized into three main area in the order of level of difficulty (Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced).

Hyper links are given at the top of the page to quick jump to the desired level, you would have to download the document to access the hyperlinks.

1. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
ThisdocumentisdesignedtorefreshCybersecurityconceptsquickly.Information
presentedcanbehandytoprepareforjobinterviews.Documentisdividedinto
threesectionswithquestionsforBeginner,Intermediate&Advancelevels.
BeginnerlevelQsset-I:Pg01-19
BeginnerlevelQsset-II:Pg19-22
IntermediatelevelQs:Pg23-25
AdvancedlevelQs:Pg26-28
BEGINNERLEVELQUESTIONS
SET-IQUESTIONFORBEGINNERS
1)Whatiscybersecurity?
Cybersecurityreferstotheprotectionofhardware,software,anddatafromattackers.The
primarypurposeofcybersecurityistoprotectagainstcyberattackslikeaccessing,changing,or
destroyingsensitiveinformation.
2)Whataretheelementsofcybersecurity?
Majorelementsofcybersecurityare:
●Informationsecurity(akadatasecurity)
●Networksecurity
●Operationalsecurity
●Applicationsecurity
●End-usereducationawareness
●Businesscontinuityplanning
3)Whataretheadvantagesofcybersecurity?
Benefitsofcybersecurityareasfollows:
●Itprotectsthebusinessagainstransomware,malware,socialengineering,andphishing.
●Itprotectsend-users.
●Itgivesgoodprotectionforbothdataaswellasnetworks.
●Increaserecoverytimeafterabreach.
●Cybersecuritypreventsunauthorizedusers.
4)DefineCryptography.
Itisatechniqueusedtoprotectinformationfromthirdpartiescalledadversaries.Cryptography
allowsthesenderandrecipientofamessagetoreaditsdetails.
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2. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
5)DifferentiatebetweenIDSandIPS.
IntrusionDetectionSystem(IDS)detectsintrusions.Theadministratorhastobecarefulwhile
preventingtheintrusion.IntheIntrusionPreventionSystem(IPS),thesystemfindstheintrusion
andpreventsit.
6)WhatisCIA?
Confidentiality,Integrity,andAvailability(CIA)isapopularmodelwhichisdesignedtodevelop
asecuritypolicy.CIAmodelconsistsofthreeconcepts:
●Confidentiality:Ensurethesensitivedataisaccessedonlybyanauthorizeduser.
●Integrity:Integritymeanstheinformationisintherightformat.
●Availability:Ensurethedataandresourcesareavailableforuserswhoneedthem.
7)WhatisaFirewall?
Itisasecuritysystemdesignedforthenetwork.Afirewallissetontheboundariesofany
systemornetworkwhichmonitorsandcontrolsnetworktraffic.Firewallsaremostlyusedto
protectthesystemornetworkfrommalware,worms,andviruses.Firewallscanalsoprevent
contentfilteringandremoteaccess.
8)ExplainTraceroute
Itisatoolthatshowsthepacketpath.Itlistsallthepointsthatthepacketpassesthrough.
Tracerouteisusedmostlywhenthepacketdoesnotreachthedestination.Tracerouteisusedto
checkwheretheconnectionbreaksorstopsortoidentifythefailure.
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3. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
9)DifferentiatebetweenHIDSandNIDS.
Parameter HIDS NIDS
Usage HIDSisusedtodetecttheintrusions.NIDSisusedforthenetwork.
Whatdoesit
do?
Itmonitorssuspicioussystemactivitiesand
trafficofaspecificdevice.
Itmonitorsthetrafficofall
devicesonthenetwork.
10)ExplainSSL
SSLstandsforSecureSocketsLayer.Itisatechnologycreatingencryptedconnectionsbetween
awebserverandawebbrowser.Itisusedtoprotecttheinformationinonlinetransactionsand
digitalpaymentstomaintaindataprivacy.
11)Whatdoyoumeanbydataleakage?
Dataleakageisanunauthorizedtransferofdatatotheoutsideworld.Dataleakageoccursvia
email,opticalmedia,laptops,andUSBkeys.
12)Explainthebruteforceattack.Howtopreventit?
Itisatrial-and-errormethodtofindouttherightpasswordorPIN.Hackersrepetitivelytryall
thecombinationsofcredentials.Inmanycases,bruteforceattacksareautomatedwherethe
softwareautomaticallyworkstologinwithcredentials.TherearewaystopreventBruteForce
attacks.Theyare:
●Settingpasswordlength.
●Increasepasswordcomplexity.
●Setlimitonloginfailures.
13)Whatisportscanning?
Itisthetechniqueforidentifyingopenportsandserviceavailableonaspecifichost.Hackers
useportscanningtechniquetofindinformationformaliciouspurposes.
14)NamethedifferentlayersoftheOSImodel.
SevendifferentlayersofOSImodelsareasfollows:
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4. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
1.PhysicalLayer
2.DataLinkLayer
3.NetworkLayer
4.TransportLayer
5.SessionLayer
6.PresentationLayer
7.ApplicationLayer
15)WhatisaVPN?
VPNstandsforVirtualPrivateNetwork.Itisanetworkconnectionmethodforcreatingan
encryptedandsafeconnection.Thismethodprotectsdatafrominterference,snooping,and
censorship.
16)Whatareblackhathackers?
Blackhathackersarepeoplewhohaveagoodknowledgeofbreachingnetworksecurity.These
hackerscangeneratemalwareforpersonalfinancialgainorothermaliciousreasons.They
breakintoasecurenetworktomodify,steal,ordestroydatasothatthenetworkcannotbe
usedbyauthorizednetworkusers.
17)Whatarewhitehathackers?
WhitehathackersorsecurityspecialistarespecializedinPenetrationtesting.Theyprotectthe
informationsystemofanorganization.
18)Whataregreyhathackers?
Greyhathackersarecomputerhackerwhosometimesviolateethicalstandards,buttheydonot
havemaliciousintent.
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5. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
19)Howtoresetapassword-protectedBIOSconfiguration?
