CEH Social Engineering and Physical Security — 20 Questions

Question 1

Which TWO of the following are effective methods to prevent dumpster diving attacks? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Shredding sensitive documents before disposal. Shredding sensitive documents before disposal (Option B) is effective because it physically destroys the information, making it impossible to reconstruct from discarded paper. This directly counters dumpster diving, where attackers retrieve documents to extract confidential data like passwords or network diagrams. Using locked bins for discarded materials (Option C) is also effective as it prevents unauthorized individuals from accessing the contents of the bins, thereby securing the discarded information until it can be properly destroyed or disposed of.

Answer

Storing all data on encrypted digital media only

Answer

Placing documents in recycling bins

Answer

Burning all discarded paper documents

Question 2

Which THREE of the following are common indicators of a social engineering attack? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

The communication creates a sense of urgency. Social engineers frequently fabricate a sense of urgency to bypass the victim's rational decision-making. By claiming an immediate deadline or threat (e.g., 'Your account will be locked in 24 hours'), the attacker pressures the target into acting without verifying the request, a tactic rooted in the psychological principle of scarcity. Additionally, social engineering attempts, particularly phishing emails, often originate from non-native English speakers or are created hastily, leading to noticeable spelling and grammatical mistakes (Option D). These errors can also be intentionally introduced to bypass spam filters or to target less discerning individuals. Furthermore, attackers frequently impersonate individuals in positions of power or trust, such as CEOs, IT administrators, government officials, or law enforcement (Option E). This tactic, known as 'pretexting' or 'impersonation,' leverages the victim's natural inclination to comply with authority figures, pressuring them to act without critical evaluation.

Answer

The communication includes verifiable contact information

Answer

The sender uses a generic greeting like 'Dear Customer'

Question 3

An organization is implementing a social engineering defense program. Which TWO measures are most effective in reducing the risk of phishing attacks? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Conduct regular security awareness training for all employees.. Regular security awareness training (C) directly addresses the human factor in phishing attacks. Employees learn to identify suspicious emails, avoid clicking malicious links, and report incidents promptly, which is critical since technical controls alone cannot prevent all phishing attempts. This training reinforces behaviors like verifying sender addresses and not bypassing security protocols, reducing the likelihood of successful social engineering. Concurrently, installing advanced email filtering and anti-malware solutions (E) provides a crucial technical layer of defense by detecting and blocking malicious emails before they even reach an employee's inbox, significantly reducing the volume of phishing attempts users are exposed to and catching sophisticated threats that might bypass human detection.

Answer

Implement strong password policies with multi-factor authentication.

Answer

Enforce regular software updates and patch management.

Answer

Deploy network segmentation and access control lists.

Question 4

A penetration tester is assessing an organization's physical security. The tester wants to gain unauthorized access to a secured server room that uses a biometric fingerprint scanner. Which of the following techniques would be MOST effective for bypassing the biometric scanner?

Accepted Answer

Using a gelatin mold of an authorized user's fingerprint. Gelatin molds can replicate the exact ridge and valley patterns of a fingerprint, which many capacitive and optical fingerprint scanners read. This bypasses the biometric authentication without requiring the user's cooperation, making it the most direct method to defeat the scanner itself.

Answer

Shoulder surfing the authorized user's fingerprint pattern

Answer

Picking the lock on the server room door

Answer

Tailgating behind an authorized employee

Question 5

During a social engineering engagement, a tester calls the help desk posing as an employee from the IT department. The tester claims to be working on a critical system update and needs the employee's password to proceed. Which type of social engineering attack is being executed?

Accepted Answer

Pretexting. Pretexting involves creating a fabricated scenario (pretext) to manipulate a target into divulging information. In this case, the tester falsely claims to be from the IT department working on a critical system update, which is a classic pretext to gain trust and obtain the employee's password. This differs from other social engineering types because it relies on a constructed identity and false narrative rather than a technical lure or direct exchange.

Answer

Quid pro quo

Answer

Baiting

Answer

Phishing

Question 6

Which of the following is the BEST defense against tailgating attacks in a secure facility?

Accepted Answer

Implementing a mantrap at the entrance. A mantrap is a physical security access control system consisting of two interlocking doors that create a small vestibule. Only one door can be opened at a time, and authentication (e.g., keycard + biometric) is required to pass through both. This design physically prevents an unauthorized person from following an authorized person into the facility, directly mitigating tailgating attacks by enforcing strict one-person-per-authentication entry.

