Cyber Security

Interview Questions- Answers

What is cryptography?

Cryptography aids to secure information from third parties who are called adversaries. It allows
only the sender and the recipient to access the data securely.

What is trace route? Mention its uses.

Trace route is a network diagnostic tool. It helps track the route taken by a packet that is sent
across the IP network. It shows the IP addresses of all the routers it pinged between the source
and the destination.
Uses:
 It shows the time taken by the packet for each hop during the transmission.

 When the packet is lost during the transmission, the traceroute will identify where the
point of failure is.

What is a firewall? Mention its uses.

A firewall is a network security device/system, which blocks malicious traffic such as hackers,
worms, malware, and viruses to maintain data privacy.
Uses:
 It monitors the incoming and outgoing network traffic. It permits or allows only data
packets that agree to the set of security rules.
 It acts as a barrier between the internal network and the incoming traffic from external
sources like the Internet.

What is a three-way handshake?

It is a process that happens in a TCP/IP network when you make a connection between a local
host and the server. It is a three-step process to negotiate acknowledgment and synchronization
of packets before communication starts.
Step 1: The client makes a connection with the server with SYN.
Step 2: The server responds to the client request with SYN+ACK.
Step 3: The client acknowledges the server’s response with ACK, and the actual data
transmission begins.
What is a response code? List them.
HTTP response codes indicate a server’s response when a client makes a request to the server.
It shows whether an HTTP request is completed or not.

1xx: Informational
The request is received, and the process is continuing. Some example codes are:
 100 (continue)

 101 (switching protocol)

 102 (processing)
 103 (early hints)

2xx: Success
The action is received, understood, and accepted successfully. A few example codes for this are:
 200 (OK)
 202 (accepted)
 205 (reset content)
 208 (already reported)
3xx: Redirection

To complete the request, further action is required to take place. Example codes:
 300 (multiple choice)
 302 (found)
 308 (permanent redirect)
4xx: Client Error
The request has incorrect syntax, or it is not fulfilled. Here are the example codes for this:

 400 (bad request)

 403 (forbidden)
 404 (not found)

5xx: Server Error

The server fails to complete a valid request. Example codes for this are:
 500 (internal server error)

 502 (bad gateway)

 511 (network authentication required)

What is the CIA triad?

CIA Triad is a security model to ensure IT security. CIA stands for confidentiality, integrity, and
availability.
 Confidentiality: To protect sensitive information from unauthorized access.

 Integrity: To protect data from deletion or modification by an unintended person.

 Availability: To confirm the availability of the data whenever needed.

What are the common cyberattacks?

Here is a list of common cyberattacks aimed at inflicting damage to a system.
1. Man in the Middle attack: The attacker puts himself in the communication between the
sender and the receiver. This is done to eavesdrop and impersonate to steal data.

2. Phishing: Here, the attacker will act as a trusted entity to perform malicious activities
such as getting usernames, passwords, and credit card numbers.
3. Rogue Software: It is a fraudulent attack where the attacker fakes a virus on the target
device and offers an anti-virus tool to remove the malware. This is done to install
malicious software into the system.
4. Malware: Malware is software that is designed to attack the target system. The software
can be a virus, worm, ransomware, spyware, and so on.
5. Drive-by Downloads: The hacker takes advantage of the lack of updates on the OS, app,
or browser, which automatically downloads malicious code to the system.

6. DDoS: This is done to overwhelm the target network with massive traffic, making it
impossible for the website or the service to be operable.
7. Malvertising: Malvertising refers to the injections of maleficent code to legitimate
advertising networks, which redirect users to unintended websites.
8. Password Attacks: As the name suggests, here, the cyber hacker cracks credentials like
passwords.

What is data leakage?

Data leakage means the unauthorized transmission of data from an organization to an external

recipient. The mode of transmission can be electronic, physical, web, email, mobile data, and

storage devices, such as USB keys, laptops, and optical media.

Types of data leakage:

  Accidental leakage: The authorized entity sends data to an unauthorized entity
accidentally.
 Malicious insiders: The authorized entity intentionally sends data to an unauthorized
entity.
 Electronic communication: Hackers make use of hacking tools to intrude the system.

Explain port scanning.