TherearevariouswaystoresetBIOSpassword.Someofthemareasfollows:
●RemoveCMOSbattery.
●Byutilizingthesoftware.
●Byutilizingamotherboardjumper.
●ByutilizingMS-DOS.
20)WhatisMITMattack?
AMITMorMan-in-the-Middleisatypeofattackwhereanattackerinterceptscommunication
betweentwopersons.ThemainintentionofMITMistoaccessconfidentialinformation.
21)DefineARPanditsworkingprocess.
ItisaprotocolusedforfindingMACaddressesassociatedwithIPv4addresses.Insimpleterms,
ARPisusedtoestablishtheIP:MACmapping.
ThisprotocolworksasaninterfacebetweentheOSInetworkandOSIlinklayer.
22)ExplainBotnet.
It’sanumberofinternet-connecteddeviceslikeservers,mobiledevices,IoTdevices,andPCs
thatareinfectedandcontrolledbymalware.
23)WhatisthemaindifferencebetweenSSLandTLS?
ThemaindifferencebetweenthesetwoisthatSSLverifiestheidentityofthesender.SSLhelps
youtotrackthepersonyouarecommunicatingto.TLSoffersasecurechannelbetweentwo
clients.
24)WhatistheabbreviationofCSRF?
CSRFstandsforCross-SiteRequestForgery.
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6. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
25)Whatis2FA?Howtoimplementitforapublicwebsite?
TFAstandsforTwoFactorAuthentication.Itisasecurityprocesstoidentifythepersonwhois
accessinganonlineaccount.Theuserisgrantedaccessonlyafterpresentingevidencetothe
authenticationdevice.
26)Explainthedifferencebetweenasymmetricandsymmetricencryption.
Symmetricencryptionrequiresthesamekeyforencryptionanddecryption.Ontheotherhand,
asymmetricencryptionneedsdifferentkeysforencryptionanddecryption.
27)WhatisthefullformofXSS?
XSSstandsforcross-sitescripting.
28)ExplainWAF
WAFstandsforWebApplicationFirewall.WAFisusedtoprotecttheapplicationbyfilteringand
monitoringincomingandoutgoingtrafficbetweenwebapplicationandtheinternet.
29)Whatishacking?
Hackingisaprocessoffindingweaknessincomputerorprivatenetworkstoexploitits
weaknessesandgainaccess.
Forexample,usingpasswordcrackingtechniquetogainaccesstoasystem.
30)Whoarehackers?
AHackerisapersonwhofindsandexploitstheweaknessincomputersystems,smartphones,
tablets,ornetworkstogainaccess.Hackersarewellexperiencedcomputerprogrammerswith
knowledgeofcomputersecurity.
31)Whatisnetworksniffing?
Networksniffingisatoolusedforanalyzingdatapacketssentoveranetwork.Thiscanbedone
bythespecializedsoftwareprogramorhardwareequipment.Sniffingcanbeusedto:
●Capturesensitivedatasuchaspassword.
●Eavesdroponchatmessages
●Monitordatapackageoveranetwork
32)WhatistheimportanceofDNSmonitoring?
Yongdomainsareeasilyinfectedwithmalicioussoftware.YouneedtouseDNSmonitoringtools
toidentifymalware.
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7. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
33)Definetheprocessofsalting.Whatistheuseofsalting?
Saltingisthatprocesstoextendthelengthofpasswordsbyusingspecialcharacters.Touse
salting,itisveryimportanttoknowtheentiremechanismofsalting.Theuseofsaltingisto
safeguardpasswords.Italsopreventsattackerstestingknownwordsacrossthesystem.
Forexample,Hash(“QxLUF1bgIAdeQX”)isaddedtoeachandeverypasswordtoprotectyour
password.Itiscalledassalt.
34)WhatisSSH?
SSHstandsforSecureSocketShellorSecureShell.Itisautilitysuitethatprovidessystem
administratorsasecurewaytoaccessthedataonanetwork.
35)IsSSLprotocolenoughfornetworksecurity?
SSLverifiesthesender’sidentity,butitdoesnotprovidesecurityoncethedataistransferredto
theserver.Itisgoodtouseserver-sideencryptionandhashingtoprotecttheserveragainsta
databreach.
36)Whatisblackboxtestingandwhiteboxtesting?
●Blackboxtesting:Itisasoftwaretestingmethodinwhichtheinternalstructureor
programcodeishidden.
●Whiteboxtesting:Asoftwaretestingmethodinwhichinternalstructureorprogramis
knownbytester.
37)Explainvulnerabilitiesinnetworksecurity.
Vulnerabilitiesrefertotheweakpointinsoftwarecodewhichcanbeexploitedbyathreatactor.
TheyaremostcommonlyfoundinanapplicationlikeSaaS(Softwareasaservice)software.
38)ExplainTCPThree-wayhandshake.
Itisaprocessusedinanetworktomakeaconnectionbetweenalocalhostandserver.This
methodrequirestheclientandservertonegotiatesynchronizationandacknowledgment
packetsbeforestartingcommunication.
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8. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
39)Definethetermresidualrisk.Whatarethreewaystodealwithrisk?
Itisathreatthatbalancesriskexposureafterfindingandeliminatingthreats.
Threewaystodealwithriskare:
1.Reduceit
2.Avoidit
3.Acceptit.
40)DefineExfiltration.
Dataexfiltrationreferstotheunauthorizedtransferofdatafromacomputersystem.This
transmissionmaybemanualandcarriedoutbyanyonehavingphysicalaccesstoacomputer.
41)Whatisexploitinnetworksecurity?
Anexploitisamethodutilizedbyhackerstoaccessdatainanunauthorizedway.Itis
incorporatedintomalware.
42)Whatdoyoumeanbypenetrationtesting?
Itistheprocessofcheckingexploitablevulnerabilitiesonthetarget.Inwebsecurity,itisused
toaugmentthewebapplicationfirewall.
43)Listoutsomeofthecommoncyber-attack.
