Network Security MCQs set 3 for NTS NAT-ICS (Computer Science Track) computer science — 20 solved questions.
Q1. Which type of attack involves flooding a network with traffic?
Answer: DDoS
Explanation: DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack involves overwhelming a network with traffic to make it unavailable.
Q2. What is the main purpose of a digital signature?
Answer: To verify the authenticity of a message
Explanation: A digital signature verifies the authenticity and integrity of a message, ensuring it comes from the claimed sender.
Q3. Which security measure helps in detecting and alerting about potential security threats?
Answer: Intrusion Detection System
Explanation: Intrusion Detection System (IDS) monitors network traffic for signs of unauthorized access or malicious activity.
Q4. What is a characteristic of a symmetric encryption algorithm?
Answer: It uses the same key for encryption and decryption
Explanation: Symmetric encryption uses the same key for both encryption and decryption, making it faster but requiring secure key exchange.
Q5. What is the primary benefit of using a secure protocol like SSH instead of Telnet?
Answer: Encrypted communication
Explanation: SSH provides encrypted communication, unlike Telnet which transmits data in plain text, making SSH more secure.
Q6. Which network attack involves intercepting and altering communication?
Answer: Man-in-the-Middle
Explanation: Man-in-the-Middle attack involves intercepting and potentially altering communication between two parties. NET computer science MCQs often test this core concept.
Q7. Which security concept is based on the idea that multiple layers of security are better than a single layer?
Answer: Defense in Depth
Explanation: Defense in Depth involves implementing multiple layers of security measures to protect against various types of threats.
Q8. What is a characteristic of asymmetric encryption?
Answer: More secure key exchange
Explanation: Asymmetric encryption provides a more secure key exchange mechanism by using a pair of keys (public and private).
Q9. Which of the following is a security risk associated with using public Wi-Fi?
Answer: Man-in-the-Middle attack
Explanation: Public Wi-Fi networks are vulnerable to Man-in-the-Middle attacks, where an attacker intercepts communication.
Q10. What is the term for a malicious program that disguises itself as legitimate software?
Answer: Trojan
Explanation: A Trojan horse is malware that disguises itself as legitimate software, allowing unauthorized access to a computer system.
Q11. Which of the following is a type of malware that demands payment in exchange for restoring access to data?
Answer: Ransomware
Explanation: Ransomware is malware that encrypts a victim's files and demands a ransom in exchange for the decryption key.
Q12. What is a common technique used to protect passwords stored on a server?
Answer: Hashing
Explanation: Hashing transforms passwords into fixed-length strings of characters, making it difficult to retrieve the original password.
Q13. Which protocol is used to securely access a remote server?
Answer: SSH
Explanation: SSH (Secure Shell) is a protocol used to securely access and manage a remote server, encrypting data transmitted.
Q14. What is the main goal of a intrusion detection system (IDS)?
Answer: To detect and alert on potential intrusions
Explanation: An IDS monitors network traffic for signs of unauthorized access or malicious activity, alerting administrators.
Q15. Which security measure involves using multiple forms of verification to access a system?
Answer: Multi-factor authentication
Explanation: Multi-factor authentication requires multiple forms of verification, such as a password, fingerprint, and smart card, to access a system.
Q16. What type of attack involves overwhelming a system with traffic to make it unavailable?
Answer: Denial of Service (DoS) Attack
Explanation: A DoS attack involves flooding a system with traffic, rendering it unavailable to legitimate users.
Q17. What is the term for a security threat that is previously unknown?
Answer: Zero-day exploit
Explanation: A zero-day exploit is a security threat that is previously unknown, making it difficult to defend against without a patch.
Q18. Which of the following is a benefit of using a secure protocol like HTTPS?
Answer: Enhanced security for data in transit
Explanation: HTTPS provides end-to-end encryption, ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of data transmitted between the client and server.
Q19. What is the primary goal of incident response planning?
Answer: To respond to and contain security incidents
Explanation: Incident response planning enables organizations to respond quickly and effectively to security incidents, minimizing damage.
Q20. What is the purpose of a VPN?
Answer: To encrypt data in transit
Explanation: VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) encrypt data in transit to secure communications over public networks.