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Communication and Network Security

Practise Certified Information Systems Security Professional CISSP Communication and Network Security practice questions — original exam-style scenarios with answer choices, explanations, and analysis of common mistakes.

50 questions14 easy23 medium13 hard

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What this domain covers

What to know about Communication and Network Security

Communication and Network Security questions test whether you can apply the concept in context, not just recognise a definition.

How the topic appears in realistic exam-style scenarios.

Which detail in the question changes the correct answer.

How to eliminate plausible but wrong options.

How to connect the question back to the wider exam objective.

Watch out for

Common Communication and Network Security exam traps

  • Answering from memory before reading the full scenario.
  • Missing a constraint such as cost, availability, security, scope or command context.
  • Choosing a broad answer when the question asks for the most specific fix.
  • Ignoring why the wrong options are tempting.

Question index

All Communication and Network Security questions (50)

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1

During a penetration test, an ethical hacker sets up a rogue access point with the same SSID as the corporate network and broadcasts a stronger signal. Users inadvertently connect to the rogue AP, allowing the hacker to capture credentials. What is this attack called?

Hard
2

Which of the following is a secure protocol for transferring files that uses SSH for authentication and encryption?

Easy
3

An organization wants to secure email communications by providing encryption and digital signatures. They require a solution that uses a web of trust model rather than a hierarchical PKI. Which protocol should they implement?

Medium
4

A security engineer is configuring a firewall that makes decisions based on source/destination IP addresses and port numbers without tracking the state of connections. Which type of firewall is this?

Easy
5

An organization is implementing DNSSEC to protect against DNS spoofing attacks. Which of the following best describes the primary security function provided by DNSSEC?

Medium
6

A network administrator is configuring SNMPv3 for monitoring network devices. The organization requires both authentication and encryption of SNMP traffic. Which combination of protocols should be used to meet this requirement?

Hard
7

An organization is implementing network segmentation to enhance security. They create a DMZ to host public-facing servers and want to ensure that if a server is compromised, the attacker cannot pivot to the internal network. Which firewall placement best achieves this?

Medium
8

A security engineer is recommending a VPN protocol for remote access. The requirements are: strong encryption, perfect forward secrecy, use of elliptic curve cryptography, and minimal overhead. Which VPN protocol best meets these requirements?

Medium
9

An organization is deploying a VPN solution for remote employees. The security team requires a modern protocol with perfect forward secrecy, uses elliptic curve cryptography, and is known for its efficient, minimal codebase. Which VPN protocol should they choose?

Hard
10

A company wants to secure email communications for its employees. They need to ensure message confidentiality and integrity, and also verify the sender's identity. Which protocol uses a hierarchical public key infrastructure (PKI) for email encryption and signing?

Medium
11

A company wants to securely transfer files between systems over SSH. Which protocol should they use to leverage the existing SSH infrastructure and provide both authentication and encryption?

Medium
12

Which of the following is a key feature of TLS 1.3 that enhances security compared to earlier versions?

Easy
13

A security architect is designing a zero-trust network. Which principle is fundamental to a zero-trust architecture (ZTA) such as BeyondCorp?

Medium
14

A security analyst discovers an attack where an attacker sets up a rogue wireless access point with a legitimate SSID to trick users into connecting. Once connected, the attacker captures credentials. This type of attack is known as:

Medium
15

A network engineer is configuring an IPsec VPN in tunnel mode. Which IPsec protocol provides both authentication and encryption of the entire IP packet?

Hard
16

An organization is implementing network segmentation. They need to place publicly accessible servers (e.g., web and email) in a separate network that is isolated from the internal LAN but still allows controlled access from the internet. Which architecture should they use?

Medium
17

During a security assessment, a penetration tester successfully performs an ARP spoofing attack, redirecting traffic through their machine. This attack exploits which protocol vulnerability?

Hard
18

Which IPsec protocol provides both authentication and encryption of the packet payload, but does not encrypt the IP header?

Easy
19

A company is implementing TLS 1.3 to secure web communications. Which of the following features is unique to TLS 1.3 compared to earlier versions?

Medium
20

Which of the following is a key feature of TLS 1.3 that enhances security compared to earlier versions?

Easy
21

After a recent security audit, a network administrator discovers that an attacker has been intercepting traffic by associating with a legitimate access point's MAC address and broadcasting a stronger signal. Which type of attack has occurred?

Medium
22

A security engineer is configuring SNMPv3 on network devices. The policy requires both authentication and encryption of SNMP messages. Which combination of protocols should be used to meet this requirement?

Hard
23

An attacker sends a flood of SYN packets to a server, consuming its resources and preventing legitimate connections. Which OSI layer is this attack targeting?

Easy
24

A security administrator is configuring SNMPv3 for network device monitoring. The requirement is to provide both authentication and encryption of SNMP traffic. Which combination of options should be used?