Followingarethecommoncyber-attackswhichcanbeusedbyhackerstodamagenetwork:
●Malware
●Phishing
●Passwordattacks
●DDoS
●Maninthemiddle
●Drive-bydownloads
●Malvertising
●Roguesoftware
44)Howtomaketheuserauthenticationprocessmoresecure?
Inordertoauthenticateusers,theyhavetoprovidetheiridentity.TheIDandKeycanbeused
toconfirmtheuser’sidentity.Thisisanidealwayhowthesystemshouldauthorizetheuser.
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9. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
45)Explaintheconceptofcross-sitescripting.
Cross-sitescriptingreferstoanetworksecurityvulnerabilityinwhichmaliciousscriptsare
injectedintowebsites.Thisattackoccurswhenattackersallowanuntrustedsourcetoinject
codeintoawebapplication.
46)Nametheprotocolthatbroadcasttheinformationacrossallthedevices.
InternetGroupManagementProtocolorIGMPisacommunicationprotocolthatisusedingame
orvideostreaming.Itfacilitatesroutersandothercommunicationdevicestosendpackets.
47)Howtoprotectemailmessages?
Usecipheralgorithmtoprotectemail,creditcardinformation,andcorporatedata.
48)WhataretherisksassociatedwithpublicWi-Fi?
PublicWi-Fihasmanysecurityissues.Wi-Fiattacksincludekarmaattack,sniffing,war-driving,
bruteforceattack,etc.
PublicWi-Fimayidentifydatathatispassedthroughanetworkdevicelikeemails,browsing
history,passwords,andcreditcarddata.
49)WhatisDataEncryption?Whyitisimportantinnetworksecurity?
Dataencryptionisatechniqueinwhichthesenderconvertsthemessageintoacode.Itallows
onlyauthorizedusertogainaccess.
50)ExplainthemaindifferencebetweenDiffie-HellmanandRSA.
Diffie-HellmanisaprotocolusedwhileexchangingkeybetweentwopartieswhileRSAisan
algorithmthatworksonthebasistwokeyscalledprivateandpublickey.
51)Whatisaremotedesktopprotocol?
RemoteDesktopProtocol(RDP)isdevelopedbyMicrosoft,whichprovidesGUItoconnecttwo
devicesoveranetwork.
TheuserusesRDPclientsoftwaretoservethispurposewhileotherdevicemustrunRDPserver
software.Thisprotocolisspecificallydesignedforremotemanagementandtoaccessvirtual
PCs,applications,andterminalservers.
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10. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
52)DefineForwardSecrecy.
ForwardSecrecyisasecuritymeasurethatensurestheintegrityofuniquesessionkeyinevent
thatalongtermkeyiscompromised.
53)ExplaintheconceptofIVinencryption.
IVstandsfortheinitialvectorisanarbitrarynumberthatisusedtoensuresthatidenticaltext
encryptedtodifferentciphertexts.Encryptionprogramusesthisnumberonlyoncepersession.
54)Explainthedifferencebetweenstreamcipherandblockcipher.
Parameter StreamCipher BlockCipher
Howdoesitwork?
Streamcipheroperatesonsmall
plaintextunits
Blockcipherworksonlargedata
blocks.
CoderequirementItrequireslesscode. Itrequiresmorecode.
UsageofkeyKeyisusedonlyonce. Reuseofkeyispossible.
Application SecureSocketlayer. Fileencryptionanddatabase.
Usage
Streamcipherisusedtoimplement
hardware.
Blockcipherisusedtoimplement
software.
55)Givesomeexamplesofasymmetricencryptionalgorithm.
SomeexamplesofsymmetricencryptionalgorithmincludeDES,RCx,Blowfish
56)WhatistheabbreviationofECBandCBC?
ThefullformofECBisElectronicCodebook,andthefullformofCBCisCipherBlockChaining.
57)Explainabufferoverflowattack.
Bufferoverflowattackisanattackthattakesadvantageofaprocessthatattemptstowrite
moredatatoafixed-lengthmemoryblock.
58)DefineSpyware.
Spywareisamalwarethataimstostealdataabouttheorganizationorperson.Thismalware
candamagetheorganization’scomputersystem.
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11. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
59)Whatisimpersonation?
Itisamechanismofassigningtheuseraccounttoanunknownuser.
60)WhatdoyoumeanbySRM?
SRMstandsforSecurityReferenceMonitorprovidesroutinesforcomputerdriverstogrant
accessrightstoobjects.
61)Whatisacomputervirus?
Avirusisamalicioussoftwarethatisexecutedwithouttheuser’sconsent.Virusescanconsume
computerresources,suchasCPUtimeandmemory.Sometimes,thevirusmakeschangesin
othercomputerprogramsandinsertitsowncodetoharmthecomputersystem.
Acomputervirusmaybeusedto:
●Accessprivatedatalikeuseridandpasswords
●Displayannoyingmessagestotheuser
●Corruptdatainyourcomputer
●Logtheuser’skeystrokes
62)WhatdoyoumeanbyAuthenticode?
AuthenticodeisatechnologythatidentifiesthepublisherofAuthenticodesignsoftware.It
allowsuserstoensurethatthesoftwareisgenuineandnotcontainanymaliciousprogram.
63)DefineCryptoAPI
CryptoAPIisacollectionofencryptionAPIswhichallowsdeveloperstocreateaprojectona
securenetwork.
64)Explainstepstosecurewebserver.
Followthefollowingstepstosecureyourwebserver:
●Updateownershipoffile.
●Keepyourwebserverupdated.
●Disableextramodulesinthewebserver.
●Deletedefaultscripts.
65)WhatisMicrosoftBaselineSecurityAnalyzer?
MicrosoftBaselineSecurityAnalyzerorMBSAisagraphicalandcommand-lineinterfacethat
providesamethodtofindmissingsecurityupdatesandmisconfigurations.
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12. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
66)WhatisEthicalhacking?
Ethicalhackingisamethodtoimprovethesecurityofanetwork.Inthismethod,hackersfix
vulnerabilitiesandweaknessofcomputerornetwork.Ethicalhackersusesoftwaretoolsto
securethesystem.
67)Explainsocialengineeringanditsattacks.
