Unit 6: Network Security - Practice Quiz

CSE403 — Network Security And Cryptography 60 Questions
0 Correct 0 Wrong 60 Left
0/60

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 protects a specific application
C. It assigns hardware addresses
D. It replaces all network routers

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

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

3 What does PGP stand for?

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

4 Which security services are commonly provided by PGP?

Email System and PGP Easy
A. Routing and address assignment
B. Switching and traffic shaping
C. Compression and error correction
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. Local hardware components
B. Individual storage sectors
C. End-to-end applications
D. Adjacent network switches

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

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

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

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

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

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

10 Which SSL protocol negotiates algorithms and establishes session keys?

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

11 Which SSL protocol communicates warnings and error conditions?

Four SSL protocols Easy
A. Handshake Protocol
B. Change Cipher Spec Protocol
C. Alert 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. SSL
B. ARP
C. SMTP
D. FTP

14 Which protocol commonly uses TLS to secure web browsing?

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

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

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

16 What are the two operating modes of IPSec?

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

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

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

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

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

19 Which IPSec protocol primarily provides confidentiality through encryption?

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

20 What is a Security Association in IPSec?

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

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. Transport layer
B. Network layer
C. Data-link 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. SQL injection
B. Packet replay
C. Route spoofing
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. Alice's public key
C. Bob's public key
D. Bob's private 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. Public keys cannot be distributed securely
C. Hashing cannot process long email messages
D. Symmetric encryption is efficient for bulk data

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. All files stored by the application
B. The connection's application data stream
C. Every packet routed through the server
D. Every DNS query made by the client

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. Operating-system deadlock
B. Man-in-the-middle impersonation
C. Physical cable interception
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 Change Cipher Spec Protocol
C. SSL Alert Protocol
D. SSL Record 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. Sequence number
B. Initialization vector
C. Record fragment
D. Master secret

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

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

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

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

32 Why are sequence numbers incorporated into TLS record authentication?

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

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 encrypts only email attachments
C. It operates at the network layer
D. It validates application source code

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. AH without an SA
B. ESP in transport mode
C. ESP in tunnel mode
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. Tunnel mode
B. Session mode
C. Transport mode
D. Gateway mode

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

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

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

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

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. IKE without ESP
B. AH without ESP
C. ESP with authentication
D. IP-in-IP alone

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

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

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

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

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. Sign, compress, encrypt with a session key, and apply Radix-64
B. Encrypt, compress, sign the session key, and apply Radix-64
C. Apply Radix-64, sign, compress, and encrypt with a session key
D. Compress, encrypt, sign the ciphertext, 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. Encrypt the attachment with each recipient's public key in parallel blocks
C. Use one session key and publish its plaintext value beside the ciphertext
D. Use one session key and encrypt that key separately for every recipient

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

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. Application-to-application cryptographic continuity across the proxy
B. Confidentiality on the client-to-proxy network segment
C. Server authentication for the client's connection to the proxy
D. Integrity on the proxy-to-server network segment

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

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

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 verifies the peer's certificate before key derivation begins
C. It copies the pending write state into the current write state
D. It negotiates a stronger cipher suite when the selected suite is rejected

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

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 receiver hashes the current TCP acknowledgment number into every record
B. The receiver includes its expected implicit sequence number in MAC verification
C. The copied record necessarily contains an expired certificate validation result
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. Compute a MAC over ciphertext, prepend padding, and encrypt only the MAC
B. Add CBC padding, encrypt the fragment, and append a plaintext MAC
C. Encrypt the fragment, append its MAC, and then append random padding
D. Append the MAC, add CBC padding, and encrypt the resulting plaintext

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

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

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 places the TCP port numbers in an encrypted tunnel-mode header
C. AH requires the outer source address to equal the receiver's destination address
D. AH encrypts the source address, so the NAT cannot calculate a replacement value

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 encrypted transport payload and ESP trailer
D. The ESP authentication data used to carry the ICV

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. One SA because an ESP association is inherently bidirectional
B. Four SAs because encryption and integrity always use separate associations
C. Two SAs because each association protects one traffic direction
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 destination IP address and security protocol identifier
C. The source TCP port and the negotiated cipher block size
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. Reject it only if another packet with sequence number 436 was recorded
B. Accept it because successful ICV verification overrides the replay window
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. Discard it because cryptographic validity does not imply policy authorization
B. Bypass IPSec and deliver it as an ordinary unauthenticated IP packet
C. Create a new outbound SA using the selectors found in the packet
D. Accept it because successful ESP authentication supersedes policy checks