SSCP Network and Communications Security Practice Test 5 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Which of the following protocols operates on TCP port 443 and provides encrypted communication between a web browser and a web server?

Accepted Answer

HTTPS. HTTPS uses TLS/SSL over TCP port 443 to secure HTTP traffic.

Answer

SMTP

Answer

SSH

Answer

HTTP

Question 2

An attacker sends a large number of DHCP request messages with spoofed MAC addresses to a network's DHCP server, causing the server to exhaust its IP address pool and deny service to legitimate clients. This attack is known as:

Accepted Answer

DHCP starvation. DHCP starvation floods the DHCP server with fake requests to deplete the IP address pool.

Answer

ARP spoofing

Answer

DNS poisoning

Answer

DHCP spoofing

Question 3

A security analyst is investigating a network where an attacker successfully redirected traffic from a legitimate web server to a malicious server by corrupting the target domain's DNS records in a local resolver cache. Which attack technique was used?

Accepted Answer

DNS poisoning. DNS poisoning injects false DNS records into a resolver's cache, redirecting traffic to malicious sites.

Answer

SYN flood

Answer

ARP spoofing

Answer

Smurf attack

Question 4

A company wants to implement a firewall that can track the state of network connections and make decisions based on the context of traffic (e.g., allowing return packets for an established connection). Which type of firewall should they choose?

Accepted Answer

Stateful firewall. Stateful firewalls maintain connection state tables and allow return traffic for established sessions.

Answer

Application proxy firewall

Answer

Stateless packet filter

Answer

Next-generation firewall

Question 5

Which wireless security protocol uses the Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE) handshake to replace the Pre-Shared Key (PSK) method and provides stronger protection against offline dictionary attacks?

Accepted Answer

WPA3. WPA3 uses SAE for secure key exchange, replacing WPA2's PSK.

Answer

WPA2

Answer

WPA

Answer

WEP

Question 6

An organization is setting up a site-to-site VPN between two branch offices. They require encryption of the entire IP packet, including the original IP header, and plan to use IPsec. Which mode should they configure?

Accepted Answer

Tunnel mode. IPsec tunnel mode encrypts the entire original IP packet and adds a new IP header, suitable for site-to-site VPNs.

Answer

Transport mode

Answer

ESP mode

Answer

AH mode

Question 7

A network administrator wants to prevent unauthorized devices from connecting to the wired network. Which technology can be used to enforce authentication at the switch port level before granting network access?

Accepted Answer

802.1X. 802.1X is a port-based access control standard used in NAC to authenticate devices before network access.

Answer

MAC address filtering

Answer

WPA2-Enterprise

Answer

VLAN segmentation

Question 8

Which UDP port is used by the Domain Name System (DNS) for name resolution queries?

Accepted Answer

UDP 53. DNS uses UDP port 53 for queries by default.

Answer

UDP 161

Answer

UDP 67

Answer

UDP 123

Question 9

An attacker is performing a man-in-the-middle attack at Layer 2 by sending forged ARP messages to associate their MAC address with the IP address of a legitimate host on the same subnet. This attack is known as:

Accepted Answer

ARP spoofing. ARP spoofing involves sending gratuitous ARP replies to poison the ARP cache of other hosts.

Answer

DNS poisoning

Answer

DHCP spoofing

Answer

MAC flooding

Question 10

A security analyst is reviewing firewall logs and notices a high rate of TCP SYN packets to multiple ports on a server, but no corresponding ACK or RST packets. This is characteristic of which type of attack?

Accepted Answer

SYN flood. SYN flood sends many SYN packets without completing the handshake, exhausting server resources.

Answer

UDP flood

Answer

Smurf attack

Answer

Ping of death

Question 11

Which of the following is a secure remote access VPN protocol that uses TLS for encryption and is commonly used with Cisco AnyConnect?

Accepted Answer

SSL/TLS VPN. SSL/TLS VPNs use TLS to provide secure remote access, often with AnyConnect client.

Answer

IPsec

Answer

L2TP/IPsec

Answer

PPTP

Question 12

A company wants to deploy a network IDS that can analyze traffic patterns and detect anomalies. Where should the IDS sensor be placed to monitor all traffic on a network segment without introducing latency?

Accepted Answer

Connected to a switch SPAN port. A passive tap or SPAN port allows the IDS to monitor traffic without being inline, avoiding latency.

Answer

Inline between the router and the switch

Answer

At the core switch as a transparent bridge

Answer

On the same segment as the router

Question 13

A security administrator is hardening a wireless network. Which TWO of the following should be avoided due to known vulnerabilities?

Accepted Answer

WEP. WEP and WPA2-PSK have known vulnerabilities; WEP is broken, and WPA2-PSK is vulnerable to offline dictionary attacks (PMKID, KRACK).

Answer

WPA3-Enterprise

Answer

WPA3-Personal

Answer

WPA2-Enterprise

Question 14

A security analyst is reviewing a TLS 1.3 deployment. Which THREE of the following are features of TLS 1.3?

Accepted Answer

Mandatory forward secrecy. TLS 1.3 removed vulnerable cipher suites, mandates forward secrecy, and supports 0-RTT for faster handshakes.

Answer

Use of static RSA key exchange

Answer

Support for SSL 3.0 compatibility

Question 15

An organization is designing network segmentation to protect sensitive data. Which TWO of the following are effective methods for implementing network segmentation?

Accepted Answer

Firewalls. VLANs segment traffic at Layer 2, and firewalls control traffic between segments at Layer 3+.

Answer

Honeypots

Answer

NAT

Answer

Port security