A port scan helps you determine the ports that are open, listening, or closed on a network.
Administrators use this to test network security and the system’s firewall strength. For hackers,
it is a popular reconnaissance tool to identify the weak point to break into a system.

Some of the common basic port scanning techniques are:

1. UDP
2. Ping scan
3. TCP connect
4. TCP half-open
5. Stealth scanning

Explain brute force attack and the ways to prevent it.

A brute force attack is a hack where the attacker tries to guess the target password by trial and
error. It is mostly implemented with the help of automated software used to login with
credentials.

Here are some ways to prevent a brute force attack:

1. Set a lengthy password

2. Set a high-complexity password
3. Set a limit for login failures

Explain the difference between hashing and encryption.

Hashing Encryption

A one-way function where you cannot decrypt Encrypted data can be decrypted to the original
the original message text with a proper key

Used to verify data Used to transmit data securely

Used to send files, passwords, etc. and to Used to transfer sensitive business information
search

What is the difference between vulnerability assessment (VA) and penetration testing
(PT)?

Vulnerability Assessment (VA) Penetration Testing (PT)

Identifies the vulnerabilities in a network Identifies vulnerabilities to exploit them to
penetrate the system
Tells how susceptible the network is Tells whether the detected vulnerability is
genuine
Conducted at regular intervals when Conducted annually when there are
there is a change in the system or significant changes introduced into the
network system

Mention the steps to set up a firewall.

Following are the steps you have to follow to set up a firewall:
1. Username/password: Alter the default password of a firewall device.
2. Remote Administration: Always disable the Remote Administration feature.
3. Port Forward: For the web server, FTP, and other applications to work properly,
configure appropriate ports.
4. DHCP Server: Disable the DHCP server when you install a firewall to avoid conflicts.
5. Logging: Enable logs to view the firewall troubleshoots and to view logs.
6. Policies: Configure strong security policies with the firewall.

What is SSL encryption?

Secure Socket Layer is a security protocol that is used for the purpose of encryption. It ensures
privacy, data integrity, and authentication in the network like online transactions.
The following are the steps for setting up an SSL encryption:
1. A browser connects to an SSL-secured web server.
 2. The browser requests the server’s public key in exchange for its own private key.
3. If it is trustworthy, the browser requests to establish an encrypted connection with the
web server.

4. The web server sends the acknowledgment to start an SSL encrypted connection.
5. SSL communication starts to take place between the browser and the web server.

What steps will you take to secure a server?

A server that is secured uses the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol to encrypt and decrypt data
to protect it from unauthorized access.
Below are the four steps to secure a server:

Step 1: Secure the root and administrator users with a password

Step 2: Create new users who will manage the system
Step 3: Do not give remote access to administrator/default root accounts
Step 4: Configure firewall rules for remote access

What is the difference between HIDS and NIDS?

Host Intrusion Detection System Network Intrusion Detection System

Detects the attacks that involve hosts Detects attacks that involve networks

Analyzes what a particular Examines the network traffic of all devices

host/application is doing

Discovers hackers only after the machine is Discovers hackers at the time they generate
breached unauthorized attacks

Mention the difference between symmetric and asymmetric encryption.

Differentiator Symmetric Encryption Asymmetric Encryption

Encryption Key Only one key to encrypt and Two different keys (public and private keys) to
decrypt a message encrypt and decrypt the message

Speed of Encryption is faster and Encryption is slower and complicated

Execution simple

Algorithms RC4, AES, DES, and 3DES RSA, Diffie-Hellman, and ECC

Usage For the transmission of large For smaller transmission to establish a secure
chunks of data connection prior to the actual data transfe
What is the difference between IDS and IPS?

Intrusion Detection System Intrusion Prevention System

A network infrastructure to detect A network infrastructure to prevent intrusions by

intrusion by hackers hackers

Flags invasion as threads Denies the malicious traffic from threads

Detects port scanners, malware, and Does not deliver malicious packets if the traffic is from
other violations known threats in databases

What are the different layers of the OSI model?

