Hashing, Digital Signatures and BlockChain Practice Questions

A cybersecurity analyst needs to verify that a file has not been altered during transmission. Which of the following cryptographic methods should they use?

• Symmetric encryption

• Hashing

• Digital certificates

• Transport encryption

Which of the following best describes the characteristics of a cryptographic hash?

• It is reversible using a private key.

• It provides confidentiality by encrypting data.

• It creates a unique, fixed-length value for input data.

• It replaces sensitive information with tokens.

An organization is implementing digital signatures for secure email communication. Which of the following goals does this technology primarily address?

• Confidentiality

• Authentication and integrity

• Obfuscation

• Availability

A system administrator notices that two different files produce the same hash value. What type of vulnerability does this scenario illustrate?

• Key reuse

• Hash collision

• Race condition

• Cryptographic downgrade

Which of the following best describes how adding a salt to a password before hashing improves security?

• It makes the password hashing process faster.

• It prevents the reuse of the same password across multiple accounts.

• It ensures that identical passwords generate different hash values.

• It allows the password to be decrypted more securely.

A cybersecurity engineer is concerned about the possibility of MD5 hash collisions being exploited. What is the primary risk associated with hash collisions?

• Attackers can decrypt hashed passwords.

• Different inputs can appear identical, undermining data integrity.

• Salts cannot be applied to the hashing process.

• Encrypted messages become vulnerable to replay attacks.

Which of the following is a key feature of blockchain technology that ensures its resistance to tampering?

• Private key encryption

• Use of digital certificates

• Hashing each block and linking it to the previous block

• Storing data on centralized servers

A financial institution uses blockchain to record transactions. If an attacker attempts to modify the data in one block, what will happen to the blockchain?

• The blockchain will self-repair the tampered block.

• The blockchain will allow the modification if the hash matches.

• The hashes of all subsequent blocks will change, breaking the chain.

• The modification will be ignored if the change is small.

Which of the following cryptographic techniques is used in blockchain to secure the data in each block?

• Asymmetric encryption

• Hashing

• Digital signatures

• Tokenization

A system administrator is tasked with protecting a password file from offline attacks. Which technique would make the hashed passwords more resistant to attacks?

• Encrypting the file with symmetric encryption

• Adding a unique salt to each password before hashing

• Using a faster hashing algorithm like MD5

• Applying steganography to the password file