Socialengineeringisthetermusedtoconvincepeopletorevealconfidentialinformation.
Therearemainlythreetypesofsocialengineeringattacks:1)Human-based,2)Mobile-based,
and3)Computer-based.
●Human-basedattack:Theymaypretendlikeagenuineuserwhorequestshigher
authoritytorevealprivateandconfidentialinformationoftheorganization.
●Computer-basedattack:Inthisattack,attackerssendfakeemailstoharmthecomputer.
Theyaskpeopletoforwardsuchemails.
●Mobile-basedattack:AttackermaysendSMStoothersandcollectimportant
information.Ifanyuserdownloadsamaliciousapp,thenitcanbemisusedtoaccess
authenticationinformation.
68)WhatareIPandMACAddresses?
IPAddressistheacronymforInternetProtocoladdress.Aninternetprotocoladdressisusedto
uniquelyidentifyacomputerordevicesuchasprinters,storagedisksonacomputernetwork.
MACAddressistheacronymforMediaAccessControladdress.MACaddressesareusedto
uniquelyidentifynetworkinterfacesforcommunicationatthephysicallayerofthenetwork.
69)Whatdoyoumeanbyaworm?
AWormisatypeofmalwarewhichreplicatesfromonecomputertoanother.
70)Statethedifferencebetweenvirusandworm
Parameter Virus Worm
Howdotheyinfecta
computer?
Itinsertsmaliciouscodeintoaspecificfile
orprogram.
Generateit’scopyandspreadusing
emailclient.
Dependency VirusneedahostprogramtoworkTheydonotrequireanyhosttofunction
correctly.
Linkedwithfiles Itislinkedwith.com,.xls,.exe,.doc,etc.Itislinkedwithanyfileonanetwork.
Affectingspeed Itisslowerthanworm. Itisfastercomparedtoavirus.
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13. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
71)Namesometoolsusedforpacketsniffing.
Followingaresometoolsusedforpacketsniffing.
●Tcpdump
●Wireshark
●Kismet
●NetworkMiner
●Dsniff
72)Explainantivirussensorsystems
Antivirusisasoftwaretoolthatisusedtoidentify,prevent,orremovethevirusespresentinthe
computer.Theyperformsystemchecksandincreasethesecurityofthecomputerregularly.
73)Listoutthetypesofsniffingattacks.
Varioustypesofsniffingattacksare:
●ProtocolSniffing
●Webpasswordsniffing
●Application-levelsniffing
●TCPSessionstealing
●LANSniffing
●ARPSniffing/Spoofing
74)Whatisadistributeddenial-of-serviceattack(DDoS)?
Itisanattackinwhichmultiplecomputersattackwebsite,server,oranynetworkresource.
75)Explaintheconceptofsessionhijacking.
TCPsessionhijackingisthemisuseofavalidcomputersession.IPspoofingisthemostcommon
methodofsessionhijacking.Inthismethod,attackersuseIPpacketstoinsertacommand
betweentwonodesofthenetwork.
76)Listoutvariousmethodsofsessionhijacking.
Variousmethodsofsessionhijackingare:
●UsingpacketSniffers
●Cross-SiteScripting(XSSAttack)
●IPSpoofing
●BlindAttack
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14. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
77)WhatareHackingTools?
HackingToolsarecomputerprogramsandscriptsthathelpyoufindandexploitweaknessesin
computersystems,webapplications,servers,andnetworks.Therearevarietiesofsuchtools
availableonthemarket.Someofthemareopensource,whileothersareacommercialsolution.
78)ExplainhoneypotanditsTypes.
Honeypotisadecoycomputersystemwhichrecordsallthetransactions,interactions,and
actionswithusers.
Honeypotisclassifiedintotwocategories:1)Productionhoneypotand2)Researchhoneypot.
●Productionhoneypot:Itisdesignedtocapturerealinformationfortheadministratorto
accessvulnerabilities.Theyaregenerallyplacedinsideproductionnetworkstoincrease
theirsecurity.
●ResearchHoneypot:Itisusedbyeducationalinstitutionsandorganizationsforthesole
purposeofresearchingthemotivesandtacticsoftheback-hatcommunityfortargeting
differentnetworks.
79)Namecommonencryptiontools.
Toolsavailableforencryptionsareasfollows:
●RSA
●Twofish
●AES
●TripleDES
80)WhatisBackdoor?
Itisamalwaretypeinwhichsecuritymechanismisbypassedtoaccessasystem.
81)Isitrighttosendlogincredentialsthroughemail?
Itisnotrighttosendlogincredentialsthroughemailbecauseifyousendsomeoneuseridand
passwordinthemail,chancesofemailattacksarehigh.
82)Explainthe80/20ruleofnetworking?
Thisruleisbasedonthepercentageofnetworktraffic,inwhich80%ofallnetworktrafficshould
remainlocalwhiletherestofthetrafficshouldberoutedtowardsapermanentVPN.
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15. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
83)DefineWEPcracking.
Itisamethodusedforasecuritybreachinwirelessnetworks.TherearetwotypesofWEP
cracking:1)Activecrackingand2)Passivecracking.
84)WhatarevariousWEPcrackingtools?
WellknownWEPcrackingtoolsare:
●Aircrack
●WebDecrypt
●Kismet
●WEPCrack
85)Whatisasecurityauditing?
Securityauditingisaninternalinspectionofapplicationsandoperatingsystemsforsecurity
flaws.Anauditcanalsobedonevialinebylineinspectionofcode.
86)Explainphishing.
Itisatechniqueusedtoobtainausername,password,andcreditcarddetailsfromotherusers.
87)WhatisNano-scaleencryption?
Nanoencryptionisaresearchareawhichprovidesrobustsecuritytocomputersandprevents
themfromhacking.
88)DefineSecurityTesting?
SecurityTestingisdefinedasatypeofSoftwareTestingthatensuressoftwaresystemsand
applicationsarefreefromanyvulnerabilities,threats,risksthatmaycauseabigloss.
89)ExplainSecurityScanning.