OSI model was introduced by the International Organization for Standardization for different
computer systems to communicate with each other using standard protocols.
Below are the various layers of the OSI model:
 Physical layer: This layer allows the transmission of raw data bits over a physical
medium.
 Datalink layer: This layer determines the format of the data in the network.
 Network layer: It tells which path the data will take.
 Transport layer: This layer allows the transmission of data using TCP/UDP protocols.
 Session layer: It controls sessions and ports to maintain the connections in the
network.
 Presentation layer: Data encryptions happen in this layer, and it ensures that the data
is in a usable/presentable format.
 Application layer: This is where the user interacts with the application.

What is a VPN?
VPN stands for virtual private network. It is a private network that gives you online anonymity
and privacy from a public Internet connection. VPN helps you protect your online activities,
such as sending an email, paying bills, or shopping online.
How does a VPN work?
1. When you make a VPN connection, your device routes the Internet connection to the
VPN’s private server, instead of your Internet Service Provider (ISP).
2. During this transmission, your data is encrypted and sent through another point on the
Internet.

3. When it reaches the server, the data is decrypted.

4. The response from the server reaches the VPN where it is encrypted, and it will be
decrypted by another point in the VPN.
 5. At last, the data, which is decrypted, reaches you.

What do you understand by risk, vulnerability, and threat in a network?

 Threat: A cyber security threat can cause potential harm to an organization’s assets by
exploiting a vulnerability. It can be intentional or accidental.
 Vulnerability: A vulnerability is a weakness or a gap in the security system that can be
taken advantage of by a malicious hacker.

 Risk: A risk happens when the threat exploits a vulnerability. It results in loss,
destruction, or damage to the asset.

How do you prevent identity theft?

To prevent identity theft, you can take the following measures:

1. Protect your personal records.
2. Avoid online sharing of confidential information.
3. Protect your Social Security Number.

4. Use strong passwords, and change them at regular intervals.

5. Do not provide your bank information on untrustworthy websites.
6. Protect your system with advanced firewall and spyware tools.
7. Keep your browsers, system, and software updated.

Who are White Hat, Grey Hat, and Black Hat Hackers?
Black Hat Hackers
A Black Hat Hacker uses his/her hacking skills to breach confidential data without permission.
With the obtained data, the individual performs malicious activities such as injecting malware,
viruses, and worms.
White Hat Hackers
A White Hat Hacker uses his/her hacking skills to break into a system but with the permission
of the respective organizations. They are professionals known as Ethical Hackers. They hack the
system to identify its vulnerability and to fix it before a hacker takes advantage of it.
Grey Hat Hackers
A Grey Hat Hacker has the characteristics of both a Black Hat Hacker and a White Hat Hacker.
Here, the system is violated with no bad intention, but they do not have the essential permission
to surf the system, so it might become a potential threat at any time.

What are the ways to reset a password-protected BIOS configuration?

BIOS being hardware, setting it up with a password locks the operating system. There are three
ways to reset the BIOS password:
1. you need to unplug the PC and remove the CMOS battery in the cabinet for 15–30
minutes. Then, you can put it back.

2. You can use third-party software such as CmosPwd and Kiosk.

3. You can run the below commands from the MS-DOS prompt with the help of the debug
tool. For this method to work, you need to have access to the OS installed.

4. Debug
5. o 70 2E
6. o 71 FF
7. quit

This will reset all BIOS configurations, and you need to re-enter the settings for it.

Explain the MITM attack. How to prevent it?

In the Man-in-the-Middle attack, the hacker eavesdrops on the communication between two
parties. The individual then impersonates another person and makes the data transmission look
normal for the other parties. The intent is to alter the data, steal personal information, or get
login credentials for sabotaging communication.
These are a few ways to prevent a MITM attack:
1. Public key pair based authentication
2. Virtual private network

3. Strong router login credentials

4. Implement a well-built Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) like firewalls.
5. Strong WEP/WPA encryption on access points

Explain the DDoS attack. How to prevent it?

Distributed denial-of-service attack overwhelms the target website, system, or network with
huge traffic, more than the server’s capacity. The aim is to make the server/website inaccessible
to its intended users. DDoS happens in the below two ways:

Flooding attacks: This is the most commonly occurring type of DDoS attack. Flooding attacks
stop the system when the server is accumulated with massive amounts of traffic that it cannot
handle. The attacker sends packets continuously with the help of automated software.
Crash attacks: This is the least common DDoS attack where the attacker exploits a bug in the
targeted system to cause a system crash. It prevents legitimate users from accessing email,
websites, banking accounts, and gaming sites.
To prevent a DDoS attack, you have to:
1. Configure firewalls and routers
 2. Recognize the spike in traffic
3. Consider front-end hardware

4. Empower the server with scalability and load balancing

5. Use anti-DDoS software

Explain the XSS attack. How to prevent it?

