WorksheetsInformation Security Basics Quiz
Total questions: 44
Worksheet time: 7mins
Which of the following is not a component of the CIA triad in cybersecurity?
Confidentiality
Integrity
Availability
Optimization
The principle of least privilege in access control means:
Giving users only the access they truly need
Giving all users administrator rights
Encrypting with the smallest key size possible
Letting users share passwords
In information security, Integrity ensures that:
Information is correct and remains unchanged
Data is always available on demand
Information is hidden from attackers
Messages are always encrypted
How do confidentiality and integrity differ?
Confidentiality = restricting unauthorized access; Integrity = ensuring correctness of data
Confidentiality = data correctness; Integrity = data secrecy
Both protect against DoS attacks
Integrity = encryption; Confidentiality = storage
Which security principle ensures that systems are available and working when needed?
Integrity
Confidentiality
Availability
Non-repudiation
Which of the following is an example of logical security control?
Firewall
Biometric lock
Security guard
CCTV
Which statement best distinguishes an active attack from a passive attack?
Active attacks secretly monitor traffic, while passive modify the data
Active attacks change or insert data, passive only observe
Passive attacks occur only on wireless networks
Passive attacks are always stronger than active
Which of the following is a clear example of a loss of availability?
An intruder deletes student records from a database
A web server is overwhelmed and crashes during a DDoS
An attacker reads someone’s email messages
An unauthorized person views hospital reports
Which is an active attack?
Listening in on an email conversation without changing it
Visiting a website over HTTP
Changing marks in the student database
Backing up system data
Which is an example of a passive attack?
Sniffing passwords over a network
Injecting fake data packets into communication
Defacing a website homepage
Altering financial transactions in a database
A phishing attack primarily attempts to:
Gain access to physical systems
Trick users into giving personal information
Destroy hardware
Encrypt all data with ransomware
Which of the following is an example of an insider threat?
Hacker stealing passwords online
Employee leaking confidential data
Competitor launching DDoS
Malware infecting a server
Which statement correctly describes symmetric vs public-key encryption?
Symmetric → same key for encryption & decryption; Public-key → pair of keys
Both require the same processing time
Public-key is faster for large file encryption
Symmetric encryption always gives digital signatures
For fast encryption of large files between two offices, the best choice is:
RSA
AES
Diffie-Hellman
ElGamal
Why is key distribution difficult in symmetric encryption?
Keys need to be updated daily
Keys must be shared securely before communication begins
Keys are always stored as plaintext
Keys require certificates to work
Which property makes RSA suitable for digital signatures?
It uses shorter keys than symmetric ciphers
The sender signs by encrypting a hash with their private key, verified using their public key
It needs no key distribution
It automatically generates session keys
Which of the following allows two parties to agree on a shared secret over an insecure channel?
Diffie-Hellman
SHA-256
AES
MD5
Two servers want to communicate securely without pre-shared symmetric keys. What should they use?
Diffie-Hellman to establish a shared key
Emailing the symmetric key
Storing the key in plaintext locally
Encrypting only with a hash function
The private key in public-key cryptography is primarily used for:
Encrypting messages for transmission
Decrypting content encrypted with the public key
Generating hash functions
Exchanging symmetric keys
Which method changes only the position of characters but not the characters themselves?
Substitution
Transposition
Stream cipher
Steganography
Which of the following is a symmetric encryption algorithm?
RSA
AES
Diffie-Hellman
ElGamal
Which encryption type is generally faster and better for bulk data?
Symmetric encryption
Asymmetric encryption
Hashing
Steganography
Which of the following algorithms is a stream cipher?
DES
AES
RC4
RSA
Which cryptographic property ensures that even a small change in input drastically changes the output hash?
Avalanche effect
Substitution
Key distribution
Steganography
A banking application sends customers one-time passcodes to their phones. This is an example of:
Digital Signature
OTP-based Two-Factor Authentication
Public Key Certificate
Symmetric Key Sharing
What does Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) mean?
Using two encryption methods on the same file
Verifying identity through two independent factors (e.g., password + OTP)
Using two public keys at once
Replacing password with a certificate
In the OSI model, which service prevents a sender from denying that they sent a message?
Confidentiality
Integrity
Authentication
Non-repudiation
Which of the following is an example of multi-factor authentication?
Password + OTP
Username + password
Two passwords
Password + captcha
Which factor is NOT part of multi-factor authentication (MFA)?
Something you know (password)
Something you have (token/phone)
Something you are (biometric)
Something you like (favorite color)
Which of the following is an example of biometric authentication?
OTP
Fingerprint scan
Password
Security questions
A company wants to secure software updates. Which method should be used?
Symmetric encryption only (like DES)
Digital signatures with public-key cryptography + symmetric encryption for data
Hashing only
Steganography + symmetric cipher
In secure email communication, how do you ensure confidentiality and sender verification?
Encrypt the mail with the recipient’s public key + sign it with the sender’s private key
Only use AES encryption
Send plain text with a checksum
Hide the message in an image
How do users verify a digital signature on a software update?
Check if the file is encrypted with the vendor’s public key
Decrypt the signature using the vendor’s public key and match it with the file hash
Derive the key from the signature
Compare the file extension
Which mechanism verifies authenticity and integrity of a message?
Hash function
Digital signature
Encryption key
Symmetric cipher
Which statement best defines a Message Authentication Code (MAC)?
A hash that uses a secret key to verify integrity
A public key used for encryption
A compression method
Hiding information in files
Why are digital signatures critical in secure communication?
They hide the message from attackers
They provide proof of origin and non-repudiation
They increase speed of encryption
They convert plaintext into ciphertext
An e-voting system requires authenticity and non-repudiation of votes. Which is most suitable?
Symmetric cipher + MAC
Public key cryptography + Digital signatures
Steganography + Hashing
Stream cipher + OTP
Which function is mainly used to generate a fixed-size output from variable input?
Hashing
Symmetric encryption
Public key cryptography
Steganography
A hash function should be:
Irreversible and collision-resistant
Reversible and compressing
Secret key–based
Encrypted with RSA
Which one provides both authentication and integrity of a message?
Plain hash function
Digital signature
Ciphertext only
Steganography
Why is HTTPS preferred over HTTP?
It reduces server workload
It encrypts communication, preventing eavesdropping
It supports larger file transfers
It speeds up web browsing
An e-commerce site wants secure payments, intrusion detection, and server protection. Which setup is best?
AES encryption for transactions + IDS + Firewall
DES + Password login only + Antivirus
RSA for payments + Antivirus only
Steganography for transactions + Open firewall
Which device is primarily used to filter incoming and outgoing network traffic based on security rules?
IDS
Firewall
Router
Switch
Which protocol is used to secure emails?
HTTP
SMTP
SSL/TLS
FTP