Securityscanninginvolvesidentifyingnetworkandsystemweaknessesandlaterprovides
solutionsforreducingtheserisks.ThisscanningcanbeperformedforbothManualaswellas
Automatedscanning.
90)Nametheavailablehackingtools.
Followingisalistofusefulhackingtools.
●Acunetix
●WebInspect
●Probably
●Netsparker
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16. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
●AngryIPscanner:
●BurpSuite
●Savvius
91)Whatistheimportanceofpenetrationtestinginanenterprise?
HerearetwocommonapplicationsofPenetrationtesting.
●Financialsectorslikestocktradingexchanges,investmentbanking,wanttheirdatatobe
secured,andpenetrationtestingisessentialtoensuresecurity.
●Incaseifthesoftwaresystemisalreadyhackedandtheorganizationwouldliketo
determinewhetheranythreatsarestillpresentinthesystemtoavoidfuturehacks.
92)Whatarethedisadvantagesofpenetrationtesting?
Disadvantagesofpenetrationtestingare:
●Penetrationtestingcannotfindallvulnerabilitiesinthesystem.
●Therearelimitationsoftime,budget,scope,skillsofpenetrationtesters.
●Datalossandcorruption
●DownTimeishighwhichincreasecosts
93)Explainsecuritythreat
Securitythreatisdefinedasariskwhichcanstealconfidentialdataandharmcomputer
systemsaswellasorganization.
94)Whatarephysicalthreats?
Aphysicalthreatisapotentialcauseofanincidentthatmayresultinlossorphysicaldamage
tothecomputersystems.
95)Giveexamplesofnon-physicalthreats
Followingaresomeexamplesofnon-physicalthreat:
●Lossofsensitiveinformation
●Lossorcorruptionofsystemdata
●CybersecurityBreaches
●Disruptbusinessoperationsthatrelyoncomputersystems
●Illegalmonitoringofactivitiesoncomputersystems
96)WhatisTrojanvirus?
Trojanisamalwareemployedbyhackersandcyber-thievestogainaccesstoanycomputer.
Hereattackersusesocialengineeringtechniquestoexecutethetrojanonthesystem.
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17. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
97)DefineSQLInjection
ItisanattackthatpoisonsmaliciousSQLstatementstodatabase.Ithelpsyoutotakebenefit
ofthedesignflawsinpoorlydesignedwebapplicationstoexploitSQLstatementstoexecute
maliciousSQLcode.Inmanysituations,anattackercanescalateSQLinjectionattackinorder
toperformotherattack,i.e.denial-of-serviceattack.
98)ListsecurityvulnerabilitiesasperOpenWebApplicationSecurityProject(OWASP).
Securityvulnerabilitiesasperopenwebapplicationsecurityprojectareasfollows:
●SQLInjection
●Cross-siterequestforgery
●Insecurecryptographicstorage
●Brokenauthenticationandsessionmanagement
●Insufficienttransportlayerprotection
●Unvalidatedredirectsandforwards
●FailuretorestrictURLaccess
99)Defineanaccesstoken.
AnaccesstokenisacredentialwhichisusedbythesystemtocheckwhethertheAPIshouldbe
grantedtoaparticularobjectornot.
100)ExplainARPPoisoning
ARP(AddressResolutionProtocol)Poisoningisatypeofcyber-attackwhichisusedtoconvert
IPaddresstophysicaladdressesonanetworkdevice.ThehostsendsanARPbroadcastonthe
network,andtherecipientcomputerrespondsbackwithitsphysicaladdress.
ARPpoisoningissendingfakeaddressestotheswitchsothatitcanassociatethefake
addresseswiththeIPaddressofagenuinecomputeronanetworkandhijackthetraffic.
101)Namecommontypesofnon-physicalthreats.
Followingarevarioustypesofnon-physicalthreats:
●Trojans
●Adware
●Worms
●Spyware
●DenialofServiceAttacks
●DistributedDenialofServiceAttacks
●Virus
●Keyloggers
●Unauthorizedaccesstocomputersystemsresources
●Phishing
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18. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
102)ExplainthesequenceofaTCPconnection.
ThesequenceofaTCPconnectionisSYN-SYNACK-ACK.
103)Definehybridattacks.
Hybridattackisablendofdictionarymethodandbruteforceattack.Thisattackisusedto
crackpasswordsbymakingachangeofadictionarywordwithsymbolsandnumbers.
104)WhatisNmap?
Nmapisatoolwhichisusedforfindingnetworksandinsecurityauditing.
105)WhatistheuseofEtterPeaktool?
EtterPeakisanetworkanalysistoolthatisusedforsniffingpacketsofnetworktraffic.
106)Whatarethetypesofcyber-attacks?
Therearetwotypesofcyberattacks:1)Web-basedattacks,2)Systembasedattacks.
107)Listoutweb-basedattacks
Someweb-basedattacksare:1)SQLInjectionattacks,2)Phishing,3)BruteForce,4)DNS
Spoofing,4)DenialofService,and5)Dictionaryattacks.
108)GiveexamplesofSystem-basedattacks
Examplesofsystem-basedattacksare:Virus,Backdoors,Bots,Worm
109)Listoutthetypesofcyberattackers
Therearefourtypesofcyberattackers.Theyare:1)cybercriminals,2)hacktivists,3)insider
threats,4)state-sponsoredattackers.
110)Defineaccidentalthreats
Theyarethreatsthatareaccidentlydonebyorganizationemployees.Inthesethreats,an
employeeunintentionallydeletesanyfileorsharesconfidentialdatawithoutsidersora
businesspartnergoingbeyondthepolicyofthecompany.
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19. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
SET-IIOFQUESTIONFORBEGINNERS
1.Whatiscybersecurity,andwhyisitimportant?
Cybersecurityprotectscomputersystems,networks,anddatafromtheft,damage,or
unauthorizedaccess.It'simportanttosafeguardsensitiveinformation,maintainprivacy,
preventfinanciallosses,andprotectcriticalinfrastructurefromcyberthreats.
2.DefinethetermsVirus,Malware,andRansomware.
●Virus:Aprogramthatreplicatesitselfandspreadstootherfilesorsystems,often
causingharm.
