CCS Security Principles and Practices 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the CIA triad in information security?
- Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability (Correct answer)
- Cryptography, Identity, and Authentication
- Control, Investigation, and Authorization
- Compliance, Insurance, and Auditing
Correct answer: Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability
The CIA triad represents the three fundamental objectives of information security: keeping data confidential, maintaining its integrity, and ensuring its availability.
Question 2: What is multi-factor authentication (MFA)?
- Using two or more different types of verification to confirm identity (Correct answer)
- Using multiple passwords for the same account
- Authenticating on multiple devices simultaneously
- Having multiple administrators approve access
Correct answer: Using two or more different types of verification to confirm identity
MFA combines two or more verification factors (something you know, have, or are) to provide stronger authentication.
Question 3: What is the principle of least privilege?
- Users should only have the minimum access needed to perform their job (Correct answer)
- All users should have administrator access
- Privileges should be maximized for efficiency
- Access rights should never be changed once granted
Correct answer: Users should only have the minimum access needed to perform their job
Least privilege limits access rights to the minimum necessary for job functions, reducing the potential impact of security breaches.
Question 4: What is a phishing attack?
- A social engineering attack using fraudulent communications to steal sensitive information (Correct answer)
- A type of network scanning tool
- A physical security breach
- A denial of service attack
Correct answer: A social engineering attack using fraudulent communications to steal sensitive information
Phishing uses deceptive emails, messages, or websites to trick users into revealing sensitive information like passwords or financial data.
Question 5: What is encryption?
- Converting data into a coded format that can only be read with the correct key (Correct answer)
- Compressing files to save storage space
- Deleting sensitive data permanently
- Backing up data to a remote server
Correct answer: Converting data into a coded format that can only be read with the correct key
Encryption transforms readable data into an unreadable format, protecting it from unauthorized access even if intercepted.
Question 6: What should be included in an incident response plan?
- Detection, containment, eradication, recovery, and lessons learned procedures (Correct answer)
- Only contact information for the IT department
- A list of all company passwords
- Instructions to ignore minor incidents
Correct answer: Detection, containment, eradication, recovery, and lessons learned procedures
A comprehensive incident response plan covers all phases from detecting the incident through post-incident learning.
CCS Security Principles and Practices 1
What is the CIA triad in information security?