Danny's newsletter - Issue #27
Cybersecurity Interview Series: Direct Answer Questions
In last week's post, I talked about the different types of questions a Cybersecurity interviews will typically have. They are Direct Answer Questions, Scenarios, and Exercises.
I’m going to be discussing Direct Answer Questions here, they are usually what you will see in entry level roles.
Some Example Questions
What is the difference between TCP & UDP?
What is the difference between hashing and encryption?
What are some network sniffing tools ?
Sample responses (although not exhaustive could be)
What is the difference between encryption and hashing?
Encryption is a two-way transaction, where the data can be decrypted so it is readable again. This would be done with the use of a key.
The main purpose behind encryption is confidentiality.
Hashing is a one way transaction, where the data is converted into a message digest. This uses a hashing algorithm such as MD5, SHA256, etc. The main purpose behind hashing is integrity.
What are some network sniffing tools ?
Wireshark: A GUI-based tool. It is used to analyze network traffic in detail.
TCPDUMP: A CLI tool that analyzes the packets which are transmitted.
Dsniff: It is a password and network analyzing tool. It can parse various different application protocols.
Remember, knowing how to find the answer is much better than "knowing the answer".
Keep this in mind as you’re reading the post and preparing for interviews.
On the next post, I’ll talk about Scenario Based Questions which might come up in a Cybersecurity interview.