200-201 Security Concepts Practice Test 2 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A security team is analyzing a malware infection. Which two characteristics are typical of a worm? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Exploits vulnerabilities to spread without user interaction. Worms are self-replicating and spread across networks without human intervention. They do not require a host file and often exploit vulnerabilities.

Answer

Requires a host file to propagate

Answer

Disguises itself as a legitimate program

Answer

Attaches to an email to spread

Question 2

Which element of the CIA triad is primarily compromised when an attacker successfully intercepts and reads encrypted network traffic without authorization?

Accepted Answer

Confidentiality. Confidentiality ensures that data is not disclosed to unauthorized entities. Intercepting and reading traffic violates this principle.

Answer

Non-repudiation

Answer

Integrity

Answer

Availability

Question 3

A security analyst discovers that a server's configuration allows users to access files outside of their intended directory. In security terminology, what is this weakness called?

Accepted Answer

Vulnerability. A vulnerability is a weakness that can be exploited.

Answer

Exploit

Answer

Threat

Answer

Risk

Question 4

During a penetration test, a security engineer uses publicly available information from LinkedIn and Google to gather details about employees and organizational structure. Which type of reconnaissance is being performed?

Accepted Answer

Passive reconnaissance. The security engineer is gathering information from publicly available sources (LinkedIn, Google) without directly interacting with the target's systems. This is the definition of passive reconnaissance, which involves collecting data from open-source intelligence (OSINT) without sending any packets to the target network.

Answer

Active reconnaissance

Answer

Social engineering

Answer

Internal reconnaissance

Question 5

An attacker sends an email posing as the company's IT department, asking employees to click a link and enter their credentials. Which type of social engineering attack is this?

Accepted Answer

Phishing. B is correct because the attack uses email as the delivery vector to trick recipients into revealing credentials, which is the classic definition of phishing. Phishing is a broad category of social engineering that employs deceptive electronic communications (typically email) to steal sensitive information.

Answer

Vishing

Answer

Pretexting

Answer

Spear phishing

Question 6

Which type of malware is characterized by self-replication and spreading to other systems without user interaction, often causing network congestion?

Accepted Answer

Worm. A worm is self-replicating and spreads automatically, unlike a virus which requires a host file.

Answer

Ransomware

Answer

Trojan

Answer

Virus

Question 7

An attacker intercepts communication between a client and a server, allowing the attacker to read, insert, and modify messages in both directions. Which type of network attack is this?

Accepted Answer

Man-in-the-middle. A man-in-the-middle (MitM) attack places the attacker between two parties to intercept and manipulate traffic.

Answer

Denial of Service

Answer

ARP spoofing

Answer

DNS poisoning

Question 8

Which cryptographic method uses the same key for both encryption and decryption, and is typically faster than asymmetric encryption?

Accepted Answer

AES. Symmetric encryption uses a single shared key for both operations.

Answer

Digital signature

Answer

RSA

Answer

SHA-256

Question 9

A security administrator needs to verify that a downloaded file has not been altered during transit. Which cryptographic technique should be used?

Accepted Answer

Hashing. Hashing produces a fixed-size hash that changes if the file is modified, allowing integrity verification.

Answer

Public key encryption

Answer

Symmetric encryption

Answer

Digital signature

Question 10

What is the primary purpose of a digital certificate in a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)?

Accepted Answer

To bind a public key to an identity. The primary purpose of a digital certificate in a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is to bind a specific public key to a verified identity (such as a person, device, or organization). This binding is achieved through the certificate authority (CA) signing the certificate, which cryptographically asserts that the public key belongs to the named subject. Without this binding, there would be no trusted way to associate a public key with its owner, making secure communications and authentication impossible.

Answer

To encrypt all network traffic

Answer

To provide a backup of private keys

Answer

To prevent malware infections

Question 11

A company processes credit card payments and must comply with a framework that mandates specific security controls for protecting cardholder data. Which compliance framework applies?

Accepted Answer

PCI DSS. PCI DSS is the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, mandatory for entities handling credit card information.

Answer

ISO 27001

Answer

GDPR

Answer

HIPAA

Question 12

Which phase of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework involves actions to limit the impact of a cybersecurity incident?

Accepted Answer

Respond. The Respond phase includes activities to contain, mitigate, and respond to incidents.

Answer

Protect

Answer

Identify

Answer

Detect

Question 13

A security analyst observes repeated failed login attempts from a single external IP address, causing the authentication server to become unresponsive. Which type of attack is occurring?

Accepted Answer

Denial of Service. A Denial of Service (DoS) attack aims to make a system or service unavailable by overwhelming it with requests.

Answer

Reconnaissance

Answer

Brute force attack

Answer

Man-in-the-middle

Question 14

A security engineer is analyzing a recent data breach. Which TWO are examples of active reconnaissance techniques? (Select two.)

Accepted Answer

Port scanning. Active reconnaissance involves direct interaction with the target. Port scanning and ping sweeps are active; WHOIS and Google searches are passive.

Answer

LinkedIn profiling

Answer

WHOIS lookup

Answer

Google dorking

Question 15

An organization wants to ensure data integrity and non-repudiation for sensitive documents. Which THREE cryptographic mechanisms should be implemented? (Select three.)

Accepted Answer

Digital signatures. Digital signatures provide both data integrity and non-repudiation by using the sender's private key to sign a hash of the document. The recipient verifies the signature with the sender's public key, ensuring the document has not been altered and that the sender cannot deny having signed it.

Answer

Steganography

Answer

Symmetric encryption