BCA-4th Semester

Network Security (BCA-216)

Unit-I
1. What is network security, and why is it important?
2. What are the primary goals of network security?
3. What are the main types of threats that networks face?
4. What is the difference between a threat, a vulnerability, and a risk in the context of
network security?
5. What is a denial-of-service (DoS) attack, and how can it be mitigated?
6. What is the role of access control in network security, and what are some common
access control mechanisms?
7. What is cryptography, and why is it important in computer security? What are the main
categories of cryptographic algorithms?
8. What is symmetric and asymmetric encryption, and how does it work?
9. Can you explain the concept of key management in cryptography?
10. What is the difference between encryption and hashing algorithms?
11. Can you explain the Diffie-Hellman key exchange algorithm and its significance in
cryptography?
12. What is the RSA algorithm, and how does it work?
13. Explain the concept of cryptographic hashing, and what are some common hashing
algorithms?
14. What is a message authentication code (MAC), and how is it used in cryptography?
15. What are the main differences between SSL and TLS protocols?
16. What is PKI, and what role does it play in securing communications over the internet?
17. Can you explain the basic components of a PKI system?
18. How does a digital certificate work in PKI, and what information does it contain?
19. What is the purpose of a Certificate Authority (CA) in PKI, and how does it issue and
manage digital certificates?
Unit-II
1. What is a firewall, and why is it an essential component of network security?
2. Can you explain the difference between a network firewall and a host-based firewall?
3. What are the main types of firewall architectures, and how do they differ?
4. How does a packet-filtering firewall work, and what are its strengths and weaknesses?
5. What is a stateful inspection firewall, and how does it enhance security compared to
packet-filtering firewalls?
6. Can you explain the concept of application-layer firewalls, and what are their benefits?
7. How does a proxy firewall function, and what are its advantages in terms of security?
8. What is a Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW), and what additional features does it offer
compared to traditional firewalls?
Unit-III
1. What is authentication, and why is it important in computer security?
2. What are the main categories of authentication factors?
3. Can you explain the difference between single-factor authentication and multi-factor
authentication?
4. What is a secure password policy, and why is it important for network security?
5. How does multi-factor authentication enhance network security?
6. How does password-based authentication work, and what are its strengths and
weaknesses?
7. What is token-based authentication, and how does it improve security compared to
password-based authentication?
8. Explain the concept of biometric authentication, and what are some common biometric
modalities used?
9. How does fingerprint recognition technology work in biometric authentication?
10. How does two-factor authentication (2FA) enhance security compared to single-factor
authentication?
11. What is time-based one-time password (TOTP) authentication, and how does it work?
12. How does certificate-based authentication work, and what role do digital certificates
play in the process?
13. What is OAuth, and how is it used for authentication in modern web applications?
14. What is OpenID Connect, and how does it differ from OAuth in the context of
authentication?
15. How do authentication protocols like Kerberos and LDAP contribute to authentication
in network environments?
16. What is SNMP? what role does it play in network management and monitoring?
Explain the basic architecture of SNMP and how it facilitates communication between
network devices and management systems?
17. Can you explain the concept of email spoofing and how it can be mitigated?
18. What is phishing, and how does it pose a threat to email security?
19. What is end-to-end email encryption, and how does it enhance email security?
20. Can you explain the importance of digital signatures in email security?
Unit-IV
1. What are the main types of VPNs, and how do they differ in terms of deployment and
functionality?
2. What are the primary components of a VPN architecture, and how do they work
together?
3. How does intrusion prevention system (IPS) functionality integrate with firewalls?
4. What are IDS and IPS, and what is the difference between them?
5. Can you explain the primary goals of IDS and IPS in network security?
6. What are the main types of IDS deployment architectures, and how do they differ?
7. What are the key components of an IDS, and how do they work together to detect
potential threats?
8. How does signature-based detection work in IDS, and what are its strengths and
weaknesses?
9. What is anomaly-based detection in IDS, and how does it complement signature-based
detection?
10. Can you explain the concept of heuristic-based detection in IDS, and what are its
limitations?
11. What are the challenges associated with false positives and false negatives in IDS and
IPS?
12. How do IDS and IPS contribute to incident response and threat mitigation strategies?