Cyber Security questions

By Interwoven Maths

Cyber Security question collection

Review Cyber Security questions for Computer Science, with correct answers shown and coverage across common cyber threats; malware and phishing; social engineering.

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Question 1

What does malware mean?
  1. Malicious software
  2. Main memory hardware
  3. Manual web repair
  4. Managed local network

Question 2

What is phishing?
  1. Fake messages that steal user data
  2. Fake websites that redirect domain requests
  3. Repeated guesses against a password
  4. Malicious queries sent to a database

Question 3

What does a brute-force password attack do?
  1. Tries many possible character combinations
  2. Tries words from a prepared list
  3. Steals a password through a fake message
  4. Records a password with spyware

Question 4

What is the aim of a DoS attack?
  1. Overloading a service until it is unavailable
  2. Encrypting files until a ransom is paid
  3. Copying data until an account is cloned
  4. Guessing passwords until one of them works

Question 5

What is SQL injection?
  1. Injecting SQL through insecure input fields
  2. Encrypting a SQL database
  3. Backing up SQL logs
  4. Converting SQL to HTML

Question 6

What do social engineering attacks target?
  1. People
  2. Routers
  3. Hard drives
  4. Source code compilers

Question 7

Which password is strongest?
  1. A long, unique mix of character types
  2. A short word with one digit
  3. A birthdate reused on several sites
  4. A common phrase shared with friends

Question 8

What does salting a password hash do?
  1. Makes identical passwords produce different hashes
  2. Makes passwords shorter
  3. Stores passwords in plain text
  4. Replaces encryption keys

Question 9

Which is an example of biometric authentication?
  1. Fingerprint scan
  2. PIN code
  3. Username
  4. Security question

Question 10

What does two-step verification require?
  1. Two different kinds of security check
  2. Two passwords of the same type
  3. Two usernames
  4. Two devices on one network

Question 11

What does encryption change plaintext into?
  1. Ciphertext
  2. Checksum
  3. Metadata
  4. Source code

Question 12

Which key arrangement is used in symmetric encryption?
  1. One shared secret key encrypts and decrypts the data
  2. A public key encrypts and a private key decrypts
  3. A new public key is created for every message
  4. No key is needed to decrypt the data

Question 13

In public-key encryption, which key decrypts data encrypted with a public key?
  1. The matching private key
  2. The same public key
  3. Any public key
  4. A MAC address

Question 14

What does a firewall do?
  1. Filters network traffic
  2. Stores all passwords
  3. Assigns IP addresses
  4. Repairs corrupted files

Question 15

What does spyware do?
  1. Secretly collects user data
  2. Encrypts files and demands payment
  3. Replicates by attaching to host files
  4. Overloads a server with requests

Question 16

Why should security updates be installed?
  1. They patch known software weaknesses
  2. They encrypt every stored file
  3. They replace weak user passwords
  4. They block every phishing message

Question 17

Which control best protects data from ransomware loss?
  1. Regular offline backups
  2. A backup on the same mounted drive
  3. A stronger screen-lock password
  4. A firewall with no backup

Question 18

What does least privilege mean for users?
  1. Only the access needed for their role
  2. Full admin access
  3. No access at all
  4. Access to every shared folder

Question 19

What is CAPTCHA designed to distinguish?
  1. Human users from automated bots
  2. Administrators from standard users
  3. Encrypted files from plaintext files
  4. Trusted networks from public networks

Question 20

What is a security risk of open public Wi-Fi?
  1. Attackers may intercept unencrypted data
  2. The router may assign a private IP address
  3. The device may use a slower connection
  4. Web pages may load from a distant server

Question 21

What is a dictionary attack?
  1. Trying common passwords and word lists
  2. Trying every IP address in order
  3. Replacing letters with symbols once
  4. Encrypting files with a public key

Question 22

Which are the three authentication-factor categories?
  1. Knowledge, possession and inherence
  2. Username, password and email
  3. Encryption, hashing and salting
  4. Firewall, backup and antivirus

Question 23

What is social engineering?
  1. Tricking people into revealing information
  2. Exploiting a buffer overflow
  3. Installing anti-virus software
  4. Encrypting data on a disk

Question 24

What distinguishes a computer virus?
  1. It attaches to a host file and replicates when run
  2. It replicates across networks without a host file
  3. It encrypts files and demands a ransom
  4. It secretly records user activity

Question 25

What is ransomware?
  1. Malware that locks data and demands payment
  2. Software that improves encryption
  3. A tool for testing networks
  4. A backup stored off-site

Question 26

Which pair provides two-factor authentication?
  1. Password and fingerprint
  2. Password and security question
  3. PIN and memorable word
  4. Fingerprint and face scan

Question 27

Which control directly limits online brute-force attempts?
  1. Temporary lockout after failed logins
  2. Password hints after failed logins
  3. Automatic username completion
  4. A public list of password rules

Question 28

What is penetration testing?
  1. Authorised attacks used to find system weaknesses
  2. Unauthorised attacks used to steal system data
  3. Automated backups used to restore system data
  4. Encryption used to hide system data

Question 29

What can anti-malware software do after detecting a malicious file?
  1. Quarantine it from the system
  2. Patch the software weakness it used
  3. Restore files from an earlier backup
  4. Filter the network port it contacted

Question 30

Why is an unexpected email attachment risky?
  1. Opening it may execute malware
  2. Reading it may reveal your public IP address
  3. Saving it may change the email subject
  4. Deleting it may notify the sender

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Review Cyber Security questions for Computer Science, with correct answers shown and coverage across common cyber threats; malware and phishing; social engineering.

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