●Malware:Abroadertermencompassinganymalicioussoftwarethatdisruptsorgains
unauthorizedaccesstocomputersystems.
●Ransomware:Amalicioussoftwareencryptingfilesorcomputersystemsandrequesting
aransomfortheirdecryption.
3.ExplainthedifferencebetweenaThreat,Vulnerability,andRiskincybersecurity.
●Threat:Anypotentialdangerorharmfuleventthatcanexploitvulnerabilitiesand
negativelyimpactsecurity.
●Vulnerability:Weaknessesorgapsinsecuritymeasuresthatthreatscanexploit.
●Risk:Theprobabilityofathreatcapitalizingonavulnerabilityandthepotential
consequencesordamageitmayinflict.
4.WhatisPhishing?Provideanexample.
Phishing:Acyberattackinwhichmaliciousactorsemploydeceptiveemailsormessagesto
deceiveindividualsintodisclosingsensitiveinformation.
Example:Anemailclaimingtobefromabank,requestingtherecipienttoprovidetheirlogin
credentialsbyclickingalinkthatleadstoafakewebsite.
5.Howdofirewallsprotectnetworksecurity?
Firewallsserveasprotectivebarriers,overseeingandscreeningbothinboundandoutbound
networktrafficinaccordancewithestablishedsecurityregulations.
Theyblockunauthorizedaccessandhelppreventmaliciousdatafromenteringorleavinga
network.
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20. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
6.WhatisaVPNandwhyisitused?
AVirtualPrivateNetworkencryptsandsecuresinternetconnections,ensuringprivacyand
anonymity.
Itprotectsdatafromeavesdropping,accessesrestrictedcontent,andenhancespublicWi-Fi
security.
7.ExplaintheconceptofasecurePassword.
Asecurepasswordiscomplex,lengthy,anddifficulttoguess.
Itcomprisesacombinationofuppercaseandlowercaseletters,numbers,andspecial
characters,withtherequirementthatthiscombinationshouldbedistinctforeveryindividual
account.
8.Whatarethecommontechniquesforsecuringacomputernetwork?
Techniquesincludeusingstrongpasswords,regularupdatesandpatchmanagement,
implementingfirewalls,usingintrusiondetectionsystems,andconductingsecurityaudits.
9.Whatistwo-factorauthentication,andwhyisitimportant?
Two-factorauthenticationenhancessecuritybynecessitatinguserstofurnishtwodistinctforms
ofverification,typicallyapasswordandatemporarycode,therebybolsteringprotection.
It'simportantbecauseevenifapasswordiscompromised,unauthorizedaccessisprevented
withoutthesecondfactor.
10.DefinethetermsEncryptionandDecryption.
Encryption:Convertingplaintextdataintoacodedformattoprotectitfromunauthorized
access.
Decryption:Convertingencrypteddatabackintoitsoriginal,readableform.
11.WhatisSSLencryption?
SSL(SecureSocketsLayer)encryptionisaprotocolthatensuressecuredatatransmission
betweenauser'swebbrowserandawebsiteserver,protectingdataduringtransit.
12.WhatisthedifferencebetweenIDSandIPS?
IDS(IntrusionDetectionSystem):Monitorsnetworktrafficandgeneratesalertswhensuspicious
activityisdetected.
IPS(IntrusionPreventionSystem):Notonlydetectsbutalsoactivelyblocksorprevents
suspiciousnetworkactivity.
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21. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
13.ExplainwhatasecurityauditIs.
Asecurityauditsystematicallyevaluatesanorganization'sinformationsystemsandsecurity
policiestoassesstheireffectiveness,identifyvulnerabilities,andrecommendimprovements.
14.Whatstepswouldyoutakeifyoudiscoveredasecuritybreach?
Isolateaffectedsystems,containthebreach,notifyrelevantparties,investigatetheincident,
remediatevulnerabilities,andimplementmeasurestopreventfuturebreaches.
15.Whatissocialengineering?Giveanexample.
Socialengineeringmanipulatesindividualstodiscloseconfidentialinformationorperform
actionsformaliciouspurposes.
Example:Pretendingtobeatrustedcolleagueandaskingforlogincredentialsoverthephone.
16.Whatarecookiesinawebbrowser?
Cookiesarestoredbywebsitesonauser'sdevice.Theyareusedtotrackuserpreferences,
sessioninformation,andprovideapersonalizedbrowsingexperience.
17.WhatisaDDoSattackandhowdoesitwork?
ADistributedDenialofService(DDoS)attackinundatesatargetserverornetworkwith
excessivetrafficoriginatingfromnumeroussources,makingitinaccessibletogenuineusers.
18.Explainwhatasecuritypolicyis.
Asecuritypolicycomprisesacollectionofformallydocumentedregulations,recommendations,
andprotocolsthatdelineateanorganization'smethodstosafeguarditsinformation,assets,and
technologicalresources.
19.Whatisthedifferencebetweensymmetricandasymmetricencryption?
SymmetricEncryptionusesasimilarkeyforencryptionanddecryption.
AsymmetricEncryptionemploysapairofkeys,onepublicandoneprivate.Datathatis
encryptedwithonekeycanonlybedecipheredusingthecomplementarykey.
20.HowcanyoupreventaMan-In-The-Middleattack?
Usesecurecommunicationprotocols,verifydigitalcertificates,andavoidpublicWi-Fifor
sensitivetransactions.Implementingstrongencryptionalsohelps.
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22. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
21.Whatisahoneypotincybersecurity?
Ahoneypotisadecoysystemornetworkdesignedtoattractattackers.Itallowssecurity
professionalstostudytheirtactics,techniques,andmotivations.
22.Explaintheconceptofadigitalsignature.
Adigitalsignatureemployscryptographicmethodstoconfirmthegenuinenessandunaltered
stateofadigitaldocumentormessage,assuringboththesender'sauthenticityandthe
content'sintegrity.
23.Whatisabruteforceattack?
Itinvolvesattackersemployingatrial-and-errorapproachtofindapasswordorencryptionkey
bysystematicallytestingeveryconceivablecombinationuntiltheydiscoverthecorrectone.
