CTE Network Security & Protocols 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An attacker intercepts and relays communications between two parties without either knowing. What type of attack is this?
- Replay attack
- Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack (Correct answer)
- Brute force attack
- SQL injection
Correct answer: Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack
A Man-in-the-Middle attack positions the attacker between two communicating parties to intercept or alter traffic.
Question 2: Which protocol is used to securely distribute and manage encryption keys in IPsec VPNs?
- SSL
- IKE (Internet Key Exchange) (Correct answer)
- L2TP
- GRE
Correct answer: IKE (Internet Key Exchange)
IKE (Internet Key Exchange) handles secure key negotiation and management for IPsec security associations.
Question 3: What is the primary purpose of a DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) in a network architecture?
- To store encrypted backup data
- To host public-facing services isolated from internal networks (Correct answer)
- To manage DHCP for guest users
- To run intrusion detection systems
Correct answer: To host public-facing services isolated from internal networks
A DMZ hosts public-facing servers (web, email) in a zone isolated from the internal network to limit breach impact.
Question 4: Which SNMP version introduced authentication and encryption to address the security weaknesses of earlier versions?
- SNMPv1
- SNMPv2c
- SNMPv3 (Correct answer)
- SNMPv4
Correct answer: SNMPv3
SNMPv3 added user-based authentication (MD5/SHA) and DES/AES encryption, addressing the clear-text vulnerabilities of v1 and v2c.
Question 5: A telecom executive reviews a network diagram showing traffic being routed through inspection engines before reaching its destination. What security device architecture is this?
- Passive IDS deployment
- Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) inline deployment (Correct answer)
- Honeypot placement
- Sniffer tap configuration
Correct answer: Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) inline deployment
An inline NGFW intercepts and inspects all traffic before forwarding it, enabling deep packet inspection and policy enforcement.
Question 6: Which attack exploits the trust relationship in DNS by injecting false records into a resolver's cache?
- DNS amplification
- DNS cache poisoning (Correct answer)
- DNS tunneling
- DNS hijacking
Correct answer: DNS cache poisoning
DNS cache poisoning inserts fraudulent DNS records into a resolver's cache, redirecting users to malicious sites.
Question 7: In the context of telecom network hardening, what does 'defense in depth' refer to?
- Using deep packet inspection at the perimeter
- Layering multiple independent security controls throughout the network (Correct answer)
- Deploying firewalls at maximum rule depth
- Encrypting all data at rest
Correct answer: Layering multiple independent security controls throughout the network
Defense in depth uses multiple overlapping security layers so that failure of one control does not compromise the entire system.
CTE Network Security & Protocols 3
An attacker intercepts and relays communications between two parties without either knowing.
What type of attack is this?