CompTIA Security+ (SY0-601) Interview Questions

The CompTIA Security+ (SY0-601) certification is a great way to establish yourself as an IT security professional. To pass the interview, you must showcase your mastery in information security basics, including implementing strong authentication, managing vulnerabilities, and safeguarding devices. Moreover, you ought to have a strong foundation in the understanding of network security, compliance, and operational security.

To get a head start for your CompTIA Security+ (SY0-601) Interview, here’s a compilation of the most common interview questions you can expect. Let’s begin!

Advanced Interview Questions

Which of the following is a type of cryptography that uses the same key for encryption and decryption?

• a) Symmetric key cryptography
• b) Asymmetric key cryptography
• c) Hybrid key cryptography
• d) None of the above

Answer: a) Symmetric key cryptography

Explanation: Symmetric key cryptography uses the same key for encryption and decryption, while asymmetric key cryptography uses a different key for encryption and decryption.

Which of the following is a type of Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack that floods a target system with a large number of requests, causing it to overload and become unavailable?

• a) Ping of Death
• b) Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)
• c) Syn Flood
• d) Smurf Attack

Answer: b) Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)

Explanation: A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack involves multiple systems flooding a target system with requests, causing it to overload and become unavailable.

Which of the following is a type of malware that self-replicates and spreads to other systems on a network?

• a) Virus
• b) Worm
• c) Trojan
• d) Spyware

Answer: b) Worm

Explanation: A worm is a type of malware that self-replicates and spreads to other systems on a network, while a virus needs human intervention to spread.

Which of the following is an attack that exploits a vulnerability in a web application to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information?

• a) Cross-site scripting (XSS)
• b) SQL injection
• c) Cross-site request forgery (CSRF)
• d) Remote Code Execution (RCE)

Answer: b) SQL injection

Explanation: A SQL injection attack exploits a vulnerability in a web application to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information stored in a database by injecting malicious SQL code.

Which of the following is an attack that involves manipulating or forging HTTP requests to perform actions on behalf of the user?

• a) Cross-site scripting (XSS)
• b) SQL injection
• c) Cross-site request forgery (CSRF)
• d) Remote Code Execution (RCE)

Answer: c) Cross-site request forgery (CSRF)

Explanation: A Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attack involves manipulating or forging HTTP requests to perform actions on behalf of the user, such as changing passwords or making unauthorized purchases.

Which of the following is a security measure that requires a user to provide two or more authentication factors to prove their identity?

• a) Single sign-on (SSO)
• b) Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
• c) Two-factor authentication (2FA)
• d) None of the above

Answer: b) Multi-factor authentication (MFA)

Explanation: Multi-factor authentication (MFA) requires a user to provide two or more authentication factors to prove their identity, such as a password and a fingerprint or a smart card and a pin.

Which of the following is a technique for ethical hackers to simulate an attack on a network or system to identify vulnerabilities and assess security measures?

• a) Penetration testing
• b) Vulnerability scanning
• c) Risk assessment
• d) None of the above

Answer: a) Penetration testing

Explanation: Penetration testing is a technique for ethical hackers to simulate an attack on a network or system to identify vulnerabilities and assess security measures.

Basic Interview Questions

1. What do you understand by the term social engineering?

Social engineering is a shady business that uses human error to manipulate people into compromising their own security. In cybercrime, these scams often catch people off guard and trick them into giving away valuable personal information or spreading malware infections.

2. Can you differentiate between Spim and spam? 

Unwanted messages are often called spam. The abbreviation spim describes unsolicited instant messages. Spim does not just disrupt our messaging, but it can also contain viruses or spyware.

3. Would on-premises security be more secure than cloud security?

A corporation with its own on-premises servers has more security control than one whose data is stored in the cloud. Mismanagement of an on-premises server, on the other hand, might expose your company to security risks. Cloud providers, on the other hand, can assist in the management of security infrastructure and the protection of their clients.

