Cyber Security Mock Interview

Master 47 Cyber Security interview questions covering threat analysis, incident response, and security frameworks.

Question 26 of 47

Can you describe the differences between a Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing?

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William Swansen has worked in the employment assistance realm since 2007. He is an author, job search strategist, and career advisor who helps individuals worldwide and in various professions to find their ideal careers.

When responding to a question about different ways to assess the security of an organization's IT infrastructure, you should be able to discuss the various methodologies used to accomplish this. These can include assessments, testing, hacking, and other techniques used by cyber security professionals. Describing these in detail and comparing and contrasting them will indicate to the interviewer that you're qualified for this position.

William Swansen

One of the key functions cyber security professionals perform is to ensure that the organization's information is secure. They do this by constantly probing the system, similar to what a hacker would do to identify its vulnerabilities and determine how difficult it is to access the information. Interviewers will ask you about the methodologies you use to accomplish this, including vulnerability assessments and penetration testing. Knowing the differences between these, how they are used, and the results you can obtain from them is a key requirement for this role.

William Swansen

"Vulnerability assessments and penetration testing are two ways you can determine the security of the organization's IT infrastructure. A vulnerability assessment will help identify access points within the system that hackers can use to infiltrate the network and steal the company's information. These flaws can then be remediated. Penetration testing is the process of finding specific vulnerabilities within the system's security. This is a more dynamic method of ensuring that vulnerabilities are identified and addressed."

William Swansen

"Every organization knows that their IT infrastructure has flaws or weaknesses. They want to find these flaws and prioritize the flaws for fixing. A vulnerability assessment enables them to do this effectively and efficiently. Penetration testing is the active process of finding vulnerabilities on a specific target within the network. The organization sets up all the security measures they can think of and would then test if there is any other way that their network can be hacked. Both of these techniques are effective, especially if used together."

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47Cyber Security Interview Questions & Answers

Technical

1.What is the difference between asymmetric and symmetric encryption, and which one is better?

Operational

2.How do you assess the difference between a cyber threat, vulnerability, and risk?

Operational

3.How do you protect connected mobile devices on your network from cyber attacks?

Operational

4.Do you have a Cyber Security Incident Response Plan?

Operational

5.What are your contingency protocols if your company gets hacked?

Operational

6.Which user applications have you found are most susceptible to being hacked?

Operational

7.What practices do you have in place to monitor and protect against suspicious malware, ransomware, and phishing activity?

Operational

8.How do you enforce the use of SSO (Single Sign-On) & MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) within your company?

Technical

9.Can you tell me the difference between coding, encryption and hashing, and why they are important?

Technical

10.What is the difference between ECB and CBC in an IT security environment?

Operational

11.As a site administrator, what steps do you take to prevent incoming CSRF attacks?

Technical

12.What is PKI, and does it bolster your cyber security defense?

Technical

13.Explain the differences between TLS, SSL, and HTTPS, and what are the cyber security benefits?

Tehcnical

14.What does it mean when there is a Googlebot breach?

Technical

15.How do Ahrefs and SERP impact the security of a website?

Technical

16.Does Google penalize websites with no cyber security?

Tehcnical

17.Can you describe the difference between a Black Hat, White Hat and Grey Hat hacker?

Operational

18.Recently, there have been several virus attacks; what have you done to protect your organization from these cyber attacks?

Operational

19.What is a false positive and false negative alert in the case of Intrusion Detection Systems?

Technical

20.There are different levels of data classification; how are they structured, and why are they required?

Operational

21.In a situation where a user needs admin rights on his system, what protocol do you follow to grant or restrict admin access?

Operational

22.Give me your opinion on Blockchain technology, and how do you think it will revolutionize cyber security?

Operational

23.What are the various ways to inform employees about information security policies and procedures?

Operational

24.How will you detect an incident or data breach, and what steps do you take to prevent it from happening?

Technical

25.Please discuss the CIA triad in the context of cyber security.

Technical

26.Can you describe the differences between a Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing?

Technical

27.How does a three-way handshake work in a TCP/IP network?

Operational

28.What steps would you recommend our employees take to prevent identity theft?

Technical

29.What are the two main types of DDOS attacks, and how can you prevent them?

Technical

30.Can you explain what cognitive cybersecurity is?

Behavioral

31.Can you describe a time you were asked to do something you had never done before? How did you react?

Behavioral

32.Please describe a situation where you needed to adapt a process, procedure, or technology differently from how you usually did things.

Behavioral

33.Can you recall a time you were assigned a task that wasn't a part of your job description? How did you handle this, and what was the outcome?

