SSCP Certification SSCP Network Communications Security 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An attacker intercepts communications between two parties and relays altered messages without either party knowing. This is an example of:
- Replay attack
- Man-in-the-middle attack (Correct answer)
- Session hijacking
- Eavesdropping
Correct answer: Man-in-the-middle attack
A man-in-the-middle attack positions the attacker between two communicating parties to intercept, read, and potentially alter messages.
Question 2: Which TLS feature allows a server to include the CA's OCSP response in the TLS handshake, reducing client lookup latency?
- TLS session resumption
- OCSP stapling (Correct answer)
- Certificate pinning
- Forward secrecy
Correct answer: OCSP stapling
OCSP stapling embeds a time-stamped OCSP response in the TLS handshake so clients don't need to query the OCSP responder separately.
Question 3: Which network device operates at Layer 3 and can enforce access control between network segments using ACLs?
- Layer 2 switch
- Hub
- Router (Correct answer)
- Repeater
Correct answer: Router
Routers operate at Layer 3 and can apply ACLs to permit or deny traffic based on IP source, destination, and protocol between network segments.
Question 4: What is the purpose of a network DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) in a security architecture?
- To store backup data off-site
- To host public-facing services while isolating them from the internal network (Correct answer)
- To provide encrypted tunnels for remote users
- To aggregate logs from all internal systems
Correct answer: To host public-facing services while isolating them from the internal network
A DMZ hosts internet-facing services like web and mail servers in a zone that is separated from both the internet and the internal corporate network.
Question 5: Which type of DoS attack exploits asymmetry by sending a small request that generates a large response from a third party aimed at the victim?
- SYN flood
- Amplification attack (Correct answer)
- Teardrop attack
- Slowloris attack
Correct answer: Amplification attack
Amplification attacks exploit protocols like DNS and NTP where a small spoofed query generates a large response directed at the victim's IP.
Question 6: When configuring a site-to-site VPN, what is the role of Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Phase 1?
- Encrypting user data traffic
- Establishing a secure channel and authenticating peers to negotiate IPsec SAs (Correct answer)
- Assigning IP addresses to VPN clients
- Performing deep packet inspection
Correct answer: Establishing a secure channel and authenticating peers to negotiate IPsec SAs
IKE Phase 1 establishes a secure authenticated channel (ISAKMP SA) between peers, which is then used in Phase 2 to negotiate IPsec SAs for data traffic.
Question 7: A security team wants to ensure that network traffic between branch offices and headquarters cannot be decrypted even if the long-term private key is later compromised. Which property provides this guarantee?
- Non-repudiation
- Perfect forward secrecy (Correct answer)
- Key escrow
- Data integrity
Correct answer: Perfect forward secrecy
Perfect forward secrecy (PFS) uses ephemeral session keys so that compromise of the long-term key cannot decrypt previously recorded sessions.
SSCP Certification SSCP Network Communications Security 5
An attacker intercepts communications between two parties and relays altered messages without either party knowing.
This is an example of: