Unit 6: Network Security - Practice Quiz

CSE403 — Network Security And Cryptography 60 Questions
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1 What is a main characteristic of security implemented at the application layer?

Security at Application Layer Easy
A. It controls physical cable access
B. It replaces all network routers
C. It assigns hardware addresses
D. It protects a specific application

2 Which protocol provides application-layer security for web communication?

Security at Application Layer Easy
A. HTTPS
B. DHCP
C. ARP
D. ICMP

3 What does PGP stand for?

Email System and PGP Easy
A. Protected Gateway Protocol
B. Private Group Permission
C. Pretty Good Privacy
D. Packet Guard Process

4 Which security services are commonly provided by PGP?

Email System and PGP Easy
A. Compression and error correction
B. Routing and address assignment
C. Switching and traffic shaping
D. Encryption and digital signatures

5 Which type of cryptography does PGP use to encrypt a session key for the recipient?

Email System and PGP Easy
A. Error-control coding
B. Hash-only cryptography
C. Analog signal encoding
D. Public-key cryptography

6 Transport-layer security mainly protects communication between which entities?

Security service at transport layer Easy
A. Adjacent network switches
B. End-to-end applications
C. Local hardware components
D. Individual storage sectors

7 Which security property prevents transmitted data from being read by unauthorized parties?

Security service at transport layer Easy
A. Confidentiality
B. Availability
C. Addressing
D. Fragmentation

8 SSL operates between the application layer and which transport protocol?

SSL architecture Easy
A. TCP
B. ICMP
C. ARP
D. Ethernet

9 Which SSL component provides basic protection for higher-level SSL protocols?

SSL architecture Easy
A. SSL Discovery Protocol
B. SSL Address Protocol
C. SSL Routing Protocol
D. SSL Record Protocol

10 Which SSL protocol negotiates algorithms and establishes session keys?

Four SSL protocols Easy
A. Record Protocol
B. Handshake Protocol
C. Change Cipher Spec Protocol
D. Alert Protocol

11 Which SSL protocol communicates warnings and error conditions?

Four SSL protocols Easy
A. Alert Protocol
B. Change Cipher Spec Protocol
C. Handshake Protocol
D. Record Protocol

12 Which SSL protocol signals that newly negotiated security settings will now be used?

Four SSL protocols Easy
A. Handshake Protocol
B. Change Cipher Spec Protocol
C. Record Protocol
D. Alert Protocol

13 TLS is the standardized successor to which earlier security protocol?

Transport layer security Easy
A. ARP
B. SMTP
C. SSL
D. FTP

14 Which protocol commonly uses TLS to secure web browsing?

Transport layer security Easy
A. HTTPS
B. TFTP
C. RIP
D. ARP

15 At which layer of the TCP/IP model does IPSec provide security?

IP Security (IPSec) Easy
A. Transport layer
B. Internet layer
C. Physical layer
D. Application layer

16 What are the two operating modes of IPSec?

Modes of IPSec Easy
A. Active mode and passive mode
B. Simple mode and duplex mode
C. Transport mode and tunnel mode
D. Client mode and server mode

17 Which IPSec mode encapsulates and protects the entire original IP packet?

Modes of IPSec Easy
A. Passive mode
B. Tunnel mode
C. Session mode
D. Transport mode

18 Which security service is provided by the IPSec Authentication Header?

AH security protocol Easy
A. Routing and fragmentation
B. Confidentiality and compression
C. Addressing and retransmission
D. Integrity and authentication

19 Which IPSec protocol primarily provides confidentiality through encryption?

ESP security protocol Easy
A. Authentication Header
B. Address Resolution Protocol
C. Encapsulating Security Payload
D. Internet Control Message Protocol

20 What is a Security Association in IPSec?

Security associations Easy
A. A physical network connection
B. A one-way secure relationship
C. A public email directory
D. A router discovery message

21 A company needs end-to-end protection for messages even when they pass through several untrusted mail relays. At which layer should the protection primarily be applied?

Security at Application Layer Medium
A. Data-link layer
B. Network layer
C. Transport layer
D. Application layer

22 A web application uses TLS but directly inserts untrusted input into database queries. Which threat can still remain?

Security at Application Layer Medium
A. Route spoofing
B. Packet replay
C. SQL injection
D. Frame collision

23 Alice wants Bob to verify that a PGP email came from her and was not modified. Which key should Alice use to create the digital signature?

Email System and PGP Medium
A. Alice's private key
B. Bob's private key
C. Bob's public key
D. Alice's public key

24 In PGP, why is a randomly generated session key commonly used to encrypt the email body?

Email System and PGP Medium
A. Digital signatures require symmetric encryption
B. Symmetric encryption is efficient for bulk data
C. Hashing cannot process long email messages
D. Public keys cannot be distributed securely

25 A client opens two TLS connections to the same server. What does transport-layer security protect separately for each connection?

Security service at transport layer Medium
A. Every packet routed through the server
B. Every DNS query made by the client
C. All files stored by the application
D. The connection's application data stream

26 A TLS connection provides confidentiality and integrity, but the client does not validate the server certificate. Which attack becomes more feasible?

Security service at transport layer Medium
A. Physical cable interception
B. Operating-system deadlock
C. Man-in-the-middle impersonation
D. Database privilege escalation

27 In SSL architecture, which component fragments application data, optionally compresses it, adds protection, and passes it to TCP?

SSL architecture Medium
A. SSL Handshake Protocol
B. SSL Record Protocol
C. SSL Change Cipher Spec Protocol
D. SSL Alert Protocol

28 An SSL session is resumed to avoid a full negotiation. Which item is normally associated with the session rather than one individual connection?

SSL architecture Medium
A. Master secret
B. Record fragment
C. Sequence number
D. Initialization vector

29 Which SSL protocol negotiates algorithms, authenticates peers when required, and establishes shared keying material?

Four SSL protocols Medium
A. Handshake Protocol
B. Change Cipher Spec Protocol
C. Record Protocol
D. Alert Protocol

30 During an SSL exchange, which protocol sends a one-byte message indicating that subsequent records will use the newly negotiated cipher state?

Four SSL protocols Medium
A. Change Cipher Spec Protocol
B. Record Protocol
C. Handshake Protocol
D. Alert Protocol

31 A TLS receiver obtains a protected record with an invalid authentication tag. What should it conclude?

Transport layer security Medium
A. The record's integrity check failed
B. The TCP port is incorrectly configured
C. The server's private key was disclosed
D. The certificate has necessarily expired

32 Why are sequence numbers incorporated into TLS record authentication?

Transport layer security Medium
A. To identify the certificate authority
B. To detect reordered or replayed records
C. To compress repeated record contents
D. To select the server's TCP port

33 An organization wants security controls to apply transparently to many IP applications without modifying each application. Why is IPSec suitable?

IP Security (IPSec) Medium
A. It replaces all transport protocols
B. It validates application source code
C. It operates at the network layer
D. It encrypts only email attachments

34 A VPN must hide the original internal source and destination addresses while packets cross the public Internet. Which IPSec approach meets this requirement?

IP Security (IPSec) Medium
A. ESP in tunnel mode
B. ESP in transport mode
C. AH without an SA
D. AH in transport mode

35 Two hosts communicate directly using IPSec, and the original IP header must remain visible to routers. Which mode is most appropriate?

Modes of IPSec Medium
A. Session mode
B. Gateway mode
C. Tunnel mode
D. Transport mode

36 In IPSec tunnel mode, what is added to route the encapsulated packet between tunnel endpoints?

Modes of IPSec Medium
A. A new application header
B. A second TCP header
C. A duplicate Ethernet trailer
D. A new outer IP header

37 Why does IPSec AH generally fail when a packet passes through conventional NAT?

AH security protocol Medium
A. NAT removes every transport-layer checksum
B. NAT always fragments encrypted payloads
C. NAT cannot forward protocol number 51
D. NAT changes authenticated IP header fields

38 A security policy requires payload confidentiality and source authentication for selected IP traffic. Which IPSec protocol can provide both?

ESP security protocol Medium
A. ESP with authentication
B. AH without ESP
C. IP-in-IP alone
D. IKE without ESP

39 An IPSec host receives a protected packet. Which combination is used to identify the inbound Security Association?

Security associations Medium
A. Source address, checksum, and TTL
B. SPI, destination address, and protocol
C. Source port, destination port, and nonce
D. Sequence number, cipher, and payload size

40 An IPSec Security Policy Database rule matches outbound payroll traffic and marks it as "PROTECT." What should the system do next?

Security policy Medium
A. Apply a suitable SA or establish one
B. Forward the traffic without IPSec processing
C. Discard the traffic without checking an SA
D. Replace the packet with an IKE message

41 A distributed application digitally signs JSON objects, but intermediaries may reorder object members and alter insignificant whitespace. Which design best preserves verifiability without requiring byte-for-byte preservation during transit?

Security at Application Layer Hard
A. Sign the transport-layer ciphertext generated for each connection
B. Encrypt the complete object before allowing intermediaries to parse it
C. Hash only the lengths of the individual JSON object members
D. Sign a canonical serialization of the security-relevant fields

42 Alice uses PGP to sign and encrypt a message for Bob. Which processing order provides both signature verification over Alice's original message and efficient encryption?

Email System and PGP Hard
A. Encrypt, compress, sign the session key, and apply Radix-64
B. Apply Radix-64, sign, compress, and encrypt with a session key
C. Compress, encrypt, sign the ciphertext, and apply Radix-64
D. Sign, compress, encrypt with a session key, and apply Radix-64

43 A PGP message containing a 50 MB attachment is encrypted for 100 recipients. Which construction avoids encrypting the attachment 100 times?

Email System and PGP Hard
A. Derive one session key directly from the recipients' public key identifiers
B. Use one session key and encrypt that key separately for every recipient
C. Use one session key and publish its plaintext value beside the ciphertext
D. Encrypt the attachment with each recipient's public key in parallel blocks

44 Bob has verified that a PGP public key belongs to Alice, but the key is later revoked because its private component was compromised. Which conclusion about an old message signed by that key is most defensible without a trusted timestamp?

Email System and PGP Hard
A. The signature proves message integrity but not when it was created relative to compromise
B. The signature is automatically invalid because all revocations are retroactive
C. The signature proves confidentiality because the revoked key identified Alice
D. The signature remains conclusive because it was mathematically verified once

45 A client establishes TLS to a reverse proxy, which decrypts the request and forwards it to an application server over a separate TLS connection. What security property is absent between the client process and the application server process?

Security service at transport layer Hard
A. Server authentication for the client's connection to the proxy
B. Integrity on the proxy-to-server network segment
C. Confidentiality on the client-to-proxy network segment
D. Application-to-application cryptographic continuity across the proxy

46 An SSL client resumes a previously established session by creating a new connection. Which state is expected to be reused, and which state must be newly derived?

SSL architecture Hard
A. The pending cipher state is reused, while the session identifier is regenerated
B. The record sequence numbers are reused, while the master secret is regenerated
C. The master secret is reused, while fresh connection keys and sequence numbers are established
D. The server random is reused, while a new certificate chain is generated

47 An attacker modifies a cipher-suite offer in an SSL Handshake message while relaying the connection. Assuming the attacker cannot compute the master secret, which mechanism is designed to expose the transcript modification before application data is accepted?

Four SSL protocols Hard
A. The sequence number contained in the Change Cipher Spec message
B. The verify data in the encrypted Finished messages
C. The description field contained in a close-notify alert
D. The checksum placed in the SSL record-layer fragmentation header

48 What is the precise role of the SSL Change Cipher Spec protocol during a full handshake?

Four SSL protocols Hard
A. It resets both peers' read states before the master secret is computed
B. It copies the pending write state into the current write state
C. It negotiates a stronger cipher suite when the selected suite is rejected
D. It verifies the peer's certificate before key derivation begins

49 A TLS-over-TCP application treats an ordinary TCP FIN as a valid end of a protected response even though no authenticated close_notify alert was received. Which attack can this mistake enable?

Four SSL protocols Hard
A. A reflection attack that converts server records into client records
B. A replay attack that resets the record sequence number to zero
C. A truncation attack that removes a suffix of the protected response
D. A renegotiation attack that replaces the negotiated certificate chain

50 In an SSL/TLS record epoch, an attacker captures an authenticated record and inserts the same bytes again later in the same connection. Why will record authentication normally fail even though the copied MAC bytes are unchanged?

