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NSE 2 - Technical Introduction to Cybersecurity Free Sample Questions

Description

Covers cryptography and public key infrastructure, firewalls and SD-WAN, authentication and access control, VPN and ZTNA remote access, endpoint protection, and cloud security.

12 free sample questions180 in the full practice test

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NSE_2 Sample Questions

  1. Question 1

    Intermediate

    Cryptography and the Public Key Infrastructure · Asymmetric Cryptography

    A financial institution is upgrading its data transmission standards. The CISO requires a solution where the sender uses a key to encrypt data that can be decrypted by any recipient possessing the corresponding public key, but the recipient cannot use that public key to decrypt messages meant for the sender. Which cryptographic concept is being described?

    Answer and explanation

    Correct answer: C

    Asymmetric encryption uses a pair of keys: a public key for encryption and a private key for decryption (or vice versa for signing). This allows for secure communication without sharing a secret key beforehand, unlike symmetric encryption.

  2. Question 2

    Beginner

    Cryptography and the Public Key Infrastructure · Hashing and Digital Signatures

    An administrator is configuring a VPN for a remote branch office. To ensure data integrity during transit, they need to select a mechanism that generates a fixed-size string from the input data, where any change to the input results in a completely different string. Which mechanism should be chosen?

    Answer and explanation

    Correct answer: D

    Hashing algorithms (like SHA-256) create a unique fixed-size digest of data. If even a single bit of the data changes, the hash changes drastically (avalanche effect), which is used to verify data integrity.

  3. Question 3

    Intermediate

    Cryptography and the Public Key Infrastructure · Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)

    In a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) environment, a user needs to validate that a web server's certificate is legitimate and has not been forged. Which component of the PKI hierarchy is the ultimate source of trust that issues and signs the root certificate?

    Answer and explanation

    Correct answer: D

    The Certificate Authority (CA) is the trusted entity that issues digital certificates. The Root CA is the top of the trust hierarchy, and its signature validates the authenticity of the certificates it issues.

    graph TD RootCA[Root Certificate Authority] -->|Signs| InterCA[Intermediate CA] InterCA -->|Signs| ServerCert[Server Certificate] Client[User Browser] -->|Trusts| RootCA Client -->|Validates| ServerCert

  4. Question 4

    Beginner

    Cryptography and the Public Key Infrastructure · Hashing and Digital Signatures

    True or False: A digital signature provides confidentiality by encrypting the entire message contents so that unauthorized users cannot read it.

    Answer and explanation

    Correct answer: B

    False. A digital signature provides authenticity, integrity, and non-repudiation, but NOT confidentiality. It involves hashing the message and encrypting the hash with a private key. The message itself is often sent in plain text unless separately encrypted.

  5. Question 5

    IntermediateMultiple answers

    Cryptography and the Public Key Infrastructure · Symmetric Cryptography

    Which TWO of the following are primary characteristics of Symmetric Encryption algorithms compared to Asymmetric ones? (Select TWO)

    Answer and explanation

    Correct answers: B, D

    Symmetric algorithms (like AES) are much faster than asymmetric ones (like RSA) and are preferred for encrypting large amounts of data.

    Symmetric encryption relies on a single shared secret key that must be known by both the sender and the recipient.

  6. Question 6

    Intermediate

    Cryptography and the Public Key Infrastructure · Symmetric Cryptography

    A developer is designing a login system and wants to ensure that even if the database is stolen, the user passwords cannot be easily reversed or used. The system adds a random string of characters to each password before processing it. What is this technique called?

    Answer and explanation

    Correct answer: D

    Salting involves adding random data (salt) to a password before hashing it. This prevents attackers from using rainbow tables (pre-computed hash tables) to crack passwords, as the salt makes every hash unique even if two users have the same password.

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