4. Being a CompTIA Security+ (SY0-601) certified how would you explain an application attack?

Application attacks are an example of cybercrime where an unauthorized party gains access to unauthorized areas. The majority of the time, cybercriminals start with the application layer and then seek for weaknesses in the code.

5. Can you tell me the most common categories of network attacks?

• Firstly, unauthorized access, where attackers access a network without permission
• Second, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks
• Man in the middle attacks
• Also, Code and SQL injection attacks
• Privilege escalation
• Last but not the least, Insider threats

6. What can you tell about strategic Threat intelligence?

Information regarding cybersecurity, cyber threats, the financial impact of security breaches, attack trends, and their impact on business decisions is provided by Strategic Threat Intelligence. The purpose of this data is to enable businesses to manage existing cyber risks and prepare for future threats.

7. What do you understand about security threats, vulnerabilities, and risks?

A threat—a vulnerability that can exploit by a hacker—can damage or destroy your computer’s assets. A vulnerability is a weakness in your system’s hardware, software, or procedures. (In other words, it’s a way for a hacker to get into your system). The risk here is the possibility of losing, damaging, or destroying an asset.

8. What as per your knowledge is the chief objective of an application security assessment?

When a security assessment is performed on an application, it looks for potential vulnerabilities as well as provides steps to resolve them. The root causes of the issues can also be analyzed, leading to improvements in the application development process.

9. As a CompTIA Security+ (SY0-601) certified person an you distinguish between TLS and SSL?

SSL and TLS are protocols that create explicit and implicit connections, respectively, to provide secure communications between a web server and its clients.

10. Between edge computing and fog computing, what is the main point of difference?

In essence, edge computing involves moving computation to the network’s edge—the point closest to where the data is created. It can also filter data before it reaches the cloud. Whereas Fog computing is a term that describes a computer network where cloud services are integrated with edge devices to improve the overall performance and efficiency of data processing.

11. Can you elaborate on the utility of the Open Web Application Security Project?

To simply put it down, the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) is an open community for improving the security of software. To do this, OWASP offers free, expert-written guides about application security and runs an annual conference open to developers and IT professionals.

12. Can you give one point of difference between Authentication and Authorization?

Authentication is nothing but the process of verifying a user’s identity. However, authorization is the process of verifying what a user has access to. To illustrate how these words work in the real world, think back to the last time you went through airport security. You showed your ID to the security officer in order to verify who you are.

13. What do you know about the Cyber Security resilience framework?

The capacity to prepare for, respond to, and recover from a cyber assault is referred to as cyber resilience. It aids an organization in defending itself against cyber threats, limiting the severity of a cyberattack, and ensuring its continued existence in the event of a cyberattack.

14. What are the five key pillars of a standard cyber resilience framework?

• Firstly, Identifying all critical assets, systems, and data
• Second, protecting critical infrastructure services
• Detecting any strange event and suspicious data breaches and/or any data leak before any greater damage occurs
• Responding to the detected security breach or failure.
• Lastly, recovering to restoring any affected infrastructure, capabilities, or services that have been compromised during a cybersecurity incident

15. Can you tell any challenges you faced in the security of embedded systems?

Embedded systems present a number of security obstacles. The software required to perform cybersecurity is difficult to load due to limited processing power and memory. Moreover, designing the system to guard against attacks requires in-depth knowledge of how to create secure software and how to develop hardware that supports strong cybersecurity.

16. What should organizations consider when analyzing embedded systems’ security implications?

Security considerations for embedded systems should consider both the cost of an attack, as well as how many possible attack vectors exist. Developers can help prevent attacks on embedded systems by:

• Firstly, updating the firmware on the devices regularly
• Then, limiting access to the devices by third parties, and
• Most importantly, securing it against attacks.

17. Can you explain ICS and SCADA systems?

ICS are computerized systems that control industrial processes. The SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system, on the other hand, is one of the most important subgroups of the ICS.