Discovery

34.Tell me about an aspect of your profession that makes you the most satisfied, energized, and productive at work.

Behavioral

35.Can you give me an example of when you had to work with someone difficult to get along with? How did you handle the situation?

Behavioral

36.Please tell me about a time when something major didn't go according to plan at work.

Discovery

37.Describe a situation where you needed to persuade someone about an idea or process.

Leadership

38.Can you give me an example of a time you led by example and describe what you did and how your team reacted?

Behavioral

39.Tell me about a difficult decision you had to make in one of your previous roles.

Behavioral

40.Can you recall a time your manager was unavailable when a situation arose that demanded an immediate resolution? How did you react?

Discovery

41.When was the last occasion you asked for direct feedback from your manager?

Discovery

42.Can you tell me what your home network consists of?

Discovery

43.What is a professional achievement that you are proud of?

Discovery

44.Why did you choose to interview with our organization rather than with others in our industry?

Discovery

45.What's the most interesting thing about you that I didn't see on your resume?

Discovery

46.What motivated you to make a move from your current role?

Discovery

Cyber Security Mock Interview

Can you describe the differences between a Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing?

47Cyber Security Interview Questions & Answers

1.What is the difference between asymmetric and symmetric encryption, and which one is better?

2.How do you assess the difference between a cyber threat, vulnerability, and risk?

3.How do you protect connected mobile devices on your network from cyber attacks?

4.Do you have a Cyber Security Incident Response Plan?

5.What are your contingency protocols if your company gets hacked?

6.Which user applications have you found are most susceptible to being hacked?

7.What practices do you have in place to monitor and protect against suspicious malware, ransomware, and phishing activity?

8.How do you enforce the use of SSO (Single Sign-On) & MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) within your company?

9.Can you tell me the difference between coding, encryption and hashing, and why they are important?

10.What is the difference between ECB and CBC in an IT security environment?

11.As a site administrator, what steps do you take to prevent incoming CSRF attacks?

12.What is PKI, and does it bolster your cyber security defense?

13.Explain the differences between TLS, SSL, and HTTPS, and what are the cyber security benefits?

14.What does it mean when there is a Googlebot breach?

15.How do Ahrefs and SERP impact the security of a website?

16.Does Google penalize websites with no cyber security?

17.Can you describe the difference between a Black Hat, White Hat and Grey Hat hacker?

18.Recently, there have been several virus attacks; what have you done to protect your organization from these cyber attacks?

19.What is a false positive and false negative alert in the case of Intrusion Detection Systems?

20.There are different levels of data classification; how are they structured, and why are they required?

21.In a situation where a user needs admin rights on his system, what protocol do you follow to grant or restrict admin access?

22.Give me your opinion on Blockchain technology, and how do you think it will revolutionize cyber security?

23.What are the various ways to inform employees about information security policies and procedures?

24.How will you detect an incident or data breach, and what steps do you take to prevent it from happening?

25.Please discuss the CIA triad in the context of cyber security.

26.Can you describe the differences between a Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing?

27.How does a three-way handshake work in a TCP/IP network?

28.What steps would you recommend our employees take to prevent identity theft?

29.What are the two main types of DDOS attacks, and how can you prevent them?

30.Can you explain what cognitive cybersecurity is?

31.Can you describe a time you were asked to do something you had never done before? How did you react?

32.Please describe a situation where you needed to adapt a process, procedure, or technology differently from how you usually did things.

33.Can you recall a time you were assigned a task that wasn't a part of your job description? How did you handle this, and what was the outcome?

34.Tell me about an aspect of your profession that makes you the most satisfied, energized, and productive at work.

35.Can you give me an example of when you had to work with someone difficult to get along with? How did you handle the situation?

36.Please tell me about a time when something major didn't go according to plan at work.

37.Describe a situation where you needed to persuade someone about an idea or process.

38.Can you give me an example of a time you led by example and describe what you did and how your team reacted?

39.Tell me about a difficult decision you had to make in one of your previous roles.

40.Can you recall a time your manager was unavailable when a situation arose that demanded an immediate resolution? How did you react?

41.When was the last occasion you asked for direct feedback from your manager?

42.Can you tell me what your home network consists of?

43.What is a professional achievement that you are proud of?

44.Why did you choose to interview with our organization rather than with others in our industry?

45.What's the most interesting thing about you that I didn't see on your resume?

46.What motivated you to make a move from your current role?

47.What's a misconception your coworkers have about you, and why do you believe they feel this way?