Cross-site scripting also known as XSS attack allows the attacker to pretend as a victim user to
carry out the actions that the user can perform, in turn, stealing any of the user’s data. If the
attacker can masquerade as a privileged victim user, one can gain full control over all the
application’s data and functionality. Here, the attacker injects malicious client-side code into
web services to steal information, run destructive code, take control of a user’s session, and
perform a phishing scam.
Here are the ways to prevent an XSS attack:
1. Cross-check user’s input
2. Sanitize HTML
3. Employ anti-XSS tools
4. Use encoding
5. Check for regular updates of the software

What is an ARP, and how does it work?

Address Resolution Protocol is a communication protocol of the network layer in the OSI model.
Its function is to find the MAC address for the given IP address of the system. It converts the
IPv4 address, which is 32-bit, into a 48-bit MAC address.
How ARP works:
1. It sends an ARP request that broadcasts frames to the entire network.

2. All nodes on the network receive the ARP request.

3. The nodes check whether the request matches with the ARP table to find the target’s
MAC address.
4. If it does not match, then the nodes silently discard the packet.

5. If it matches, the target will send an ARP response back to the original sender via
unicast.

What is port blocking within LAN?

It refers to restricting users from accessing a set of services within the local area network. The
main aim is to stop the source from providing access to destination nodes via ports. Since all
applications run on the ports, it is necessary to block the ports to restrict unauthorized access,
which might violate the security vulnerability in the network infrastructure.

What are the protocols that fall under the TCP/IP Internet layer?

Application NFS, NIS, SNMP, telnet, ftp, rlogin, rsh, rcp, RIP, RDISC, DNS, LDAP, and
Layer others

Transport Layer TCP, SCTP, UDP, etc.

Internet IPv4, ARP, ICMP, IPv6, etc.

Data Link Layer IEEE 802.2, PPP, etc.

Physical Layer Ethernet (IEEE 802.3), FDDI, Token Ring, RS-232, and others

What is a botnet?
A botnet, which is also known as a robot network, is a malware that infects networks of
computers and gets them under the control of a single attacker who is called a ‘bot herder.’ A
bot is an individual machine that is under the control of bot herders. The attacker acts as a
central party who can command every bot to perform simultaneous and coordinated criminal
actions.
The botnet is a large-scale attack since a bot herder can control millions of bots at a time. All the
botnets can receive updates from the attacker to change their behavior in no time.

What are salted hashes?

When two users have the same password, it will result in the creation of the same password
hashes. In such a case, an attacker can easily crack the password by performing a dictionary or
brute-force attack. To avoid this, a salted hash is implemented.

A salted hash is used to randomize hashes by prepending or appending a random string (salt) to
the password before hashing. This results in the creation of two completely different hashes,
which can be employed to protect the users’ passwords in the database against the attacker.

Explain SSL and TLS.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)

It employs encryption algorithms to keep any sensitive data that is sent between a client and a
server by scrambling the data in transit. This helps prevent hackers from reading any data, such
as credit card details and personal and other financial information; it is done by keeping the
Internet connection secure.
Transport Layer Security (TLS)
TLS is the successor of SSL. It is an improved version protocol that works just like SSL to protect
the information transfer. However, to provide better security, both TLS and SSL are often
implemented together.
What is data protection in transit vs data protection at rest?

Data Protection in Transit Data Protection at Rest

Data is transmitted across devices or networks Data is stored in databases, local hard drives,
or USBs

Protects the data in transit with SSL and TLS Protects the data at rest with firewalls,
antiviruses, and good security practices

You must protect the data in transit since it can You should protect the data at rest to avoid
become vulnerable to MITM attacks, possible data breaches even when stolen or
eavesdropping, etc. downloaded

What is 2FA, and how can it be implemented for public websites?