Medium
25

An organization is implementing DNSSEC to protect its DNS infrastructure. Which of the following best describes the primary security benefit of DNSSEC?

Hard
26

Which wireless security protocol replaces the pre-shared key (PSK) authentication with Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE) to provide stronger security and forward secrecy?

Easy
27

During a security assessment, a consultant discovers that a legacy VPN solution uses MS-CHAPv2 for authentication and does not support IKE. The protocol is known to be vulnerable to dictionary attacks. Which VPN protocol is most likely being used?

Hard
28

A security team is reviewing network segmentation strategies. Which TWO of the following are benefits of using VLANs? (Select TWO.)

Medium
29

A security analyst observes a network attack where an attacker sends forged ARP messages to associate the attacker's MAC address with the IP address of the default gateway. This attack occurs at which layer of the OSI model?

Medium
30

A network administrator is deploying a wireless network for a small business and wants to ensure strong security. Which of the following is the best choice for authentication in a WPA3 Personal network?

Medium
31

A network administrator is configuring a firewall that examines the source and destination IP addresses, port numbers, and protocol (TCP/UDP) of each packet without considering the state of the connection. Which type of firewall is being deployed?

Easy
32

During a penetration test, the tester successfully performs a VLAN hopping attack by sending packets with a specific tag. Which mitigation technique is most effective at preventing double-tagging VLAN hopping?

Hard
33

Which type of firewall can inspect the contents of application-layer traffic, such as HTTP requests, and block malicious payloads?

Medium
34

A security analyst notices that an attacker is sending forged ARP messages onto a local area network, linking the attacker's MAC address with the IP address of the default gateway. This allows the attacker to intercept traffic destined for the gateway. Which OSI layer is directly targeted by this attack?

Medium
35

A security architect is designing a zero trust network. Which principle is fundamental to a zero trust architecture?

Medium
36

A network administrator is reviewing the security of the company's VPN solution. They discover that the current VPN uses PPTP. Which TWO of the following are significant security weaknesses associated with PPTP?

Hard
37

An organization is migrating from WPA2 to WPA3 for its wireless network. Which improvement does WPA3 provide over WPA2?

Medium
38

A security team is implementing a zero trust architecture. Which component is essential to enforce access decisions based on user identity, device posture, and context before granting access to resources?

Medium
39

A network administrator is configuring DNSSEC to protect against DNS spoofing. Which record type is used to provide cryptographic verification of DNS data origins?

Hard
40

A company uses SSH for remote administration. To enhance security, they want to implement public-key authentication. Which statement about SSH public-key authentication is true?

Medium
41

Which TWO features are true of IPsec tunnel mode compared to transport mode? (Select two.)

Easy
42

A company is designing a network segmentation strategy to isolate a public-facing web server from the internal corporate network. Which of the following is the most appropriate architecture?

Medium
43

Which VPN technology operates at Layer 2 of the OSI model and is often used in combination with IPsec to provide encryption?

Easy
44

In IPsec, which protocol provides both authentication and encryption for the packet payload, but does not encrypt the IP header?

Easy
45

Which type of firewall is capable of inspecting application-layer data, performing SSL decryption, and integrating intrusion prevention capabilities?

Easy
46

A company deploys DNSSEC to protect its DNS infrastructure. Which cryptographic operation does DNSSEC primarily use to ensure the authenticity and integrity of DNS data?

Hard
47

A company is deploying a VPN solution for remote employees using SSL/TLS VPN. Which TWO security considerations are important when implementing this type of VPN? (Select two.)

Hard
48

Which type of firewall operates at Layer 7 and can inspect application payloads, such as blocking specific SQL commands or HTTP methods?

Easy
49

A security analyst is configuring a firewall to allow HTTP traffic (TCP port 80) from the internet to a web server in the DMZ. The firewall should also allow return traffic from the server back to the internet. Which type of firewall is best suited to handle this traffic while maintaining security?

Easy
50

A security analyst detects an attack where the attacker sends forged ARP messages to associate the attacker's MAC address with the IP address of the default gateway. Which OSI layer is primarily targeted by this attack?

Medium

Frequently asked questions

What does the Communication and Network Security domain cover on the CISSP exam?
Communication and Network Security questions test whether you can apply the concept in context, not just recognise a definition.
How many questions are in this domain?
This page lists all 50 Communication and Network Security questions in the CISSP question bank. The actual exam draws from this domain proportionally to its weighting in the official exam blueprint.
What is the best way to practise this domain?
Start with a short focused session (10 questions) to identify gaps, then work through explanations. Repeat with a longer session once the weak areas feel solid.
Can I practise only Communication and Network Security questions?
Yes — the session launcher on this page filters questions to this domain only. Choose any session length for inline explanations and scoring.
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