Four SSL protocols Hard
A. The copied record necessarily contains an expired certificate validation result
B. The receiver hashes the current TCP acknowledgment number into every record
C. The receiver includes its expected implicit sequence number in MAC verification
D. The sender changes the negotiated cipher suite after transmitting each record

51 A TLS 1.2 implementation uses a CBC cipher suite with MAC-then-encrypt. Which operation order correctly describes protection of a record fragment?

Transport layer security Hard
A. Encrypt the fragment, append its MAC, and then append random padding
B. Append the MAC, add CBC padding, and encrypt the resulting plaintext
C. Add CBC padding, encrypt the fragment, and append a plaintext MAC
D. Compute a MAC over ciphertext, prepend padding, and encrypt only the MAC

52 A payment API permits TLS 1.3 early data and processes POST /transfer immediately. Even when encryption and server authentication are sound, what additional control is required?

Transport layer security Hard
A. A longer certificate chain containing at least two intermediate authorities
B. A second Change Cipher Spec message sent after processing the transfer
C. A static Diffie-Hellman key shared by every server handling the endpoint
D. A replay-resistant application token or rejection of early data for transfers

53 An organization configures ESP encryption but disables integrity protection. A block cipher mode hides the plaintext but allows controlled ciphertext modification. Which IPSec objective is consequently not assured?

IP Security (IPSec) Hard
A. Protocol identification using the outer IP header
B. Routing of tunnel packets between security gateways
C. Resistance to active modification of protected packet contents
D. Confidentiality of the encrypted upper-layer payload

54 Two security gateways protect traffic between private networks, and internal source and destination addresses must be concealed from the public network. Which IPSec arrangement is appropriate?

Modes of IPSec Hard
A. ESP tunnel mode with a new outer header naming the security gateways
B. AH tunnel mode with the complete inner packet transmitted in plaintext
C. ESP transport mode applied independently by the two security gateways
D. AH transport mode with the private addresses retained in the visible header

55 A host uses AH transport mode, and a conventional NAT device changes the packet's source address while forwarding it. Why does the receiver normally reject the packet?

AH security protocol Hard
A. AH authenticates the source address, so the NAT modification invalidates the ICV
B. AH encrypts the source address, so the NAT cannot calculate a replacement value
C. AH places the TCP port numbers in an encrypted tunnel-mode header
D. AH requires the outer source address to equal the receiver's destination address

56 For ESP transport mode with integrity enabled, which portion of an IPv4 packet is outside ESP's integrity-protected region?

ESP security protocol Hard
A. The original IP header preceding the ESP header
B. The ESP header containing the SPI and sequence number
C. The ESP authentication data used to carry the ICV
D. The encrypted transport payload and ESP trailer

57 Host A and Host B require bidirectional ESP protection using the same algorithms. What is the minimum number of IPSec security associations required?

Security associations Hard
A. Two SAs because each association protects one traffic direction
B. One SA because an ESP association is inherently bidirectional
C. Four SAs because encryption and integrity always use separate associations
D. Three SAs because ESP requires a separate association for key exchange

58 An inbound IPSec packet arrives with SPI . Which information is normally used with to identify the applicable security association unambiguously?

Security associations Hard
A. The destination TCP port and the current anti-replay window size
B. The source TCP port and the negotiated cipher block size
C. The destination IP address and security protocol identifier
D. The source IP address and the packet's application payload length

59 An ESP SA uses a replay window of size . The highest authenticated sequence number is 500, and every number from 437 through 500 has already been received. A packet with sequence number 436 arrives with a valid ICV. What should the receiver do?

Security policy Hard
A. Accept it because successful ICV verification overrides the replay window
B. Reject it only if another packet with sequence number 436 was recorded
C. Reject it because its sequence number lies to the left of the window
D. Accept it and move the right edge of the replay window back to 499

60 An inbound ESP packet passes cryptographic verification under an existing SA, but its decrypted traffic selectors do not match any policy permitting that SA to carry the packet. What is the correct policy action?

Security policy Hard
A. Bypass IPSec and deliver it as an ordinary unauthenticated IP packet
B. Accept it because successful ESP authentication supersedes policy checks
C. Discard it because cryptographic validity does not imply policy authorization
D. Create a new outbound SA using the selectors found in the packet