Answer

Hiring security guards

Answer

Reviewing keycard access logs

Answer

Installing CCTV cameras

Question 7

An employee receives an email that appears to be from the CEO, asking the employee to urgently wire funds to a vendor. The email address is slightly misspelled. What type of social engineering attack is this?

Accepted Answer

Whaling. This is a whaling attack because it specifically targets a high-profile individual (the CEO) to deceive another employee into performing a financial action. The slight misspelling of the email address is a classic whaling technique, as the attacker impersonates a senior executive to exploit authority and urgency. Unlike generic phishing, whaling focuses on C-level executives or decision-makers.

Answer

Pharming

Answer

Spear phishing

Answer

Vishing

Question 8

Refer to the exhibit. A security analyst runs ping and arp commands. What is the most likely attack occurring?

Accepted Answer

ARP spoofing attack. The combination of `ping` and `arp` commands reveals an ARP spoofing attack. The `arp -a` output shows the same MAC address (00-11-22-33-44-55) mapped to multiple IP addresses (192.168.1.1 and 192.168.1.2), which is a classic indicator of ARP cache poisoning. The `ping` commands confirm that both IPs are reachable, but the duplicate MAC entry proves an attacker is intercepting traffic by associating their MAC with multiple IPs.

Answer

Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack

Answer

MAC flooding attack

Answer

Ping flood attack

Question 9

You are a security consultant hired by a mid-sized company with 500 employees. The company has a central office with a lobby, reception, and two secure areas: the server room (requires keycard and PIN) and the executive floor (requires keycard only). Recently, employees have reported seeing unfamiliar people in restricted areas. Security logs show keycard access for the server room only during business hours, but no anomalies. However, the executive floor logs show multiple entries by a single employee, John from Sales, at odd hours. John claims he was working late. The company has a policy that all employees must wear ID badges visibly. You observe that employees often hold doors open for colleagues, and the receptionist does not verify visitor badges. Which of the following actions should you recommend FIRST to address the most likely attack vector?

Accepted Answer

Implement mantraps and enforce a policy of one person per keycard entry. The most likely attack vector is tailgating (piggybacking), where unauthorized individuals gain physical access by following an authorized employee through a secured door without using their own credentials. Option C directly addresses this by implementing mantraps (a small room with two interlocking doors that only allows one person to pass at a time) and enforcing a strict one-person-per-keycard-entry policy, which physically prevents tailgating. This is the first and most effective control because it mitigates the root cause—social engineering exploiting human courtesy—rather than focusing on symptoms like John's after-hours access or adding surveillance that doesn't prevent the act.

Answer

Investigate John's activities and consider disciplinary action

Answer

Upgrade keycard readers to biometric scanners

Answer

Install additional CCTV cameras in hallways

Question 10

A penetration tester calls an employee claiming to be from the IT help desk and asks for their password to perform a 'security update'. The employee provides the password. Which social engineering technique is being used?

Accepted Answer

Pretexting. The attacker is fabricating a scenario (IT help desk performing a security update) to manipulate the target into revealing sensitive information. This is the essence of pretexting, where the attacker creates a false identity or situation to gain trust and extract data. Unlike phishing, which typically uses malicious links or attachments, this attack relies purely on verbal impersonation and social manipulation.

Answer

Tailgating

Answer

Quid pro quo

Answer

Phishing

Question 11

Which TWO of the following are effective physical security controls to prevent tailgating?

Accepted Answer

Mantrap. A mantrap is a physical security control consisting of two interlocking doors that create a small vestibule. Only one door can be opened at a time, and the system verifies that only one person enters before allowing the second door to open. This design directly prevents tailgating by trapping unauthorized individuals who attempt to follow an authorized person through the first door.

Answer

Biometric door lock

Answer

CCTV cameras

Answer

Security guard

Question 12

Refer to the exhibit. An attacker gains access to the user's workstation and wants to find a file containing passwords. Which file is most likely to contain credentials?

Accepted Answer

logon.bat script. Logon.bat scripts are commonly used in Windows environments to map network drives or perform startup tasks, and administrators often embed plaintext credentials in such scripts for automation. An attacker who compromises the workstation can read this batch file to extract stored passwords, making it a high-value target for credential theft.

