This set reviews Units 4 to 6: threats and vulnerabilities, incident response and forensics, and ethical hacking. Work through it under light time pressure.
How to use this set
- Answer without notes first, then check.
- Track your score by unit to find weak areas.
- For each miss, write one sentence explaining why the right answer is right.
Strategy reminders
- For incident questions, ask “which phase are we in?” (preparation, detection, containment, eradication, recovery, lessons learned).
- For ethics questions, the answer almost always involves authorization, scope and responsible reporting.
- For forensics, think preserve, document, verify with hashes.
Review reminders
- Malware types, social engineering red flags.
- CVE, CVSS, vulnerability management cycle.
- SQL injection, XSS and CSRF prevention.
- Incident lifecycle, SIEM, order of volatility, chain of custody.
- Pen test phases, scope, disclosure, reporting.
Check your understanding
1. Malware that encrypts files and demands payment is:
- Spyware
- Ransomware
- Adware
- A worm
Answer: Ransomware. It locks data until a ransom is paid.
2. The best defense against ransomware damage is:
- Offline, tested backups
- A louder alarm
- Turning off updates
- Using shorter passwords
Answer: Offline, tested backups. They allow restoration without paying.
3. Parameterized queries mainly prevent:
- XSS
- SQL injection
- CSRF
- DoS
Answer: SQL injection. Input stays separate from the query structure.
4. Isolating an infected laptop from the network is:
- Containment
- Preparation
- Eradication
- Lessons learned
Answer: Containment. It stops the spread.
5. Which should be collected first in a live investigation?
- Backups
- Memory contents
- Printed logs
- Archived email
Answer: Memory contents. RAM is the most volatile.
6. A SIEM is used to:
- Correlate logs from many sources and raise alerts
- Create certificates
- Encrypt disks
- Assign IP addresses
Answer: Correlate logs from many sources and raise alerts. It reveals patterns across systems.
7. What proves a forensic image matches the original drive?
- Same file name
- Matching hash values
- Same color
- Same size label
Answer: Matching hash values. Any difference would change the hash.
8. Before an authorized penetration test, the tester must obtain:
- Written permission defining scope
- A public blog post
- Admin passwords from strangers
- Nothing
Answer: Written permission defining scope. This is what makes testing legal and ethical.
9. Passive reconnaissance involves:
- Scanning every port directly
- Collecting public information without touching the target
- Exploiting a server
- Resetting passwords
Answer: Collecting public information without touching the target. Examples include WHOIS and public DNS.
10. After finding a flaw in a company’s website with no permission-to-test, the ethical step is:
- Sell it
- Publish it immediately
- Stop and report it privately to the owner
- Exploit more to be sure
Answer: Stop and report it privately to the owner. This is responsible disclosure.
