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What are the three key properties of Information Security, also known as the CIA Triad?
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(a) Confidentiality: Only authorized people should know specific information. (b) Integrity: Data must be stored and transferred exactly as intended. (c) Availability: Information must be accessible to those authorized to view or modify it.
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How does cybersecurity differ from information security?
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Cybersecurity focuses specifically on protecting computer systems and data from attacks, while information security applies to protecting data in any form (electronic or printed).
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What is hardening in the context of security systems?
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Hardening refers to improving the security of a system by creating policies and controls that reduce vulnerabilities.
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What is a vulnerability in security terms?
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A vulnerability is a weakness or flaw in a system that can be exploited by a threat actor.
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What is a threat actor?
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A threat actor is someone or something that has the potential to exploit a vulnerability, either intentionally or unintentionally.
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What is risk in the context of security assessments?
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Risk is the likelihood and impact of a threat actor successfully exploiting a vulnerability.
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What are some common causes of vulnerabilities?
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(a) Incorrectly configured hardware or software. (b) Delays in applying patches. (c) Misuse of protocols. (d) Poorly designed network architecture. (e) Weak physical security. (f) Insecure password practices.
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What is a non-compliant system?
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A non-compliant system is one that no longer follows its baseline security configuration, potentially increasing its attack surface.
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What is a zero-day vulnerability?
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A zero-day vulnerability is a flaw that is exploited before the developer is aware of it or before a patch can be released, making it especially dangerous.
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What is Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), and how does it create vulnerabilities?
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BYOD allows employees to use personal devices for work, increasing the network’s attack surface and making it harder to ensure security compliance.
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What is social engineering?
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Social engineering refers to techniques that trick or intimidate people into revealing confidential information or granting unauthorized access to systems.
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What is impersonation in social engineering?
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Impersonation is when an attacker pretends to be someone else, such as IT support, to gain a person’s trust and access sensitive information.
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What is dumpster diving in social engineering?
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Dumpster diving involves searching through an organization’s trash for sensitive information that could be used in future attacks.
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What is shoulder surfing?
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Shoulder surfing is when an attacker watches someone type their password or PIN, either directly or through tools like binoculars or CCTV.
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What is tailgating in social engineering?
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Tailgating is when an attacker gains access to a secure area by following closely behind someone who has proper access.
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What is phishing?
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Phishing is a social engineering technique where attackers send fake electronic communications to trick victims into revealing sensitive information or taking harmful actions.
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What is spear phishing?
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Spear phishing is a targeted phishing attack where the attacker has specific information about the victim to make the attack more convincing.
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What is vishing?
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Vishing is phishing conducted over a voice channel (phone or VoIP), often used to impersonate a bank or other trusted entity.
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What is an evil twin attack?
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An evil twin attack is when an attacker sets up a rogue wireless access point to steal users’ credentials by mimicking a legitimate network.
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What is footprinting?
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Footprinting is when an attacker gathers information about a network or system to identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited.
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What is spoofing?
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Spoofing is when an attacker pretends to be a trusted user or system by faking information such as a MAC or IP address, or using a fake digital certificate.
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What is an on-path (man-in-the-middle) attack?
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An on-path attack is when an attacker intercepts and possibly modifies communication between two parties without their knowledge.
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What is a denial of service (DoS) attack?
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A DoS attack is when an attacker overloads a system with fake requests, making it unavailable to legitimate users.
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What is a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack?
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A DDoS attack is a type of DoS attack that uses a botnet—a network of compromised devices—to flood a target with requests.
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How are passwords commonly captured by attackers?
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Attackers capture passwords by obtaining password files, sniffing unencrypted network traffic, or using password cracking techniques.
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What is a cryptographic hash?
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A cryptographic hash is a fixed-length string generated from data using a one-way function, making it impossible to recover the original data from the hash.
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What is a brute force attack?
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A brute force attack is when a password cracking tool tries every possible combination of characters until it finds a match.
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What is a cross-site scripting (XSS) attack?
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An XSS attack is when an attacker injects malicious scripts into a trusted website, causing the browser to run the script.
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What is a nonpersistent XSS attack?
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A nonpersistent XSS attack is when malicious code is temporarily injected into a website, affecting only the user's session.
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What is a stored/persistent XSS attack?
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A persistent XSS attack stores malicious code in a website’s back-end system, affecting all users who view the compromised content.
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What is SQL injection?
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SQL injection is when an attacker inserts malicious SQL code into a web application’s input fields, tricking it into executing unauthorized database commands.