Answer

User profile (C:\Users\jdoe)

Answer

Home directory on \fileserver\home\jdoe

Answer

Active Directory database (NTDS.dit)

Question 13

A security auditor is assessing the physical security of a corporate office building that houses a data center. The building has a single main entrance with a reception desk staffed during business hours (8 AM to 6 PM). After hours, employees use a keycard reader to access the building. The data center itself requires a separate keycard and a 6-digit PIN. The auditor notices that during lunch hours (12-1 PM), the reception desk is often unattended, and employees frequently hold the door for others to avoid using their keycard. Additionally, a recent social engineering test revealed that an attacker was able to call the help desk, claim to be a new employee, and request a password reset, which was granted without proper verification. Based on this scenario, which of the following is the MOST effective combination of controls to mitigate both the physical and social engineering weaknesses?

Accepted Answer

Install a mantrap at the main entrance and require multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all password reset requests.. It addresses both weaknesses: a mantrap prevents tailgating at the main entrance (physical security), and requiring MFA for password reset requests mitigates the social engineering attack by adding an authentication factor beyond just a phone call. This combination directly counters the observed vulnerabilities—unattended reception and weak identity verification—without over-engineering or leaving gaps.

Answer

Install a mantrap at the main entrance and require two-factor authentication for the data center door.

Answer

Deploy security guards at the entrance 24/7 and implement a policy that all visitors must be escorted.

Answer

Implement a callback verification process for all password reset requests and require a manager approval.

Question 14

Refer to the exhibit. A security analyst reviews the firewall log and notices that user jdoe accessed a file server via SMB (port 445) from an internal IP (10.0.0.45) that is not the usual file server subnet. Which type of social engineering attack is most likely being attempted?

Accepted Answer

Tailgating. The firewall log shows user jdoe accessing a file server via SMB (port 445) from an internal IP (10.0.0.45) that is not on the usual file server subnet. This indicates the attacker has physically entered the building or restricted area by following an authorized person (tailgating) and then connected a rogue device to the internal network to perform lateral movement. Tailgating is the social engineering attack that relies on gaining physical access by exploiting trust or courtesy, which aligns with the unauthorized internal IP and SMB activity.

Answer

Phishing

Answer

Vishing

Answer

Baiting

Question 15

You are a security consultant for a mid-sized company with 500 employees. The company has a secure data center with a biometric access control system. Recently, a contractor was able to enter the data center without authorization by claiming he forgot his badge and an employee held the door for him. The contractor then accessed sensitive servers and exfiltrated data. The company wants to prevent such incidents. Which physical security control would be most effective in preventing this type of attack?

Accepted Answer

Implement a mantrap with biometric and badge authentication.. A mantrap with biometric and badge authentication enforces strict two-person authentication: both the contractor and the employee must independently authenticate before the mantrap doors unlock. This prevents tailgating (piggybacking) by ensuring only one person enters per authentication cycle, eliminating the social engineering vector where an employee holds the door for an unauthorized individual.

Answer

Install CCTV cameras to monitor the entrance.

Answer

Require employees to wear RFID badges at all times.

Answer

Hire additional security guards at the entrance.

Question 16

Drag and drop the steps to perform a successful social engineering attack in a penetration test into the correct order.

Accepted Answer

Research, Craft Pretext, Choose Channel, Execute, Document. In a social engineering penetration test, the correct sequence is Research (gather intelligence on the target), Craft Pretext (create a believable scenario), Choose Channel (select communication medium), Execute (deliver the attack), and Document (record findings). This order ensures the attack is tailored and effective, as each step builds on the previous one.

Answer

Choose Channel, Research, Craft Pretext, Execute, Document

Answer

Execute, Research, Craft Pretext, Choose Channel, Document

Answer

Research, Choose Channel, Craft Pretext, Execute, Document

Question 17

Match each wireless attack to its description.

Accepted Answer

Evil Twin: A rogue access point that mimics a legitimate one to capture credentials. Correct matches: Evil Twin (A), Rogue AP (C), War Driving (F) are correctly paired. WEP Cracking (D is swapped with War Driving; B and E are misidentified).

Answer

War Driving: Exploiting weaknesses in WEP encryption to gain access

Answer

WEP Cracking: Driving around to detect wireless networks and gather information

Answer

Evil Twin: An unauthorized access point installed on a network without permission