Two-factor authentication (2FA) requires a password, along with a unique form of identification
like a login code via text message (SMS) or a mobile application, to verify a user. When the user
enters the password, he/she is prompted for the security code to log in to the website. If the
code mismatches, the user will be blocked from entering the website.
Examples of 2FA: Google Authenticator, YubiKey, Microsoft Authenticator, etc.

What do you mean by Cognitive Cybersecurity?

Cognitive Cybersecurity is a way of using human-like thought mechanisms and converting them
to be used by Artificial Intelligence technologies in cyber security to detect security threats. It is
to impart human knowledge to the cognitive system, which will be able to serve as a self-
learning system. This helps identify the threats, determine their impact, and manifest reactive
strategies.

What is the difference between VPN and VLAN?

Virtual Private Network Virtual Local Area Network

Provides secure remote access to a Used to group multiple computers that are geographically
company’s network resources in different domains into the same geographical broadcast
domain

A network service A way of subnetting the network

Companies wishing to connect with Companies wishing to employ traffic control and easier
their remote employees will use a management will use a VLAN
VPN

Explain phishing. How to prevent it?

In phishing, an attacker masquerades as a trusted entity (as a legitimate person/company) to
obtain sensitive information by manipulating the victim. It is achieved by any kind of user
interaction, such as asking the victim to click on a malicious link and to download a risky
attachment, to get confidential information such as credit card information, usernames,
passwords, and network credentials.
The following are some of the ways to prevent phishing:

1. Install firewalls
2. Rotate passwords frequently
3. Do not click on or download from unknown sources

4. Get free anti-phishing tools

5. Do not provide your personal information on an unsecured/unknown sit

Explain SQL injection. How to prevent it?

SQL injection is an injection attack where an attacker executes malicious SQL commands in the
database server, including MySQL, SQL Server, or Oracle, that runs behind a web application.
The intent is to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data such as client information, personal
information, intellectual property details, and so on. In this attack, the attacker can add, modify,
and delete records in the database, which results in the data integrity loss of an organization.
Ways to prevent SQL injection:
1. Limit providing read access to the database
2. Sanitize data with the limitation of special characters
3. Validate user inputs
4. Use prepared statements
5. Check for active updates and patches

An employee’s bank account faces an error during a direct deposit. Two different offices
need to work on it to straighten this out. Office #1 contacts Office #2 by email to send the
valid account information for the deposit. The employee now gives the bank
confirmations that the error no longer exists. What is wrong here?
Any sensitive information cannot be shared via email as it can lead to identity theft. This is
because emails are mostly not private and secure. Sharing or sending personal information
along the network is not recommended as the route can be easily tracked.
In such scenarios, the involved parties should call each other and work with ITS as a secure way
of sending the information.

You see an unusual activity of the mouse pointer, which starts to move around on its own
and clicks on various things on the desktop. What should you do in this situation?
A. Call any of the co-workers to seek help
B. Disconnect the mouse
C. Turn your computer off
D. Inform the supervisor
E. Disconnect your computer from the network
F. Run anti-virus
G. Select all the options that apply?
Which options would you choose?

The answer is (D) and (E). This kind of activity is surely suspicious as an unknown authority
seems to have the access to control the computer remotely. In such cases, you should
immediately report it to the respective supervisor. You can keep the computer disconnected
from the network till help arrives.

Check out the list of passwords below, which are pulled out from a database:
A. Password1
B. @#$)*&^%
C. UcSc4Evr!
D. akHGksmLN
Choose the passwords that are in line with the UCSC’s password requirements.
The answer is C (UcSc4Evr!). As per the UCSC requirements, a password should be:

1. Minimum of 8 characters in length

2. Having any of the three from these four types of characters: lower case, upper case,
numbers, and special characters.

In your IT company, employees are registering numerous complaints that the campus
computers are delivering Viagra spam. To verify it, you check the reports, and it turns out
to be correct. The computer program is automatically sending tons of spam emails
without the owner’s knowledge. This happened because a hacker had installed a
malicious program into the system. What are the reasons you think might have caused
this incident?
This type of attack happens when the password is hacked. To avoid this, whenever you set a
password, always use a proper standard, i.e., use passwords that are at least 8-character length
and have a combination of upper case/lower case letters, symbols/special characters, and
numbers.
Other scenarios of the above attack could be:

1. Dated antivirus software or the lack of it

2. Dated updates or security patches