Top 25+ Cyber Security Interview Questions and Answers

An important part of the cyber security interviewing process is to understand the candidate’s experience and expertise. The interviewer should ask a range of questions to get a complete understanding of the candidate’s skillset. In order to help interviewers get started, we’ve compiled a list of the top 25+ cyber security interview questions and answers.

1. What are the three main goals of cyber security?

The three main goals of cyber security are to protect information, protect systems, and protect citizens.

2. What is risk management?

Risk management is the process of assessing and mitigating risks to an organization.

3. What is a vulnerability?

A vulnerability is a weakness in an organization’s security that could be exploited by attackers.

4. What is a threat?

A threat is an action or event that could exploit a vulnerability and cause harm to an organization.

5. What is malware?

Malware is software that is designed to harm or disrupt computer systems. It can include viruses, worms, ransomware, and Trojan horses.

6. What is a virus?

A virus is a type of malware that replicates itself and spread to other computers. It can cause harm to systems by deleting files or corrupting data.

7. What is a worm?

A worm is a type of malware that spreads itself through networks by creating copies of itself. It can cause harm to systems by consuming bandwidth and resources.

8. What is ransomware?

Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts files and demands a ransom for the decryption key. It can cause significant damage to an organization if critical files are encrypted.

9. What is a Trojan horse?

A Trojan horse is a type of malware that masquerades as a legitimate program. It can allow attackers to gain access to systems and steal data.

10. What is social engineering?

Social engineering is the process of manipulating people into revealing confidential information. It is often used by attackers to gain access to systems or data.

11. What is phishing?

Phishing is a type of social engineering attack that uses email or text messages to trick people into revealing sensitive information. It can be used to steal login credentials or financial information.

12. What is spear phishing?

Spear phishing is a type of phishing attack that targets a specific individual or organization. The attacker will typically create a personalized message that includes information about the target to increase the chances of getting a response.

13. What is vishing?

Vishing is a type of social engineering attack that uses voice calls to trick people into revealing sensitive information. It can be used to steal login credentials or financial information.

14. What is smishing?

Smishing is a type of social engineering attack that uses text messages to trick people into revealing sensitive information. It can be used to steal login credentials or financial information.

15. What is an exploit?

An exploit is a piece of code that takes advantage of a vulnerability to cause harm to systems or data. It can be used by attackers to gain access to systems or data.

16. What is a buffer overflow?

A buffer overflow is a type of exploit that allows attackers to write data beyond the bounds of a memory buffer. This can corrupt data or allow attackers to execute code on the system.

17. What is a SQL injection?

A SQL injection is a type of exploit that allows attackers to inject malicious code into database queries. This can allow attackers to access or modify data in the database.

18. What is a denial of service attack?

A denial of service attack is an attempt to make a system or network unavailable by flooding it with traffic or requests. It can be used to disrupt services or prevent legitimate users from accessing systems.

19. What is a distributed denial of service attack?

A distributed denial of service attack is a type of denial of service attack that uses multiple computers to generate traffic or requests. It can be used to disrupt services or prevent legitimate users from accessing systems.

20. What is a man-in-the-middle attack?

A man-in-the-middle attack is a type of attack where the attacker intercepts communication between two parties and impersonates each party to the other. This can allow the attacker to eavesdrop on the communication or modify the data being exchanged.

21. What is a replay attack?

A replay attack is a type ofattack where the attacker captures data from a legitimate user and replays it at a later time. This can allow the attacker to gain access to systems or data.

22. What is a DNS poisoning attack?

A DNS poisoning attack is a type ofattack where the attacker modifies the DNS records for a domain. This can redirect traffic from legitimate servers to malicious servers controlled by the attacker.

23. What is session hijacking?

Session hijacking is a type ofattack where the attacker takes over an active session between two parties. This can allow the attacker to eavesdrop on the communication or modify the data being exchanged.

24. What is an ARP spoofing attack?

An ARP spoofing attack is a type ofattack where the attacker modifies the ARP table on a network device. This can allow the attacker to redirect traffic from legitimate devices to malicious devices controlled by the attacker.

25. What is a DNS spoofing attack?

A DNS spoofing attack is a type ofattack where the attacker modifies the DNS records for a domain. This can redirect traffic from legitimate servers to malicious servers controlled by the attacker.

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