ISC2 CC Network Security Practice Question
An attacker sends an email to an employee that appears to come from the CEO, asking for sensitive data. This is an example of which type of threat?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
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Phishing
The attack is a form of phishing, where an attacker uses social engineering via email (appearing to be the CEO) to trick the employee into revealing sensitive data. Phishing is a broader category of social engineering attacks that often use spoofing techniques, but the threat itself is classified as phishing.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Spoofing
Why it's wrong here
Spoofing is a technique used to falsify the sender's identity (e.g., email address spoofing). While spoofing may be employed in this attack, the attack itself is best described as phishing because it involves social engineering and the request for sensitive data.
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Phishing
Why this is correct
Phishing is a social engineering attack where an attacker sends a fraudulent communication (often email) that appears to come from a trusted source to trick the recipient into providing sensitive information. This scenario perfectly matches phishing.
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Man-in-the-middle
Why it's wrong here
A man-in-the-middle attack involves the attacker intercepting communication between two parties, which is not described here.
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Sniffing
Why it's wrong here
Sniffing involves capturing network traffic, which is not relevant to this scenario.
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Related to this question
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Security Awareness and Training
Key term
Phishing
Phishing is a type of cyber attack where criminals impersonate legitimate organizations or individuals to trick victims into revealing sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, or personal data.
Key term
Threat
A threat is any potential danger that could harm a computer system, network, or data, whether from a malicious hacker, a natural disaster, or an accidental mistake.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CC practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CC exam.