40 Most Important Cybersecurity Interview Questions and Answers

As businesses increasingly shift to digital platforms, the role of cybersecurity professionals has become crucial and highly sought after. Their job involves safeguarding company networks, identifying threats, and conducting regular security audits. To ace a cybersecurity interview, it’s important to have a solid understanding of data protection systems and practices. To help you succeed, we’ve put together a list of key cybersecurity interview questions and answers suitable for all levels—fresher, intermediate, and experienced.

Top 40 Cybersecurity Interview Questions and Answers to Ace Interviews

To excel in cybersecurity interviews, it’s essential to have a thorough understanding of both fundamental and advanced concepts. Below, you’ll find a selection of cybersecurity interview questions along with sample answers designed to help you ace your interview:

Cybersecurity Interview Questions and Answers for Freshers

The field of cybersecurity is growing rapidly and has a lot of opportunities for freshers. If you’re looking to start a career in this industry, it is important to be well-prepared for interviews as you might have a lot of competition. To help you ace your interview, here are some commonly asked cybersecurity interview questions and answers that will cover various aspects of the subject and prepare you better.

Q1. How are firewalls essential for network security?

Sample Answer: Firewalls block unauthorized access by acting as a protective barrier and overseeing inbound and outbound traffic according to the security regulations.

Q2. How can you secure a computer network?

Sample Answer: Regularly updating the system, using strong passwords and firewalls, and implementing intrusion detection systems can help secure a computer network. 

Q3. What do you understand by two-factor authentication, and why is it important?

Sample Answer: Two-factor authentication is a widely used and important method for protecting data. It adds an extra layer of security by requiring two forms of verification. First, the user sets a strong password. Then, they must enter a temporary code, often sent to their phone or email. Even if someone steals the password, they won’t be able to access the account without the second code. This extra step helps prevent unauthorized access during a security breach.

Q4. What are the common forms of cyberattacks?

 Sample Answer:  Some common forms of cyber-attacks are as follows:

• Phishing: Sending fraudulent or spam emails under the disguise of a legitimate source is known as phishing
• Social Engineering Attacks: Social engineering attacks involve tricking people into giving away sensitive information like bank details or OTPs, visiting harmful websites, or sending money. These actions are used to compromise the security of an organization.
• Cryptocurrency Hijacking: Cryptocurrency hijacking happens when hackers secretly use a computer’s power to mine digital currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, or Monero.

Q5. What is DNS?

Sample Answer: The Domain Name System is a virtual record of the internet. It translates website names into IP addresses, which computers use to find and connect to websites.

Q6. What are the different types of malware?

Sample Answer: The different types of malware are as follows:

• Worms: A worm is a sort of malicious software that spreads quickly from one machine to another through email and file sharing. Worms do not need host software or code to run.
• Spyware: It is malware that operates in the background of your computer, collects all of your personal data, and sends it to distant attackers.
• Ransomware: It is a type of virus that extorts money from users by acquiring illegal access to critical user information and demanding money to erase or return that information to the user.
• Virus: A virus is malicious software that is sent as an attachment to a file or program. Viruses often transfer from one application to another, and they only run when the host file is executed. The virus can only inflict damage to the computer while the host file is running.
• Trojan: Trojans are dangerous, non-replicating malware that frequently reduces computer efficiency and performance. Trojans have the capacity to leak valuable user data and alter or eradicate it. 

Q7. What do you mean by a Null Session?

Sample Answer: A null session typically happens when an unauthorized user tries to log into a system. This creates a security concern for the applications. Additionally, null sessions are vulnerabilities found in the Common Internet File System (CIFS) or SMB based on the operating system. 

Q8. What is XSS and how can it be prevented?

Sample Answer: Injection attacks known as Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) occur when malicious scripts are inserted into websites. XSS attacks happen when a hacker sends malicious code—typically in the form of a browser-side script—to a separate end user through an online application. 

Q9. What would you do if you came across a security breach?

Sample Answer: I would isolate the compromised data to limit the breach and notify the party affected by it. Additionally, I would also investigate the reason behind the incident to implement recovery methods and strengthen the security in order to prevent similar incidents.

