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Interview Questions for Ethical Hacker Beginners [2025]
Interview Questions Answers For Ethical Hacker Beginners
Due to the increasing cyber threats posed by hackers, there is an acute demand among employers for people proficient in ethical hacking. It is no longer sufficient for organizations to have firewall defense mechanisms or other organizational security measures since—as has been observed frequently—other entities’ security measures can overlook many system vulnerabilities. Thus, knowing all the basic principles and tools is of utmost importance when preparing for the ethical hacking interview.
With this perspective in mind, the authors share their experiences and skills in answering some of the most frequently asked questions, or what they view as critical to the job—ethical hacking interviews. The authors confirm that to fully answer the questions, both novice specialists and experts in the field will be able to adapt to the realities and complexities of cyber security professions.
Interview Questions for Ethical Hacker
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Explain ethical hacking.
Also referred to as white-hat hacking, ethical hacking is the act of probing computers and networks for weaknesses that can be fixed so that duplicitous social engineers are unable to abuse them. Ethical hackers practice what malicious hackers do – they hack but for the greater good, which is security.
- What kind of hackers are there?
White-hat hackers: These are ethical hackers concerned with the identification and remediation of exploitable security loopholes.
Black-Hat Hackers: are unethical hackers who take advantage of the loopholes for financial gains or even destruction.
Gray-hat hackers: Cheaters who are known to be ethical at times but also break the law in the same breath.
Script kiddies: Those who are capable of carrying out hacking activities but do not understand the technicalities of the activity and simply rely on already created scripts.
- What is ARP poisoning explain it?
ARP poisoning is a technique in computer networks aimed at redirecting traffic to an attacker’s computer instead of the intended destination by compromising the device or devices on the same network.
- What is SQL injection?
SQL injection is an attack in which a web application’s database queries can be injected with malicious strings of code aiming to expropriate confidential data or alter the information.
- What is footprinting?
Footprinting is the method by which one investigates a target system or its network for relevant information like IP address, domain name, open ports, etc.
- What is spoofing?
Spoofing is the practice of impersonating a particular entity or a person such as a valid website or user.
- Which tools are commonly used by ethical hackers?
The tools which ethical hackers use include the following:
Kali Linux: An advanced level of Linux designed mainly for penetration testing.
Metasploit: One of the most famous penetration testing frameworks.
Nmap: A network mapping tool.
Wireshark: A network packet sniffer.
Burp Suite: An application security testing web tool.
- What is a cowpatty attack?
Cowpatty is a dictionary attack based password cracking tool.
- What is network sniffing?
Network sniffing refers to the process of intercepting and exploiting network resources and information.
- What is social engineering?
Social engineering entails the gaining of information about and access to sensitive and secure systems by manipulating people’s psychology.
- Define MAC flooding.
MAC flooding is an attack method in which the MAC address tables of switches on the Local Area Network are spanned to their highest point, causing the transmission to remain in broadcast.
- Explain IP and MAC addresses in detail.
IP address: An address that is assigned to a device upon connection to the internet and serves as identification.
MAC address: An address that is assigned to devices per each network interface card (NIC) and is dependent on an organisation’s hardware.
- State briefly what a firewall is.
A firewall can be defined as a physical barrier that safeguards network information from unauthorised access while allowing legitimate access.
- What is the use of Burp Suite?
Burp Suite is a Java platform with multiple tools designed to maintain web application security by exposing weaknesses.
- What is network enumeration?
Network enumeration refers to the process of scoping out a network and determining the devices, services, and users which are connected to it.
- What is penetration Testing?
Penetration Testing, or pen Testing, involves authorized individuals carrying out simulated hacking of systems or networks to expose weaknesses.
- Describe pharming and defacement.
Pharming: Forcing the users of a service to visit a server the attacker controls.
Defacement: The act of putting the content of a web page inappropriately.
- Which tools can one use to sniff network packets?
- Wireshark
- tcpdump
- How would you describe phishing attacks?
Phishing attacks can be referred to as social engineering attacks, where the victims receive emails from attackers or criminals pretending to be legitimate sources in an effort to obtain secret information from them.
- What is cross-site scripting?
Cross-site scripting, or XSS, occurs when a web page is attacked with malicious code embedded. This allows the attacker to hijack web pages that are visible to other users.
- Why is Python hacking useful?
Full-featured and multipurpose Python programming language topologies offer up-scaling libraries and frameworks useful for hacking. It is easy to learn and use, and it is complementary for beginners and amateur hackers.
- Is reconnaissance data collection in one style and form?
Yes, there is a competition between different recognizable components:
Passive reconnaissance: Information is gathered without any engagement with the target system.
Active reconnaissance: Actively stating that the engagement is with the target system to identify itself primarily in gathering information.
- What are the classifications of hackers, if any?
Yes, hackers have been classified into different types, including grey-hat, black-hat, and altruistic white-hat types.
- Explain sniffing.
Sniffing is capturing logs and tracking network communications for examination and analysis with the intention of revealing sensitive information, such as in penetration testing or other legitimate uses like network management involving problem-solving.
Conclusion
When preparing for an ethical hacking interview, there is more than just the technical aspect that one needs to focus on; ethical issues are just as important. Through a careful review of the questions in this guide, you will be in a better position to demonstrate your competence creatively. At the end of it all, don’t forget that knowing the correct answer is not all that is required. It is also necessary to articulate one’s thoughts in a reasonable manner.
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