Certified Ethical Hacker System Hacking and Malware 1

Question 1

What is privilege escalation and what are the two types?

Accepted Answer

Gaining higher access rights than authorized; vertical (user to admin) and horizontal (accessing another user's resources)

Answer

Privilege escalation exploits vulnerabilities to gain elevated access. Vertical escalation moves from lower to higher privileges (user to root/admin), while horizontal accesses resources of another user with similar privileges.

Question 2

What is a rootkit and why is it particularly dangerous?

Accepted Answer

Malware that hides deep in the OS to maintain persistent, undetectable access

Answer

Rootkits operate at kernel or firmware level, modifying the OS to hide their presence (hiding files, processes, network connections) from detection tools, providing persistent backdoor access that survives reboots.

Question 3

What is the difference between a virus, worm, and Trojan?

Accepted Answer

Viruses attach to files and need user action; worms self-replicate across networks; Trojans disguise as legitimate software

Answer

Viruses attach to host files and require user action to spread, worms self-propagate across networks without user interaction, and Trojans appear legitimate but contain hidden malicious functionality.

Question 4

What is a keylogger and how can it be detected?

Accepted Answer

Software or hardware that records keystrokes; detected through antimalware, process monitoring, and physical inspection

Answer

Keyloggers capture every keystroke typed on a system, either through software (running as a hidden process) or hardware (a device between the keyboard and computer), stealing passwords and sensitive data.

Question 5

What are common password cracking techniques?

Accepted Answer

Dictionary attacks, brute force, rule-based attacks, rainbow tables, and credential stuffing

Answer

Password cracking employs multiple techniques: dictionary attacks (common words), brute force (all combinations), rule-based (dictionary with modifications), rainbow tables (precomputed hashes), and credential stuffing (reusing leaked credentials).

Certified Ethical Hacker Practice Test

Certified Ethical Hacker Practice Test

Certified Ethical Hacker System Hacking and Malware 1