Cyber Security Concepts and Principles

Cyber Security Concepts and Principles Summary of Key Topics 1. Information Systems Assets: Customer data, intellectual property, financial data, etc. CIA Triad: Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability — core of security objectives. Other Principles: Authenticity, Accountability. Threats & Vulnerabilities: Eavesdropping, phishing, data tampering, DDoS, malware. Controls: Technical (e.g., firewalls, encryption), Administrative (policies), Physical (locks, CCTV). Social Engineering: Manipulating people to breach security (e.g., phishing, pretexting). 2. Hackers and Pen Testers Types of Hackers: Script Kiddies, Hacktivists, Criminals, State-sponsored. Ethical Hacking: Mimics attacker behaviour to find vulnerabilities legally. Hacking Phases: Reconnaissance → Scanning → Gaining Access → Maintaining Access → Covering Tracks. Penetration Testing: Black Box, White Box, and Gray Box testing. Red/Blue/Purple Teams: Offensive, defensive, and combined security teams. 3. Security Design Principles 10 Principles: Least privilege, Fail-safe defaults, Complete mediation, Separation of privilege, etc. Aim to design systems that are both secure and user-friendly. 4. Threat Modelling DREAD Model: Damage, Reproducibility, Exploitability, Affected Users, Discoverability. Attack Trees: Visual maps of how a system could be compromised. 50 MCQs on Cyber Security Concepts (1) What are the three core components of the CIA triad? A. Confidentiality, Identity, Authentication B. Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability C. Availability, Access, Accountability D. Integrity, Information, Identity. (2) Which of the following is a technical security control? A. Employee training B. Password policy C. Antivirus software D. Physical locks (3) What is the purpose of least privilege? A. To allow full access to administrators B. To limit access rights to only what's necessary C. To enforce open access for efficiency D. To separate networks from the internet (4) A breach of confidentiality might involve: A. Destroying data B. Unauthorized disclosure of data C. Server downtime D. System upgrade (5) Which is an example of a human vulnerability? A. SQL Injection B. Open Ports C. Social Engineering D. Missing patches (6) What kind of hacker uses tools they don’t understand? A. Ethical hacker B. Script kiddie C. Hacktivist D. Pen tester (7) Which of the following best describes integrity in cybersecurity? A. Keeping systems online B. Preventing unauthorized data modification C. Avoiding social engineering D. Enforcing strong passwords (8) What is the goal of a penetration test? A. Improve UI/UX design B. Identify and exploit vulnerabilities C. Patch all applications D. Perform system backups (9) Which attack type involves intercepting data without modifying it? A. DoS B. Passive attack C. Active attack D. Ransomware (10) Which is not a component of the attack surface? A. Network B. Software C. Physical structure D. Firewall rules (11) What does the D in DREAD stand for? A. Destruction B. Damage C. Data D. Delay (12) Which category does buffer overflow fall under? A. Human vulnerability B. Software vulnerability C. Physical vulnerability D. Supply chain (13) What is phishing an example of? A. Network threat B. Social engineering C. Insider attack D. Software bug (14) An exploit is: A. A system feature B. A countermeasure C. A method to take advantage of a vulnerability D. A data loss incident (15) What is the first step in a hacking methodology? A. Maintaining access B. Exploitation C. Reconnaissance D. Data exfiltration (16) What is the role of an ethical hacker? A. Launch cyberattacks B. Secure physical facilities C. Simulate attacks to find vulnerabilities D. Build software (17) Which is an administrative control? A. Encryption B. Antivirus C. Company security policy D. Firewall (18) What does CVE stand for? A. Central Vulnerability Evidence B. Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures C. Cybersecurity Validation Entry D. Critical Virus Exploits (19) Which hacker type is often state-sponsored? A. Amateurs B. Hacktivists C. Criminals D. Advanced Persistent Threats (20) What does enumeration involve? A. Sending emails B. Guessing passwords C. Actively identifying system info like usernames and IPs D. Logging into a network (21) Which tool might be used in reconnaissance? A. Burp Suite B. Nmap C. Wireshark D. Antivirus (22) What does open design mean in security? A. Hiding vulnerabilities B. Security by secrecy C. Keeping the security design open for inspection D. Allowing open ports (23) A honeypot is used to: A. Store confidential data B. Attract attackers to a decoy system C. Speed up networks D. Encrypt files (24) Which of the following is part of the DREAD model? A. Resilience B. Reproducibility C. Readability D. Reliability (25) What is fail-safe default? A. Giving access to all users B. Denying access unless explicitly granted C. Allowing administrator overrides D. Bypassing login screens (26) Which is an example of a physical control? A. Firewall B. CCTV C. Encryption D. Password hashing (27) Which law regulates personal data in the UK? A. CFAA B. Data Protection Act (2018) C. GDPR (only) D. FOIA (28) The principle of complete mediation implies: A. Checking every access attempt B. Allowing default access C. Logging all users D. Using encryption (29) Which attack type includes DDoS? A. Passive B. Physical C. Insider D. Network (30) What does obfuscation aim to do in hacking? A. Speed up access B. Hide attack evidence C. Increase privileges D. Log user activity (31) Which term refers to the chance of a threat occurring? A. Exploit B. Attack surface C. Risk D. Vulnerability (32) Which test assumes no prior knowledge of the system? A. Gray box B. White box C. Red box D. Black box (33) What is the purpose of the Purple Team? A. Exploit the system B. Perform audits C. Bridge Red and Blue Teams D. Encrypt data (34) Authentication ensures: A. Availability of data B. System is always up C. User is who they claim to be D. Data has not been modified (35) A botnet is used in: A. Eavesdropping B. Brute force C. DDoS attacks D. Hashing passwords (36) The work factor principle means: A. Attackers are always smarter B. Cost of attack should outweigh potential benefit C. Systems should be complex D. Everyone should be trained (37) What is social engineering mostly targeting? A. Firewalls B. Humans C. Encryption D. Hardware (38) Which of these is a network vulnerability? A. Weak firewall rules B. Keylogger C. Shoulder surfing D. Phishing (39) What principle aims to limit resource sharing? A. Least privilege B. Separation of privilege C. Least common mechanism D. Work factor (40) A penetration test often includes: A. Random scanning B. Structured methodology C. DNS hijacking D. Static website hosting (41) What’s the attack tree root node? A. A device B. The goal of the attack C. Malware D. Victim (42) Separation of privilege involves: A. One condition for access B. Multiple conditions for access C. One admin account D. Disabling authentication (43) A brute-force attack targets: A. Encryption algorithms B. Login systems by guessing all possibilities C. OS vulnerabilities D. Firewalls (44) One benefit of gray box testing is: A. No knowledge helps simulate real attacks B. Full access is safe C. Partial knowledge improves realism D. Faster results due to blacklisting (45) The Computer Misuse Act (1990) covers: A. Theft of physical goods B. Environmental damage C. Unauthorized access to computer systems D. Tax evasion (46) What kind of threat is fire damage? A. Physical threat B. Network attack C. Social engineering D. Zero-day (47) What is a zero-day threat? A. Known bug B. Vulnerability unknown to developers C. Patched vulnerability D. Insider threat (48) What is hashing used for? A. Encrypting files B. Hiding system info C. Integrity verification D. User login (49) What is payload in malware context? A. The scanning tool B. The actual malicious code C. The password list D. The IP scanner (50) Attack vectors are: A. Safe zones B. Unused servers C. Vulnerable paths for attacks D. OS updates