Certified Ethical Hacker Social Engineering and Physical Security

Question 1

What is spear phishing and how does it differ from regular phishing?

Accepted Answer

Targeted phishing aimed at specific individuals using personalized information, versus mass generic emails

Answer

Spear phishing targets specific individuals or organizations with highly personalized messages using researched information (name, position, projects), making them much more convincing and dangerous than generic phishing campaigns.

Question 2

What is pretexting in social engineering?

Accepted Answer

Creating a fabricated scenario to manipulate a victim into providing information or access

Answer

Pretexting involves creating a convincing fabricated scenario (impersonating IT support, a vendor, or authority figure) to build trust and manipulate the target into revealing sensitive information or granting access.

Question 3

What is tailgating (piggybacking) in physical security?

Accepted Answer

Following an authorized person through a secured door without presenting credentials

Answer

Tailgating is a physical social engineering technique where an unauthorized person follows closely behind an authorized individual through a secured entrance, bypassing access controls through social pressure or stealth.

Question 4

What is a watering hole attack?

Accepted Answer

Compromising a website frequently visited by the target group to infect their systems

Answer

A watering hole attack identifies websites commonly visited by the target organization's employees, compromises those websites with malware, and waits for targets to visit and become infected.

Question 5

What is shoulder surfing and how can it be prevented?

Accepted Answer

Observing someone's screen or keyboard to steal credentials; prevented with privacy screens and awareness

Answer

Shoulder surfing involves visually observing someone entering passwords, PINs, or viewing sensitive information on their screen. Prevention includes privacy screen filters, awareness training, and using biometric authentication.

Certified Ethical Hacker Practice Test

Certified Ethical Hacker Practice Test

Certified Ethical Hacker Social Engineering and Physical Security