Network security is the technique of protecting your computer from unauthorized access and unauthorized actions. Network security is a complex topic, and many ways to protect your network.
There are two primary classes of network security: physical and virtual.
Physical security is the technique of physically protecting your network from unauthorized access.
Virtual security protects your network from unauthorized activities such as malicious software and hackers.
Physical and virtual security can be implemented differently, and choosing the right approach for your organization is critical.
The most common strategy is to use locks on your computer or network ports to control unauthorized access. In addition, you can also use software such as antivirus software to guard your network from malicious software.
When applying for a network security job, it makes sense to train by becoming familiar with relevant network security issues. Good knowledge of frequently asked network security questions will allow you to present yourself as a knowledgeable candidate with a deep understanding of the topic.
Here are some top network security interview questions and answers to inform and prepare you for this critical network security interview.
1. What are the effects of a computer network attack?
Hackers attack a company’s network to access confidential data, systems, and applications. Compromised business information can be a deadly weapon that hackers can use as they wish. Here are the side effects of a network attack:
“ Damaged brand image
“ Leaks of customers and other information
“ Reduced profit and sales
“ Decrease in brand loyalty and trust
“ Loss of respect from stakeholders.
2. How would you define the threat, vulnerability, and risk?
In typical layman’s jargon, threat, vulnerability, and risk are different sides of the same coin. However, these three terms have different meanings and use in network security.
The threat means the actual reason for the harm. Meanwhile, risk means that there is a chance of an attack from an external source, and vulnerability means a weakness in the computer network that can be the reason for the spell. These three terms are often used in a company’s cybersecurity department.
3. What does AAA mean in network security?
AAA stands for Authorization, Authentication, and Accounting. While authentication and authorization are the two foundations of network security, accounting is a necessary process that reaps business benefits.
Authentication is summarized as the process that determines whether a user is genuine. They perform various diagnostic tests to determine the authenticity of the user.
Authorization grants an individual or device access to the corporate network. Each user in the company’s network is granted access to use a specific part.
Accounting is a system that helps a company collect information about the activities carried out on the website. Finally, AAA is a framework that allows institutions to monitor network activity, users, and systems.
4. What are the factors that affect network performance?
Network performance depends on several factors, including hardware quality, Internet connection speed, and traffic volume. The internet connection rate is crucial because it affects how quickly data can be shared. A high-speed connection can transfer data much faster than a low-speed connection.
Hardware quality also affects network performance. Poorly made hardware can cause connectivity and performance issues. Finally, traffic can affect network performance. If too much traffic is carried over the network, it can slow down its performance. So if you want to improve your network’s performance, you should ensure that all your devices are up to date and that you are using the best possible internet connection.
5. You discover an active problem on your organization’s network, but it is outside your sphere of influence, so what do you do?
While the first impulse can solve the problem immediately, you must go through the proper channels. Things may be the way they are for a reason. Email inform the person in charge of that department, express your concerns and ask for an explanation. Make sure your boss is CC’ed in the email chain, and save a copy for yourself if you need to refer to it later.
6. What is the most effective countermeasure against CSRF?
A Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) attack compels a currently authenticated end user to execute unauthorized commands in a web application. There are two effective defenses. First, use different names for each form field to increase user anonymity. Second, attach a random token to each request.
7. What is network segmentation?
A subnet can be created by dividing a network into multiple segments or subnets, each acting as a separate small network. Using this architectural technique, a controlled traffic flow between subnets is possible. In addition to improving monitoring, increasing performance, locating technology issues, and most importantly, increasing security, businesses use segmentation.
Network security professionals have a powerful tool to prevent critical assets such as customer personal data, corporate financial records, and significant intellectual property from being exploited by malicious outsiders or curious insiders through network segmentation. These assets are often located in hybrid and multi-cloud environments that must be protected against hackers. To understand the impact of segmentation on security, it is essential to understand the nature of trust in network security.
8. Explain is a virtual private network.
A virtual private network (VPN) is a secured connection over an unsecured network such as the Internet. A VPN service constructs a secure and encrypted connection over an unsecured network such as the Internet. A VPN connects a private network to a public network, such as the Internet, to extend the network. The term “virtual private network” means that the website is accessible to users sitting in a remote area. It uses tunneling protocols to establish a secure connection.
Consider a situation where a bank’s corporate office is situated in Washington, USA, and uses a local network of 100 computers. Branch offices in Mumbai and Tokyo are used to connect to the head office using a leased line, which is a costly and time-consuming process. With VPN, we can effectively eradicate this challenge.
9. What is Web Security?
Network or computer system security safeguards against damage or theft of software, hardware, or data. Computer systems are safeguarded from misdirection or disruption of their services.
Website protection is known as web security and includes cloud protection and web application security. It defends cloud services or web applications. A virtual private network (VPN) is also secured.
Website security is critical to the operation of any business that uses computers. If a website is compromised or hackers can tamper with your software or systems, your website and even your entire network can be halted, leading to business disruption.
10. What is wireless security?
Wireless networks provide several advantages to users, but their operation is complicated. Data packets traveling over wires assure users that data sent over wires is unlikely to be intercepted by eavesdroppers.
To ensure a secure wireless connection, we should focus on the following areas: Identifying the wireless network endpoint and end users, protecting wireless data packets from intermediaries, ensuring the integrity of wireless data packets, and maintaining the anonymity of wireless data packets.
All 802.11 wireless devices communicate with each other, regardless of the manufacturer. As long as all wireless devices conform to the same standards, there is no problem. However, some rogue devices can compromise the wireless network’s security by intercepting our confidential data or causing network outages.
11. What do you understand by network encryption? Explain how it works?
Answer: Network encryption encrypts and encodes messages for transmission over a computer network. It has many tools and techniques that deal with encryption. Most importantly, network encryption defends confidential information from unauthorized agents and secures they cannot decrypt the message.
Network security engineers use encryption/decryption keys to convert data into a decipherable form on the receiving end.
Conclusion
Organizations are looking for network security professionals to protect their sensitive information. You can secure a position in a reputed company in IT with the necessary credentials. However, handling their interviews can be challenging due to tough competition. In this blog, we have seen some top network security interview questions.