Q10. What do you understand by cookies in a web browser?

Sample Answer: Cookies are data stored by websites on a user’s device. They are used to understand user preferences and website information, They are also used to provide a more customized browsing experience. Additionally, cookies are used to suggest websites or resources the user is more prone to engage with.

Q11. What are the various elements of cyber security?

Sample Answer: The various elements of cyber security are as follows:

• Application Security: Application security is the most critical part of cyber security. They are used to add security highlights to applications during the improvement period to protect against cyber attacks.
• Information security: It is a part of cyber security that deals with how data is shielded from unauthorized entry, use, disclosure, interruption, alteration, and deletion.
• Network security: Network security is the defense against threats and unwanted access within a network. Precautions must be taken by the network administrator to shield the system from any potential security risks. 
• Disaster Recovery Planning: A disaster recovery plan outlines how operations will continue promptly and effectively following a calamity. The company’s network data should be the starting point for a disaster recovery process.
• Operational security: Also known as procedural security, it is the practice of enabling managers to view behavior from a hacker’s point of view in order to safeguard sensitive data from a range of risks.
• End User Training: The most crucial aspect of computer security is end-user training. Because they can occur at any moment, end users are quickly emerging as the top security danger to any organization.  

Q12. What is the difference between active and passive cyber attacks?

Sample Answer: The differences between active and passive cyber attacks are as follows:

• Active Cyberattack: An active cyberattack is when an attacker tries to change or damage data in a system. It can affect the system’s availability and reliability by altering or corrupting resources. In these attacks, the victim is usually aware of what’s happening, especially if the attack is ongoing.
• Passive Cyber Attack: A passive cyberattack is when an attacker secretly monitors or copies information without altering or damaging the system. The victim doesn’t know the attack is happening because no changes are made to the data or system.

Q13. What is a block cipher?

Sample Answer: A block cipher is a way to encrypt data by taking a set chunk (or block) of plaintext and turning it into ciphertext. It processes each block separately. Block ciphers are relatively simple and use different modes like ECB (Electronic Code Book) and CBC (Cipher Block Chaining) to manage the encryption process.

Cybersecurity Interview Questions and Answers for Intermediate Candidates

For intermediate candidates, having some experience in cybersecurity can give you an edge during interviews. However, it is still important to refresh your knowledge and skills before facing any interview. In this section, we have compiled a list of common cybersecurity interview questions that are frequently asked for intermediate-level job roles. Whether you’re looking for new job opportunities or aiming for a promotion within your current organization, these questions and answers will help you prepare better.

Q14. How does a rootkit work? 

Sample Answer: A rootkit is a kind of malware that lets hackers access your computer without being noticed. After it’s installed, they can move files around or change things on your system. Finding a rootkit can be tough because there aren’t many tools that can detect it. 

Q15. Define zero-day vulnerability.

Sample Answer: A zero-day vulnerability is a flaw in the operating system, which creates a space for cyber-attacks and security compromise. This vulnerability is still not known to the developer, therefore no strategies to solve this problem exist.

Q16. What is the function of a Secure Socket Layer (SSL)?

Sample Answer: SSL, or Secure Socket Layer, is a technology that protects internet connections by encrypting the data shared between your web browser and a server. It is important because it keeps your personal and financial information safe. SSL stops hackers from stealing, reading, or changing the data that travels between your computer and the website.

Q17. What is cryptography?

Sample Answer: Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication as a means to protect data from third parties. It involves creating codes or ciphers to protect information and prevent it from being accessed by unauthorized individuals. This ensures confidentiality, integrity, and authentication of data being transmitted over insecure networks such as the Internet.

Q18. What is multi-factor authentication and how does it enhance security?

Sample Answer: Multi-factor authentication (MFA) enhances security by asking users to provide more than one way to verify their identity. This usually means combining something you know, like a strong password, with something you have, like a phone or security token. This extra step makes it harder for unauthorized people to access your accounts.

Q19. What are the steps involved in hacking a server or network?

