Ethical Hacking- Interview Question with Short Answer

 

    Ethical Hacking, also known as "white hat" hacking or penetration testing, is a type of cybersecurity practice where authorized hackers simulate cyber attacks on an organization's systems and networks to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses in their security posture. The goal of ethical hacking is to identify potential security threats before they can be exploited by malicious actors.

Here are 30 common ethical hacking interview questions and their answers:

1. What is ethical hacking? 

  Answer: Ethical hacking is the process of identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities in computer systems and networks with the owner's permission, in order to improve security and protect against cyber threats.

2. What is the difference between white hat, black hat, and grey hat hackers? 

     Answer: White hat hackers are ethical hackers who work to protect computer systems and networks. Black hat hackers are malicious hackers who exploit vulnerabilities for personal gain. Grey hat hackers fall somewhere in between, and may engage in both ethical and unethical hacking activities.

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

      Answer: A vulnerability is a weakness or flaw in a computer system or network that can be exploited by an attacker. An exploit is a piece of software or code that takes advantage of a vulnerability to gain unauthorized access or control.

4. What is a penetration test? 

      Answer: A penetration test is a simulated attack on a computer system or network, designed to identify vulnerabilities and assess the effectiveness of security controls.

5. What is a vulnerability assessment? 

      Answer: A vulnerability assessment is the process of identifying and quantifying vulnerabilities in a computer system or network, usually through automated scans and manual testing.

6. What is social engineering? 

  Answer: Social engineering is the use of psychological manipulation to trick people into divulging confidential information or performing actions that are not in their best interest.

7. What is phishing? 

     Answer: Phishing is a type of social engineering attack in which attackers send emails or other messages that appear to be from a trustworthy source, but are designed to trick recipients into providing sensitive information or performing an action that can compromise their security.

8. What is a buffer overflow? 

   Answer: A buffer overflow is a type of vulnerability in which an attacker sends more data to a program or system than it can handle, causing it to crash or execute arbitrary code.

9.  What is SQL injection? 

      Answer: SQL injection is a type of vulnerability in which an attacker injects malicious code into a SQL database query, allowing them to access or modify data without authorization.

10. What is cross-site scripting (XSS)? 

   Answer: Cross-site scripting is a type of vulnerability in which an attacker injects malicious code into a website, allowing them to steal data or take control of user accounts.

11. What is a denial-of-service (DoS) attack?

     Answer: A denial-of-service attack is a type of attack in which an attacker floods a computer system or network with traffic or requests, causing it to become overloaded and unavailable to legitimate users.

12. What is a man-in-the-middle (MitM) attack?

       Answer: A man-in-the-middle attack is a type of attack in which an attacker intercepts and alters communication between two parties, allowing them to eavesdrop or steal information.

13. What is encryption? 

     Answer: Encryption is the process of encoding information in a way that only authorized parties can read it.

14. What is decryption? 

      Answer: Decryption is the process of decoding encrypted information in order to read it.

15. What is symmetric encryption? 

   Answer: Symmetric encryption is a type of encryption in which the same key is used to both encrypt and decrypt data.

16. What is asymmetric encryption? 

    Answer: Asymmetric encryption is a type of encryption in which a pair of keys (public and private) is used to encrypt and decrypt data.

17. What is a digital certificate? 

    Answer: A digital certificate is an electronic document that verifies the identity of an individual or organization, and is used to secure online transactions.

18. What is a firewall? 

       Answer: A firewall is a network security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing traffic based on predefined security rules.

19. What is a honeypot? 

     Answer: A honeypot is a computer system or network designed to attract attackers, in order to detect and monitor their activities.

20. What is network sniffing? 

    Answer: Network sniffing is the process of intercepting and analyzing network traffic, in order to extract information such as passwords or other sensitive data.

21. What is port scanning? 

       Answer: Port scanning is the process of searching for open ports on a computer system or network, in order to identify potential vulnerabilities.

22. What is a vulnerability database? 

      Answer: A vulnerability database is a collection of known vulnerabilities in computer systems and networks, along with information on how to detect and mitigate them.

23. What is threat modeling? 

   Answer: Threat modeling is the process of identifying and evaluating potential security threats to a computer system or network, in order to develop effective security controls.

24. What is a security policy? 

      Answer: A security policy is a set of guidelines and procedures that govern the security of a computer system or network, including access controls, incident response, and risk management.

25. What is a rootkit? 

     Answer: A rootkit is a type of malware that is designed to hide its presence on a computer system or network, in order to evade detection and control.

26. What is a web application firewall? 

      Answer: A web application firewall is a type of firewall that is specifically designed to protect web applications from attacks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and other web-based threats.

27. What is a virtual private network (VPN)?

     Answer: A virtual private network is a secure connection between two or more computer systems or networks, typically over the internet, that allows users to access resources as if they were on the same network.

28. What is a secure socket layer (SSL) certificate?

       Answer: An SSL certificate is a digital certificate that verifies the identity of a website or online service, and is used to encrypt sensitive data such as passwords and credit card information.

29. What is multi-factor authentication (MFA)?

        Answer: Multi-factor authentication is a security mechanism that requires users to provide more than one form of authentication, such as a password and a fingerprint, in order to access a computer system or network.