Top 10 Ethical Hacking Interview Questions and Answers

Ethical Hacking Interview Questions and Answers

If you’re excited about starting a career in ethical hacking, it’s time to prepare for those interviews! But where do you start? At CrawSec, the top cybersecurity training institute in Delhi, we’ve compiled a fun and informative post covering all the key ethical hacking interview questions and answers. We hope you find it helpful!

Check out this post for great insights into common ethical hacking interview questions and answers!

1: What is ethical hacking?

Ethical hacking in computer security involves simulating intrusions to uncover vulnerabilities within computer systems, networks, or applications. Known as white-hat hackers, ethical hackers employ the same techniques and tools as their black-hat counterparts, but they do so with the owner’s consent and to enhance security rather than inflicting harm.

2: What is the difference between ethical hacking and cybersecurity?

Ethical hacking is a vital component of the broader field of cybersecurity, which aims to protect systems, networks, and data from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction. A wide array of techniques and procedures are employed to achieve this goal.

Through ethical hacking, vulnerabilities within a system’s defenses can be pinpointed, enabling cybersecurity professionals to implement essential safeguards effectively.

3: What are the advantages and disadvantages of hacking?

The key advantages and disadvantages of hacking can be outlined as follows:

Advantages (Ethical Hacking):

• Uncovers security vulnerabilities,
• Enhances overall system security,
• Enables organizations to proactively address cyber threats, among others.

Disadvantages (Malicious Hacking):

• Causes data breaches and leaks,
• This leads to system disruptions and downtime,
• Results in financial losses,
• Harms reputation, along with various other consequences.

4: What are the different types of hackers?

The various categories of hackers include:

• White Hat Hackers (Ethical Hackers),
• Black Hat Hackers (Malicious Hackers), and
• Gray Hat Hackers.

Each type plays a distinct role in the cybersecurity landscape.

5: What can an ethical hacker do?

Ethical hackers can:

• Identify system and network vulnerabilities through penetration testing.
• Assess security policies and procedures.
• Develop and implement targeted safety measures.
• Stay updated on the latest advancements in malware techniques.

6: What is pharming and defacement?

• Pharming: This technique redirects users to a fraudulent website that masquerades as legitimate, aiming to illicitly obtain their personal information.
• Defacement: This involves altering a website’s visual appearance with malicious intent.

7: Distinguish between phishing and spoofing.

• Phishing: This malicious tactic involves sending deceptive emails or messages to trick users into revealing sensitive information or clicking on harmful links.
• Spoofing: This technique aims to mislead users by impersonating a trustworthy source, such as a legitimate website, email address, or phone number.

8: What is network security, and what are its types?

Network security plays a crucial role in protecting devices and networks from unauthorized access, ensuring data confidentiality, availability, and integrity. A diverse array of network security measures is available, including:

• Perimeter security
• Wireless security
• Endpoint security
• Data security, among others.

9: What are network protocols, and why are they necessary?

Network protocols are established standards that regulate data exchange between devices on a network. They ensure compatibility and facilitate efficient data transfer. Protocols like Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) are vital for the functioning of the Internet.

10: What do you understand by footprinting in ethical hacking? What are the techniques utilized for footprinting?

The initial stage of ethical hacking, known as “footprinting,” involves gathering critical information about the target system or network. This phase employs various techniques, such as:

• DNS queries,
• Social media exploration,
• Searching public databases, among others.

Bonus 10 Ethical Hacking Interview Questions and Answers:

11: What are the hacking stages? Explain each stage

Hacking often involves a series of stages, including:

• Reconnaissance
• Scanning
• Gaining Access
• Maintaining Access
• Covering Tracks

These phases collectively outline the process that hackers typically follow.

12: What is scanning, and what are some examples of the types of scanning used?

The process of identifying vulnerabilities in a system or network through the utilization of diverse technologies is referred to as “scanning.”  Diverse types of scans consist of the following:

• Port scanning,
• Vulnerability scanning,
• Stress testing, etc.

13: What are some of the standard tools used by ethical hackers?

A variety of tools are utilized in ethical hacking, such as:

• Kali Linux,
• Nmap,
• Nessus,
• Burp Suite, etc.

14: What is Burp Suite? What tools does it contain?

Open-source and provided at no cost, Burp Suite is a tool utilized to assess the security of web applications.  Employing an extensive array of tools that grant ethical hackers the capability to detect weaknesses in web applications.  A selection of the following utilities are comprised of the Burp Suite:

15: What is network sniffing?

Network snooping involves the monitoring and logging of data packets as they move through a network. Ethical hackers utilize sniffing tools to examine network traffic to uncover potential security vulnerabilities, such as unencrypted data transfers and suspicious communication patterns.

16: What is SQL injection and its types?

SQL injection is a vulnerability present in web applications that enables the injection of malicious SQL code into a website’s database queries. This vulnerability could be leveraged to alter data, steal confidential information, or even gain unauthorized access to the database server. There are numerous types of SQL injection attacks, which include:

• In-band SQL injection, and
• Out-of-band SQL injection.

17: What is cross-site scripting and its different variations?

Cross-site scripting (XSS) represents a prevalent type of web security vulnerability wherein an adversary may insert malevolent scripts into a website. Misconfiguration of a user’s browser to execute these scripts may expose sensitive information, including session identifiers and cookies. A wide range of XSS attacks are present:

• Stored XSS,
• Reflected XSS, and
• DOM-based XSS.

18: What is a denial of service (DOS) attack and what are the common forms?

A denial-of-service (DoS) attack aims to disable authorized users’ access to a network or infrastructure through the overwhelming volume of traffic. Examples of frequent DoS attacks include:

• SYN flood,
• UDP flood,
• Application-layer DoS, etc.

19: How can you avoid or prevent ARP poisoning?

An attacker uses ARP poisoning, a type of cyberattack, to trick a network device by manipulating the Media Access Control (MAC) address of a different device. The following precautions should be taken to prevent ARP poisoning:

• Enable ARP entries to be static,
• Implement robust network authentication.
• Switch ARP inspection to be enabled, etc.

20: What is the difference between VA and PT?

The following are the fundamental distinctions between vulnerability assessment and penetration testing:

• Vulnerability Assessment (VA): A comprehensive and automated scan that identifies possible vulnerabilities in the system or network. Although it provides a comprehensive outlook on security vulnerabilities, it may unintentionally neglect specific categories of defects or the gravity of their impact.
• Penetration Testing (PT): An extensive and labor-intensive process that replicates real attacks to exploit weaknesses and assess the resulting consequences. By prioritizing remediation endeavors, PT provides a more comprehensive understanding of potential security threats.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, we want to remind all candidates interested in ethical hacking job interviews that you can find helpful guidance in the Top 10 Ethical Hacking Interview Questions and Answers included in this article. CrawSec, the most respected ethical hacking training institute in India, put together these valuable resources.

If you’re looking to boost your skills, consider enrolling in the Ethical Hacking Course offered by Craw Security when it becomes available. We’re here to help, so feel free to reach out to us at +91-9513805401 if you have any questions!