 Sample Answer: In order to hack a network you must:

• Have access to the web server.  
• Use anonymous FTP to access this network in order to collect information and scan ports.
• Observe the open ports, file sizes, and processes running on your system.  
• Run commands like “clear cache” or “delete all files” to find the data stored by the server behind these programs. This helps in gathering critical information that can be used in application-specific exploits.
• Connect to other sites on the same network, such as Facebook and YouTube so that you can check the deleted data. Access the server using the conversion channel.
• Access internal network resources and data to collect more information. 
• Use Metasploit to gain remote access to these resources.

Q20. Name a few network sniffing tools.

Sample Answer: Some networking sniffing tools are Tcpdump, Auvik, WinDump, Paessler PRTG, ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer.

Q21. What is a proxy firewall?

Sample Answer: A proxy firewall ensures security by controlling the data going in and out of the network to keep the network secure and free of intruders and viruses. A proxy firewall has its own IP address so that the internal network cannot make a direct connection with outside internet. The application layer has several protocols such as SMTP, a protocol for e-mail messages on the Internet, and HTTP, a protocol for sending and receiving web pages. 

Q22. What are the risks associated with public Wi-Fi?

Sample Answer: Public wifi can be a source of compromised security. It can allow viruses, malware, and worms into your device, further leading to network snooping and session hijacking.

Q23. Provide examples of asymmetric encryption algorithms.

Sample Answer: Asymmetric key cryptography is based on public and private key cryptography systems. It uses two different keys to encrypt and decrypt messages. 

You need two keys, a public and a private key,  for encryption and decryption. 

• To transfer small amounts of data.
• Provides confidentiality to the user.
• The ciphertext size is equal to or larger than the original plaintext. 
• Comparatively slower encryption process. 

Q24. What is the difference between encryption and hashing?

Sample Answer: Encryption and hashing are methods used to convert readable data into an unreadable format. The only difference between both these methods are that encrypted data can be converted back to its original form through decryption but there is no way to transform the hashed data into original data.

Q25. What is session hijacking?

Sample Answer: Session hijacking is a process of attacking a user’s sessions over a protected network. The most common method of session hijacking is IP spoofing, where an attacker uses source-routed IP packets to input commands into the active communication between two nodes on a network, allowing an authorized impersonation of one of the users. This type of attack is possible because authentication usually only happens at the beginning of a TCP session. 

Q26. What is IP blocklisting?

Sample Answer: IP blocklisting is a process of blocking unauthorized or malicious IP addresses from accessing your network. A blacklist is a list of ranges or suspicious individual IP addresses to block.

Cybersecurity Technical Interview Questions and Answers for Experienced Candidates

For experienced candidates, cybersecurity interviews may focus more on technical skills and past work experiences. Therefore, it is important to showcase your expertise in the field and demonstrate how you have successfully handled various security challenges. Here’s a list of common cybersecurity interview questions that are frequently asked for senior-level job roles.

Q27. What do you understand by traceroute? Why is it used?

Sample Answer: Traceroute is a commonly used command line tool found on various operating systems. It is used to show the time or delay between intermediate routers.

Common uses of traceroutes are as follows: 

• It helps us to locate the data and to check if it is undelivered.
• Traceroute provides a pattern of data on the internet from source to destination
• It helps in sending ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) packets.
• You can do a visual traceroute to get a visual representation of each hop.

Q28. What is a three-way handshake?

Sample Answer: A three-way handshake is a reliable way to establish connections. The connection is a full duplex with acknowledgment (ACK) and synchronization (SYN) on both sides. 

Q29. What is the difference between a vulnerability and an exploit?

Sample Answer: A vulnerability is an error in the design or implementation of a system that can unexpected patterns of behavior. Whereas, exploits are tools used to exploit vulnerabilities. They are often patched by software vendors as soon as they are released, taking the form of software or code that helps control computers and steal network data.

Q30. How can you prevent phishing?

Sample Answer: Phishing can be prevented by:

• Downloading software from authorized sources
• Not sharing personal information on unknown links. 
• Always check website URLs to prevent attacks.
• Try to avoid public wifi.

