Demystifying Cybersecurity Interviews: Must-Know Q&A

🔒 The CI Triad represents the core goals of confidentiality, integrity, and availability in cybersecurity.

🛡️ A firewall acts as a network security device that monitors and controls network traffic based on security rules.

🔐 Encryption is the process of converting plain text data into unreadable cipher data to protect it from unauthorized access.

🔒 Defense in depth is a security strategy that involves deploying multiple layers of security controls.

🎣 Social engineering is the manipulation of individuals to trick them into divulging confidential information.

🔧 Patching is important in cybersecurity to fix vulnerabilities and improve system functionality.

⌛️ A zero-day vulnerability is a software flaw exploited by attackers before a patch is released.

🔑 Encryption key management involves generating, distributing, and revoking keys to ensure data security.

🍯 A honeypot is a security mechanism that attracts attackers to analyze their techniques.

📧 Phishing is a social engineering attack where fraudulent emails are used to trick recipients.

📝 Logging and monitoring are crucial for detecting and responding to security incidents.

🔐 Penetration testing involves assessing the security of a system through simulated attacks.

🔒 Penetration testing helps organizations identify and address vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them.

🌐 A DMZ is a network segment that separates internal and external networks, minimizing the impact of attacks.

🔑 A security incident response plan outlines steps to detect, contain, mitigate, and recover from security breaches.

🦠 Malware is malicious software that can harm computer systems, including viruses, worms, ransomware, and spyware.

🔒 A VPN encrypts data transmitted over public networks, enhancing security and privacy.

🔐 A secure password policy enforces guidelines for creating strong passwords and regular password changes.

🔓 Security by obscurity is a weak approach that relies on secrecy or complexity of a system as the primary means of security.

🔍 A Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system plays a role in monitoring and analyzing security events.

🔒 Biometric authentication uses unique physical or behavioral characteristics to verify user identity.

🔬 A sandbox is an isolated environment used to analyze potentially malicious code safely.

🤔 User awareness training reduces the likelihood of falling victim to social engineering attacks.

💻 Secure coding focuses on mitigating vulnerabilities and preventing common coding errors.

📜 A security policy establishes rules and guidelines for protecting information assets.

🔑 Two-factor authentication requires users to provide two forms of identification.

🌐 Public Key Infrastructure manages digital keys and certificates for secure communication.

🔍 A security risk assessment helps identify and evaluate potential security risks and vulnerabilities in an organization.

🔒 Security through obscurity should not be the sole method of protection.

🖥️ A rootkit is malicious software that grants unauthorized access to a computer system.

🚫 Zero trust architecture enforces strict access control and verification for all users and devices.

🔑 A digital certificate verifies the identity of an entity and ensures secure communication.

🔐 Symmetric encryption uses a single key, while asymmetric encryption uses a pair of keys.

🚨 A security incident potentially compromises information, while a security breach involves confirmed access to sensitive data.

🏢 A certificate authority (CA) issues digital certificates and verifies the identity of individuals, organizations, or websites.

🔒 A buffer overflow vulnerability occurs when a program writes more data into a temporary storage buffer than it can hold, leading to memory corruption and potential exploitation by attackers.

🔥 A firewall filters network traffic based on pre-determined rules to block unauthorized access, while an intrusion detection system monitors network activity to identify and respond to security threats.

🔐 Security by Design involves integrating security considerations into the design and development of systems and applications from the outset, reducing the need for added security measures.

⛓️ Distributed Ledger technology like blockchain enhances security by providing transparency, reducing the risk of fraud, and ensuring data integrity through cryptographic hashing.

👤 A malicious insider is an individual within an organization who misuses their access and privileges to intentionally compromise security, such as stealing data or assisting external attackers.

🔒 The Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) is responsible for an organization's information security strategy, managing security programs, and ensuring compliance with security policies and regulations.

🔒 The principle of least privilege dictates that users and processes should have only the minimum access necessary to perform their tasks, reducing the potential impact of a compromise.

🔒 The OWASP Top 10 is a list of the most critical security risks for web applications.

🔒 The OWASP Top 10 is a list of the most critical security risks facing web applications, published by the Open Web Application Security Project.

🔐 A security event is a measurable occurrence that may indicate a security breach, while a security incident is a confirmed breach or compromise of a system's security.

🔍 A data breach involves unauthorized access, disclosure, or loss of sensitive data, while a cyber attack encompasses a broader range of malicious activity.

⚙️ The least common mechanism principle suggests that shared resources should have the least amount of privilege necessary to function, reducing the potential attack surface.

🌈 A rainbow table attack is a type of password attack that uses pre-computed tables to crack hashed passwords quickly.

⛔ In a DoS attack, a single source overwhelms a target's resources, while in a DDoS attack, multiple compromised devices coordinated by an attacker flood the target, making mitigation more complex.

🔄 Anomaly detection in cybersecurity involves identifying deviations from normal patterns of behavior or activity in a system or network to detect potential security breaches.