Advanced Networking and Security

1. What is "ARP spoofing"?

• A. A type of encryption
• B. Forging ARP messages to link the attacker's MAC address with a legitimate IP address ✓
• C. A DNS attack
• D. A brute force attack

💡 ARP spoofing sends fake ARP messages to link the attacker's MAC address with a legitimate IP, enabling MITM attacks on a LAN.

2. What does "MTU" stand for in networking?

• A. Maximum Transfer Unit
• B. Maximum Transmission Unit — the largest packet size that can be sent over a network ✓
• C. Minimum Transfer Unit
• D. Master Transmission Unit

💡 MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) is the largest data packet that can be transmitted over a network in a single frame.

3. What is "SSL stripping"?

• A. Removing SSL certificates
• B. An attack downgrading HTTPS connections to HTTP to intercept unencrypted data ✓
• C. A type of certificate renewal
• D. Encrypting data with SSL

💡 SSL stripping attacks intercept HTTPS traffic, downgrading it to unencrypted HTTP so the attacker can read the data.

4. What is "threat modeling" in cybersecurity?

• A. A type of antivirus
• B. A process of identifying, prioritizing, and mitigating potential security threats to a system ✓
• C. A penetration testing tool
• D. A type of firewall configuration

💡 Threat modeling is a structured approach to identifying potential threats, attack vectors, and vulnerabilities to prioritize security efforts.

5. What does "zero-day vulnerability" mean?

• A. A very old security flaw
• B. A vulnerability unknown to the software vendor with no patch available yet ✓
• C. A patched security flaw
• D. A minor security issue

💡 A zero-day is a vulnerability unknown to the vendor — attackers can exploit it before developers create a patch.

6. What is "network segmentation"?

• A. Combining all networks into one
• B. Dividing a network into smaller subnetworks to improve security and performance ✓
• C. A type of VPN
• D. Increasing network bandwidth

💡 Network segmentation divides a network into isolated segments, limiting the spread of breaches and improving traffic management.

7. What is a "man-in-the-middle" (MITM) attack?

• A. A social engineering attack
• B. An attack where the attacker secretly intercepts and possibly alters communications between two parties ✓
• C. A type of DDoS attack
• D. A brute force attack

💡 In a MITM attack, the attacker secretly positions themselves between two communicating parties, intercepting or altering data.

8. What is a "subnet mask"?

• A. A type of firewall
• B. A value that divides an IP address into network and host portions ✓
• C. A type of VPN
• D. A routing protocol

💡 A subnet mask defines which portion of an IP address identifies the network and which identifies the host device.

9. What is "SNMP" used for?

• A. Secure Network Mail Protocol
• B. Simple Network Management Protocol — monitoring and managing network devices ✓
• C. Server Node Management Protocol
• D. Secure Node Monitoring Protocol

💡 SNMP is a protocol for collecting and organizing information about network devices and modifying device behavior.

10. What is "OSPF" used for?

• A. Object Storage Protocol Framework
• B. Open Shortest Path First — a link-state routing protocol for IP networks ✓
• C. Optimized Security Protocol Framework
• D. Open System Port Filtering

💡 OSPF is a link-state routing protocol used within large enterprise networks to find the best path for data packets.

11. What is "DDOS" attack?

• A. Direct Data Overload System
• B. Distributed Denial of Service — overwhelming a server with traffic from multiple sources to make it unavailable ✓
• C. Dynamic Domain Operation System
• D. Data Disruption and Override System

💡 A DDoS attack floods a target with massive traffic from many compromised systems simultaneously, making it unavailable to users.

12. What is "port scanning" in cybersecurity?

• A. Scanning for viruses
• B. Probing a server to discover open ports and running services ✓
• C. A type of encryption
• D. A network monitoring tool

💡 Port scanning systematically checks a server for open ports to identify running services — used in both security audits and attacks.

13. What is "BGP" in networking?

• A. Basic Gateway Protocol
• B. A type of firewall
• C. Border Gateway Protocol — the routing protocol that manages how data is routed across the internet ✓
• D. Bandwidth Gateway Protocol

💡 BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) is the routing protocol that directs internet traffic between autonomous systems across the internet.

14. What is "asymmetric encryption"?

• A. Encryption using one key for both encryption and decryption
• B. Encryption using a pair of public and private keys ✓
• C. A type of hashing
• D. Encryption without any key

💡 Asymmetric encryption uses a public key to encrypt and a private key to decrypt — the basis of HTTPS, SSH, and digital signatures.

15. What is a "honeypot" in cybersecurity?

• A. A type of firewall
• B. A decoy system designed to attract and detect attackers ✓
• C. A type of encryption
• D. A password manager

💡 A honeypot is a decoy computer system set up to attract attackers, allowing security teams to study attack techniques.

16. What is "DNS poisoning" (cache poisoning)?

• A. Slowing down DNS servers
• B. Corrupting a DNS resolver's cache with false records to redirect traffic to malicious sites ✓
• C. Overloading a DNS server
• D. Blocking DNS queries

💡 DNS cache poisoning inserts malicious records into a DNS resolver's cache, redirecting users to fraudulent websites.

17. What does "CIDR notation" represent in networking?

• A. A type of DNS record
• B. Classless Inter-Domain Routing — a method for allocating IP addresses and routing ✓
• C. A security protocol
• D. A type of firewall rule

💡 CIDR notation (e.g., 192.168.1.0/24) represents IP address ranges, replacing the older classful addressing system.

18. What is "PKI" in cybersecurity?

• A. Personal Key Infrastructure
• B. Public Key Infrastructure — a framework for managing digital certificates and public-key encryption ✓
• C. Private Key Integrity
• D. Protocol Key Interface

💡 PKI is a system of digital certificates, certificate authorities, and protocols managing public-key encryption for secure communications.

19. What is "OAuth" primarily used for?

• A. Encrypting passwords
• B. A type of VPN
• C. Authorization framework allowing third-party access to resources without sharing credentials ✓
• D. A firewall protocol

💡 OAuth is an authorization framework enabling secure third-party access to user resources without exposing passwords.

20. What is "VLAN" in networking?

• A. Virtual Local Area Network — logically segmenting a network regardless of physical location ✓
• B. Very Large Area Network
• C. Virtual Link Access Node
• D. Variable Length Area Network

💡 A VLAN logically segments a physical network into separate broadcast domains, improving security and performance.