Question 1

Define confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA Triad).

Accepted Answer

The CIA Triad mathematically defines absolute information security: Confidentiality (data secrecy), Integrity (data immutability), and Availability (system uptime guarantees).

Question 2

What is a cryptographic hash function?

Accepted Answer

A cryptographic hash function is an irreversible mathematical algorithm that violently compresses arbitrary-length data into a rigidly fixed-size deterministic string (the digest).

Question 3

Differentiate between passive and active attacks.

Accepted Answer

Passive attacks silently intercept and read data without altering it, whereas active attacks violently modify the data stream or the physical network architecture.

Question 4

Define non-repudiation.

Accepted Answer

Non-repudiation is the absolute cryptographic guarantee that a sender cannot mathematically or legally deny having sent a specific digital message.

Question 5

What is the avalanche effect in cryptography?

Accepted Answer

The avalanche effect is a strict cryptographic property where mathematically flipping one single bit in the plaintext causes an explosive, chaotic alteration of the entire ciphertext.

Question 6

Define a digital signature.

Accepted Answer

A digital signature is a mathematical algorithm utilizing asymmetric cryptography to guarantee the absolute authenticity, integrity, and non-repudiation of a digital document.

Question 7

What is a Trojan Horse?

Accepted Answer

A Trojan Horse is malicious software architecture heavily disguised as a legitimate, benign application to mathematically trick users into executing a catastrophic payload.

Question 8

Explain the concept of a botnet.

Accepted Answer

A botnet is a massive, highly synchronized architectural network of infected, compromised computers (zombies) controlled entirely by a single hacker's Command and Control (C&C) server.

Question 9

What is a Denial of Service (DoS) attack?

Accepted Answer

A DoS attack is an aggressive, mathematically asymmetric network assault designed to violently overwhelm a server's physical RAM or CPU, crashing the system.

Question 10

Define Phishing.

Accepted Answer

Phishing is a highly destructive psychological attack where a hacker impersonates a legitimate architecture (like a bank) to steal absolute security credentials.

Question 11

Explain the working principle of the RSA algorithm with an example.

Accepted Answer

A definitive mathematical exposition on the RSA algorithm. Violently details the prime generation, Euler's Totient, and the exact modular exponentiation required to execute public-key encryption and decryption.

Question 12

Describe the Diffie-Hellman key exchange algorithm.

Accepted Answer

A critical mathematical breakdown of the Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange. Details how two parties can mathematically generate an absolute shared secret over a fully compromised, public channel using Discrete Logarithms.

Question 13

What are the differences between symmetric and asymmetric key cryptography?

Accepted Answer

A definitive architectural comparison between Symmetric and Asymmetric Cryptography. Violently contrasts the explosive processing speed of single-key systems against the massive key-distribution superiority of public/private key pairs.

Question 14

Explain the various modes of operation in block ciphers.

Accepted Answer

A comprehensive theoretical breakdown of Block Cipher Modes of Operation. Details how ECB fails catastrophically at hiding data patterns, while CBC and CTR use mathematical XOR chaining and Nonces to achieve absolute cryptographic security.

Question 15

Discuss the architecture of IPSec.

Accepted Answer

A critical review of the IPSec architecture. Explains how the Authentication Header (AH) and Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP) protocols violently secure the OSI Network Layer across Transport and Tunnel modes.

Question 16

What is an Intrusion Detection System (IDS)? Explain its types.

Accepted Answer

An architectural breakdown of Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS). Details the mathematical anomaly detection engines and contrasts the global surveillance of Network-based IDS against the kernel-level precision of Host-based IDS.

Question 17

Explain Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) and how it can be prevented.

Accepted Answer

A rigorous exposition on Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks. Explains how attackers violently inject malicious JavaScript into trusted websites, and details the strict mathematical countermeasures of Output Encoding and Content Security Policy (CSP).

Question 18

Explain the Data Encryption Standard (DES) algorithm in detail including its …

Accepted Answer

A massive architectural breakdown of the Data Encryption Standard (DES). Violently details the Initial Permutation, the 16 rounds of the Feistel network, the catastrophic non-linear substitution of the S-Boxes, and the exact mathematics of the Key Schedule.

Question 19

Describe the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) / Transport Layer Security (TLS) proto…

Accepted Answer

An exhaustive theoretical breakdown of the SSL/TLS architecture. Explains the strict protocol stack (Record, Handshake, Alert) and violently details the cryptographic Handshake process that mathematically generates secure symmetric session keys over an untrusted network.

Question 20

Discuss various types of firewalls and their configurations in a network envi…

Accepted Answer

A definitive architectural review of Firewalls. Violently contrasts primitive Packet Filtering against highly intelligent Stateful Inspection and Application Proxies, detailing complex network configurations like Screened Subnets (DMZs) required to protect corporate data.

Question 21

Explain the X.509 Authentication Service and the structure of an X.509 certif…

Accepted Answer

A massive analytical breakdown of the X.509 Authentication architecture. Details the cryptographic trust chain of Certificate Authorities (CAs) and violently dissects the rigid mathematical fields of the X.509 v3 Digital Certificate structure.

Question 22

Explain the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm, its structure, and …

Accepted Answer

A definitive mathematical exposition on the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). Explains the architectural abandonment of the Feistel network in favor of a Substitution-Permutation Network, violently detailing the SubBytes, ShiftRows, MixColumns, and AddRoundKey transformations.

Information System Security