SSCP Network and Communications Security Practice Question
During a wireless penetration test, an attacker captures the four-way handshake of a WPA2-PSK network and attempts to crack the passphrase offline. Which attack is the attacker likely using?
⚠ Common exam trap
Students often confuse the PMKID attack with the traditional handshake cracking attack. The PMKID attack does not require a full handshake capture; it uses the PMKID from beacon frames. The scenario describes capturing the full four-way handshake, which is typically done via an evil twin attack.
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
✓
Evil twin attack
In the given scenario, the attacker captures the four-way handshake of a WPA2-PSK network. The most likely method to capture such a handshake is an evil twin attack, where the attacker sets up a rogue access point impersonating a legitimate network. Once a client connects to the rogue AP, the attacker captures the handshake and can then attempt to crack the passphrase offline using dictionary or brute-force attacks.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
WPS PIN attack
Why it's wrong here
WPS PIN attack targets the WPS feature, not the four-way handshake.
- ✗
KRACK attack
Why it's wrong here
KRACK exploits the handshake to decrypt traffic, not for offline cracking.
- ✓
Evil twin attack
Why this is correct
Evil twin is a rogue AP that tricks users into connecting.
- ✗
PMKID attack
Why it's wrong here
PMKID allows offline cracking of the PSK using the PMKID from the beacon or probe response.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SSCP 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 SSCP exam.