24.Whatarethecommoncyberthreatstoday?
Commonthreatsincludemalware,ransomware,phishing,DDoSattacks,insiderthreats,and
zero-dayvulnerabilities.
25.Whatistheroleofpatchmanagementinmaintainingsecurity?
Patchmanagementregularlyappliesupdatesandpatchestosoftwareandsystemstofix
securityvulnerabilities.It'scrucialforpreventingtheexploitationofknownweaknessesby
attackers.
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23. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
INTERMEDIATELEVELQUESTIONS
1.ExplaintheconceptofPublicKeyInfrastructure(PKI).
PKIisasystemofcryptographictechniquesthatenablessecurecommunicationoveran
insecurenetwork.Apublickeyandaprivatekeypairareemployedforvariouscryptographic
operationssuchasencryption,decryption,thecreationofdigitalsignatures,andthevalidation
ofpublickeysthroughtheuseofcertificateauthorities(CAs)toensuretheirauthenticity.
2.Whatarethekeyelementsofastrongsecuritypolicy?
Astrongsecuritypolicyincludeselementslikeaccesscontrol,encryption,regularupdates,user
training,incidentresponseplans,andcompliancewithrelevantregulations.
3.Howdoesarootkitworkandhowwouldyoudetectit?
Arootkitismalicioussoftwarethatgivesattackersunauthorizedaccesstoacomputeror
network.Detectioninvolvesusingspecializedanti-rootkittoolsandmonitoringforsuspicious
systembehavior.
4.Explaincross-sitescriptingandSQLinjection.
XSSinvolvesinjectingmaliciousscriptsintowebapplications,whichcancompromiseuserdata.
SQLInjectionexploitsvulnerabilitiesinSQLqueriestomanipulateadatabase.Bothareforms
ofwebapplicationvulnerabilities.
5.Whatisazero-dayvulnerability?
Itreferstoasecurityvulnerabilitypresentinsoftwareorhardwarethatisundisclosedtothe
vendorandlacksanexistingsolution.Thisloopholecanbeleveragedbymaliciousactorsbefore
aremedyiscreated.
6.DiscusstheISO27001/27002standards.
Itisaframeworkforinformationsecuritymanagementsystems(ISMS),whileISO27002
providesguidelinesforimplementingsecuritycontrolsandpracticeswithinanorganization.
7.Howdothreatdetectionsystemswork?
Threatdetectionsystemsmonitornetworktrafficandsystemlogstoidentifysuspicious
activitiesorpotentialsecuritythreatsusingpredefinedrulesandmachinelearningalgorithms.
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24. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
8.Explaintheprinciplesofethicalhacking.
Ethicalhackinginvolvestestingsystemsandnetworksforvulnerabilitiestostrengthensecurity.
Principlesincludeobtainingproperauthorization,maintainingconfidentiality,andresponsible
disclosureoffindings.
9.Whatarethedifferenttypesofnetworksecurity?
Networksecurityincludesperimetersecurity,firewallprotection,intrusiondetectionsystems,
VPNs,andnetworksegmentationtosafeguarddataandresources.
10.Discusstheconceptofriskassessmentincybersecurity.
Riskassessmentincybersecurityinvolvesidentifying,assessing,andprioritizingpotential
threatsandvulnerabilitiestomakeinformeddecisionsonsecuritymeasures.
11.Whatisincidentresponse,andhowisitmanaged?
Incidentresponseencompassesamethodicalstrategyforhandlinganddiminishingsecurity
incidents,encompassingkeyphasessuchaspreparation,detection,containment,eradication,
recovery,andknowledgeacquisition.
12.Explaintheprincipleofleastprivilege.
TheLeastPrivilegeprinciplelimitstheaccessofusersandprocessestothebareminimum
requiredfortheirspecifictasks,therebyminimizingthepotentialforunauthorizedactions.
13.HowdoesSecureSocketLayer(SSL)work?
SSLprotocolensuressecuredatatransmissionbetweenwebbrowsersandserversusing
encryption,authentication,anddataintegritychecks.
14.Whatisnetworksniffing?
Networksniffingisthepracticeofinterceptingandanalyzingnetworktraffictogather
information,potentiallyformaliciouspurposes.Itcanbeusedformonitoringorattacks.
15.Discusstheimportanceofdisasterrecoveryplanningincybersecurity.
Disasterrecoveryplanningencompassestheproactivepreparationandresponsiveactions
requiredtosafeguardagainstdatalossorsystemfailures,ultimatelyensuringtheuninterrupted
operationofabusiness.
16.WhatisaSecurityInformationandEventManagement(SIEM)System?
SIEMsystemsgather,correlate,andscrutinizesecurity-relevantdatafromdiverseoriginsto
identifyandreacttosecurityevents.
17.Howdoyoumanagecryptographickeys?
Cryptographickeysshouldbesecurelygenerated,stored,rotated,andprotectedtomaintain
theconfidentialityandintegrityofencrypteddata.
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25. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
18.Whatarethecommonmethodsforsecuredatadisposal?
Commonmethodsincludedatashredding,overwriting,degaussing,andphysicaldestructionto
ensurethatsensitiveinformationcannotberecoveredfromstoragemedia.
19.Explaintheconceptofendpointsecurity.
Endpointsecurityfocusesonsecuringindividualdevices(endpoints)likecomputersandmobile
devicesbyusingantivirus,anti-malware,andintrusiondetectionsystems.
20.Discusstheroleofartificialintelligenceincybersecurity.
AIisusedforthreatdetection,patternrecognition,andanomalydetectiontoimprove
cybersecuritydefensesandautomateincidentresponse.
21.Whatarethechallengesincloudsecurity?
Challengesincludedatabreaches,compliance,datalossprevention,andsecuringshared
responsibilitymodelsincloudenvironments.
22.Howdopenetrationtestingandvulnerabilityassessmentsdiffer?
Penetrationtestingreplicatesreal-worldattackscenariostodiscovervulnerabilities,whereas
vulnerabilityassessmentsconcentrateonscanningsystemstodetectrecognizedweaknesses.
