Cryptography GSEC Practice Questions (Page 9)

Questions 41–45

1. 41application · medium

   A security analyst notices that an attacker is capturing encrypted traffic between a client and a server. The attacker is able to modify the traffic in transit without the client or server detecting it. Which attack is most likely occurring?

   • AA brute-force attack on the AES key.
   • BA side-channel attack that recovers the session key from the server's memory.
   • CA man-in-the-middle attack where the attacker substitutes their own certificate during the TLS handshake.
   • DA collision attack on the hash used in the TLS handshake.
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
2. 42application · medium

   A software build system produces binary artifacts. The security team wants to ensure that an artifact has not been tampered with between the build server and the production deployment. Which control should be implemented?

   • AEncrypt the artifact with a symmetric key and decrypt it at the deployment site.
   • BUse a CRC32 checksum embedded in the artifact.
   • CCompute a SHA-256 hash of the artifact and store it in a separate integrity database.
   • DSign the artifact with the build server's private key and verify the signature before deployment.
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
4. 43application · medium

   A security analyst is investigating a suspected data breach. The analyst wants to verify that a downloaded file matches the original vendor release. Which tool is most appropriate?

   • ACheck the file size only
   • BOpen the file in a text editor and look for changes
   • CEncrypt the file with AES and compare the ciphertext
   • DCompare the SHA-256 hash of the downloaded file to the vendor's published hash
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
5. 44foundation · easy

   What is a primary use of cryptographic hash functions in password storage?

   • AEncrypting passwords with a secret key
   • BStoring passwords in plaintext for quick verification
   • CGenerating a random salt for each user
   • DCreating a fixed-length digest that cannot be reversed to recover the original password
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
6. 45application · medium

   A company wants to allow external partners to encrypt files that they send to the company, but the company does not want to manage a public key infrastructure (PKI) for the partners. What is the simplest way for partners to encrypt files so that only the company can decrypt them?

   • AUse a shared cloud storage service with a common password.
   • BShare a symmetric key with each partner over email.
   • CPublish the company's RSA public key on the company website and ask partners to use it to encrypt files.
   • DAsk partners to sign the files with their own private key.
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first