Q31. What do you mean by Forward Secrecy and how does it work?

Sample Answer: Forward Secrecy is a feature in some of the agreement protocols that guarantee session keys’ protection even if the private key is compromised. It is also known as the perfect forward secrecy or PFS. We can use the “Diffie-Hellman key exchange” algorithm to achieve this.

Q32. Who are black hat, white hat, and grey hat hackers?

Sample Answer: Black hat hackers also known as crackers, try to obtain unauthorized access to a system in order to disrupt its operations or steal important data. They can also steal major company data, violate privacy, cause system damage, and block network connections, among other things.

White hat hackers follow ethical hacking practices and are typically hired by companies and organizations. They conduct security testing and vulnerability assessments to identify weaknesses in the system and help improve its defenses.

Grey hat hackers blend aspects of both black and white hat hacking. While they don’t have harmful intentions, they often identify and exploit security vulnerabilities in a system without the owner’s consent.

Q33. What are the different types of cyber security?

Sample Answer: These are the different types of cyber security:

• Network security: Network security is the process of protecting a computer network against unauthorized access, disruption, malware, and corruption of hardware and software. It can be achieved by using a strong firewall. This helps in protecting personal or company data from internal and external attacks.
• Application security: It is the process of protecting software and devices against malicious attacks. This can be done by regularly updating apps and using strong passwords.
• Data security: Data security can be accomplished by using a strong network and operating systems with frequent observation, to avoid data compromise.
• Cloud security: It refers to the protection of virtual data held in a cloud space for a company or personal use. Different cloud service providers such as Google, AWS, and  Azure use different methods to ensure data integrity.

Q34. What do you mean by brute force?

Sample Answer: A brute force attack is a cryptographic attack that uses a trial-and-error method to guess potential combinations of a password or security lock until an accurate combination is found. This is commonly done to get access to login credentials,  passwords, encryption keys, and PINs.

Q35. What is HIDS?

Sample Answer: Host-based intrusion detection or HIDS is an intrusion detection system that works by gathering data from various computer systems, and servers to analyze the data for any suspicious activity that can cause a possible security breach. It is passive in nature, therefore it can detect suspicious activity but cannot prevent it.

Q36. How can you avoid a brute force attack?

Sample Answer: Brute force attack can be avoided by using strong passwords that would be a combination of uppercase, and lowercase letters. It must contain eight characters including a special character. 

Q37. What is NIDS?

Sample Answer: NIDS or network intrusion detection system is a security tool that observes and analyses data to protect against data theft. This is generally used in mixed and hybrid environments. Therefore, it is usually used in complex settings to observe larger data traffic that could be interconnected with one another creating a large system.

Q38. What is the Blowfish algorithm?

Sample Answer: The Blowfish algorithm is a type of encryption that uses the same key for both locking and unlocking data (symmetric encryption). It works by processing data in 64-bit blocks and can use a key as long as 448 bits. 

It was created as a faster and simpler alternative to older encryption methods like DES and IDEA. However, its popularity has decreased over time as newer, stronger encryption methods like AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) have taken its place due to better security.

Q39. How can you prevent an eavesdropping attack?

Sample Answer: Eavesdropping attacks can be prevented by using updated antivirus software, a virtual private network (VPN), and a strong firewall. Additionally, frequently changing your password and avoiding public wifis can help against an attack.

Q40. Name the different layers of the OSI model.

Sample Answer: The seven different layers of the OSI model are the physical layer, network layer, data link layer, session layer, transport layer, presentation layer, and application layer.

Conclusion

A career in cybersecurity offers numerous opportunities for growth and innovation. To stand out in a competitive job market, it’s essential to develop both technical skills and practical experience. Preparing for interviews is key, and understanding common cybersecurity interview questions can help you showcase your expertise. These interview questions and answers are designed to highlight your knowledge, allowing you to confidently demonstrate your skills and increase your chances of landing the job. By being well-prepared, you can effectively prove your competence and ace your cybersecurity interviews. Additionally, you can explore the highest-paying cybersecurity jobs to explore lucrative job opportunities in the field of cybersecurity.