23.WhatisaSecurityOperationsCenter(SOC)?
SOCisacentralizedteamresponsibleforreal-timemonitoring,detecting,andrespondingto
securityincidents.
24.Discusstheimportanceofcomplianceincybersecurity.
Complianceensuresthatanorganizationfollowsrelevantlawsandregulations,helpingprotect
dataandavoidlegalconsequences.
25.WhatIsmulti-factorauthenticationandhowdoesitenhancesecurity?
MFAbolsterssecuritybynecessitatinguserstofurnishmultipleauthenticationfactors,typically
acombinationofsomethingtheypossess(e.g.,amobiletoken)andsomethingtheyareaware
of(e.g.,apassword).
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26. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
ADVANCEDLEVELQUESTIONS
1.DiscussthechallengesandstrategiesofsecuringIoTdevices.
●Challenges:Devicediversity,limitedresources,andvulnerabilities.
●Strategies:Regularupdates,strongauthentication,networksegmentation,andIoT
securityframeworks.
2.ExplainAdvancedPersistentThreats(APT).
APTsarelong-term,targetedcyberattacksbyskilledadversaries.Theyusestealth,persistence,
andsophisticatedtechniquestobreachsystems.
3.Discusstheroleofblockchainincybersecurity.
Blockchaincanenhancesecuritythroughdecentralizedconsensus,dataintegrity,and
immutablerecords.It'susedinsecuretransactionsandidentitymanagement.
4.Howdoyouapproachsecuringalarge,distributednetwork?
Employsegmentation,strongaccesscontrols,regularaudits,andnetworkmonitoringtoprotect
againstthreatsacrossavastnetwork.
5.Whatistheimportanceofforensicsincybersecurity?
Forensicshelpsinvestigateincidents,gatherevidence,andunderstandattackvectors,aidingin
incidentresponseandlegalactions.
6.Discusstheintricaciesofnetworkprotocolsecurity.
Secureprotocolsareessentialfordataconfidentialityandintegrity.Useencryptionand
authentication,andkeepprotocolsupdatedtomitigaterisks.
7.HowdoyoumanagesecurityinaDevOpsenvironment?
Implementsecurityintothedevelopmentpipelinewithautomation,continuousmonitoring,and
collaborationbetweendevelopmentandsecurityteams.
8.Explaintheconceptofmicro-segmentationinnetworksecurity.
Micro-segmentationisolatesnetworksegmentsforfinercontrolandsecurity.Itlimitsthelateral
movementofthreatswithinanetwork.
9.Discussthechallengesofsecuringbigdataenvironments.
Challengesincludedatavolumeanddiversity.Strategiesinvolveencryption,accesscontrols,
monitoring,anddataclassification.
10.Whatareyourstrategiesformanagingsupplychainrisksincybersecurity?
Assessthird-partyvendors,enforcesecuritystandards,conductaudits,andmaintainasupply
chainriskmanagementprogram.
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27. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
11.Explaintheconceptofcontainersecurity.
Securecontainerizedapplicationswithimagescanning,accesscontrols,andruntimeprotection
topreventvulnerabilities.
12.Howdoyouensurecompliancewithinternationaldataprotectionlaws(likeGDPR)?
Implementdataprotectionpolicies,conductprivacyimpactassessments,andensure
compliancewithconsentanddatasubjectrights.
13.Discussthefuturetrendsincybersecurity.
TrendsincludeAI/MLforthreatdetection,zero-trustarchitecture,cloudsecurity,andincreased
focusonIoTand5Gsecurity.
14.Whataretheethicalconsiderationsincybersecurity?
Ethicalconcernsinvolveprivacy,responsibledisclosure,andavoidingharmtoindividualsand
organizations.
15.Howdoyoumeasuretheeffectivenessofacybersecurityprogram?
Usemetricslikeriskassessments,incidentresponsetimes,andsecuritypostureevaluationsto
measureprogrameffectiveness.
16.Discussthechallengesinsecuringwirelessnetworks.
Challengesincluderogueaccesspointsandeavesdropping.Solutionsincludestrongencryption,
networkmonitoring,andusereducation.
17.Whatisquantumcryptographyanditsimplicationsforsecurity?
Quantumcryptographyusesquantummechanicstosecurecommunication.Ithasthepotential
toresistquantumattacks,ensuringlong-termsecurity.
18.Explaintheconceptoffederatedidentitymanagement.
Federatedidentityallowsuserstoaccessmultiplesystemswithasinglesetofcredentials,
enhancingconvenienceandsecurity.
19.Whatarethelatestdevelopmentsincybersecuritythreats?
Threatsevolvewithnewattackvectors,suchassupplychainattacks,ransomware,and
AI-drivenattacks.
20.Howdoyoumanagesecurityinahybridcloudenvironment?
Securehybridcloudenvironmentswithconsistentsecuritypolicies,identitymanagement,and
dataprotectionacrosson-premisesandcloudresources.
21.Discusstheimpactofartificialintelligenceoncybersecuritythreats.
AIcanautomatethreatdetection,enhanceincidentresponse,andimprovesecurityanalytics.
However,itcanalsobeexploitedbyattackers.
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28. CybersecurityInterviewPreparation-CommonQuestions
22.Whatistheroleofmachinelearningindetectingcyberthreats?
MLalgorithmsanalyzelargedatasetstodetectanomaliesandpatternsassociatedwithcyber
threats,enablingproactivesecuritymeasures.
23.Explaintheconceptofthreatintelligenceanditsapplication.
Threatintelligenceisthecollectionandanalysisofdatatoidentifyandrespondtoemerging
threats,enablingproactivecybersecurity.
24.Whatstrategieswouldyouimplementforsecuringmobileapplications?
Securemobileappswithencryption,codereviews,secureAPIs,andregularupdatestoprotect
againstvulnerabilitiesanddatabreaches.
25.Discussthechallengesandsolutionsinendpointdetectionandresponse(EDR).
EDRsolutionsmonitorandrespondtoendpointthreatsinreal-time,providingvisibilityand
incidentresponsecapabilities.
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