18. Can you elaborate on the merits of having physical security controls for protected facilities?

Physical access controls can streamline the user access process by requiring one type of authentication–a physical trait. This reduces the chances of accidental or malicious exposure of proprietary data.

19. How many types of cryptographic protocols are there?

There are many different encryption algorithms. The most common ones are:

• DES Symmetric Encryption Algorithm
• 3DES Symmetric Encryption Algorithm
• AES Symmetric Encryption Algorithm
• RSA Asymmetric Encryption Algorithm
• ECC Asymmetric Encryption Algorithm

20. What do you know about the mitigation techniques?

Mitigation actions are projects or processes that help reduce long-term risks. They help make disasters less likely and less severe when they do happen. Mitigation actions help ensure that the plan’s mission and goals are met.

21. Can you explain digital forensics?

Digital forensic is nothing but simply a branch of criminology that focuses on identifying, acquiring, processing, analyzing, and reporting data stored in digital forms. Digital evidence has become commonplace in every aspect of every criminal case, so much so that digital forensics has become a vital component of law enforcement investigations.

22. Can you describe what control is?

To manage means to control. Management control means to set standards, monitor performance, and take corrective actions. Feedback, concurrent control, and feedforward will let you observe what’s going on in the organization and figure out what’s causing any problems. When it comes to decision-making, control is all about making sure that the decisions you make are for the best. Control involves the process of setting standards, measuring actual performance, and then taking corrective action – or making suitable adjustments if things don’t go as planned.

23. What are the main types of control?

To prevent fraud, the Internal Control System is divided into two parts: preventative and detective controls. Both of these elements are essential to a strong internal control system.

24. Can you explain the three key ingredients involved in a security framework?

There are three main ingredients of the Cybersecurity Framework:

• Core: is a set of cybersecurity activities and outcomes that are described using a common language
• Implementation Tiers: they provide us with a context as to how an organization views cybersecurity risk management.
• Framework Profiles: these align an organization’s specific requirements and objectives, along with the risk appetite, and resources with desired outcomes.

25. Can you mention the five important risk management strategies?

The five risk management strategies are as follows:

• Using a risk framework
• Capturing risk controls
• Assigning actions to address risk
• Regularly reviewing risks
• Continually reporting on risks

26. Can you tell the five primary steps associated with risk analysis?

The Risk Assessment consists of  the following important steps:

• 1: identifying the hazards.
• 2: deciding who will harm and in what way
• 3: evaluating the risks and taking action to prevent them.
• 4: recording your findings.
• 5: reviewing the risk assessment.

27. Being a CompTIA Security+ (SY0-601) certified, why do you think business impact analysis is important?

Essentially, the Business Impact Analysis (BIA) helps us identify critical business functions and can predict the consequences that result from a disruption of one of those functions. It also helps us gather important information we need to develop recovery strategies and limit potential losses.

28. What do you think privacy-enhancing technologies are necessary?

Technologies meant to protect a user’s privacy could help with the protection of personal information in many different contexts. Privacy-enhancing technology can help protect personal information. It can be used for a variety of things, like contact tracing, identifying city relocation trends, and sending electronic payments.

29. Can you describe the relationship that privacy and information security share?

Privacy and security are often discussed in tandem, but they are quite different. Privacy is the security of data that is used responsibly–you can consider privacy to be a measure of our expectations of how we will be treated by others. While security chiefly focuses on protecting the user’s data from malicious threats, privacy on the other hand is all about using the data responsibly.

30. How can the information life cycle be beneficial?

With information lifecycle management, entities can manage the roles, responsibilities, and obligations of any given data all the way from when it is created to when it is destroyed. Data privacy policies and procedures likely need to update and they must fit together well with other relevant policies.

Give a boost to your resume and stand out in the crowd by clearing the CompTIA Security+ (SY0-601) exam. Start preparing now!