Top Network Security Interview Questions and Answers
When seeking cybersecurity solutions, companies find a tailored fit whose ethos matches theirs. Since trust is the cornerstone of cybersecurity systems, business enterprises are not ready to compromise on their prerequisite of finding a close fit for the role. Therefore, breaking into the cybersecurity industry is getting more challenging for newbies. It is also one of the reasons why cybersecurity professionals are preparing for interviews beforehand.
Aspiring cybersecurity professionals invest time in brushing up on core concepts so that they are able to answer something as basic as – how do you define cybersecurity, what is network security, and as complex as – what are cybersecurity threats, their consequences and the solutions. Reading previous cybersecurity and network security interview questions can be helpful here.
In this article, we will take you through why preparing for a network security interview is imperative in the current employment milieu and more. But, before that, let’s understand what network security is and how it is an important part of a cybersecurity system.
What is Network Security?
Network security is a subset of cybersecurity that aims to protect data, devices, and systems connected to a company’s network. Professionals equipped with network security skills work in an organization to determine if all the devices and applications operating under the company’s network are authentic users and are authorized to access the data. They also ensure no alien activities take place on a business enterprise’s network. Furthermore, they implement different systems to ensure the same. Here are a few popular types of network security systems that protect organizations from malicious infiltrations.
- Firewall protection
- Intrusion detection and prevention
- Network access control
- Cloud security
- Virtual private network
Network security is an additional skill that many cybersecurity professionals learn to gain a competitive advantage. Therefore, whenever a candidate interviews for a job title that has network security as an essential skill, interviewers ask several technical questions to aspirants to test their knowledge and capabilities. That’s why preparing for a network security interview beforehand is imperative and rewarding. Let’s look at some common network security interview questions that are frequently asked by the interviewers.
Top Network Security Interview Questions
Here are 5 frequently asked network security interview questions and answers.
What are the effects of a computer network attack?
Hackers invade a company’s network to access confidential data, systems, and applications. Compromised business information can be a lethal weapon that hackers can use however they desire. Here are the negative effects of network attack:
- Compromised brand image
- Customer’s and other information leakage
- Reduced profits and sales
- Diminishing brand loyalty and trust
- Loss of respect in front of stakeholders.
How would you define the threat, vulnerability, and risk?
In a common layman’s lingo, threat, vulnerability, and risk are different sides of the same coin. However, these three terms have distinct meanings and uses in network security.
Threat means the actual reason for the harm. Meanwhile, risk means that there are chances of attack from an external source, and vulnerability means weakness of a computer network that can be the reason for an attack. These three terms are used often in the cybersecurity department of a company.
What does AAA stand for in network security?
AAA stands for authorization, authentication, and accounting. While authentication and authorization are the two fundamentals of network security, accounting is an important process that reaps benefits for the business.
- Authentication is summarized as a process that determines whether the user is genuine. They run different diagnostic tests to find out the authenticity of the user.
- Authorization gives access to an individual or device to use a company’s network. Every user on the company’s network is granted access to use a certain portion.
- Accounting refers to a system that helps the company gather information about the activities conducted on the network. Finally, AAA is a framework that helps organizations monitor network activity, users, and systems.
What are the most secure ways to authenticate a user?
This is one of the common network security interview questions asked. You can answer this one by saying that biometrics, tokens, and passwords are the most secure ways to authenticate users. Also, due to two-factor authentication, it is easy and quick to authenticate a user. Moreover, it is safe to verify the personal details of the user.
Which among HTTPS and SSL is safer?
Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is a system used to establish secure browsing over a network. Meanwhile, a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) is a protocol that encrypts data transferred on a network to avoid the chances of a leak. Although HTTPS and SSL serve different purposes in network security, if there is a comparison, then SSL wins the most secure protocol due to its complex and strong protection systems.
Network security is a technical skill that not many cybersecurity professionals have. Therefore, companies ask several technical questions to aspirants endorsing the skill to test their capabilities and knowledge. Here are some technical network security interview questions often asked by hiring managers in the interview.
Technical Network Security Interview Questions
Network security professionals must be skilled and aware of different tools and techniques that protect a company’s network from attack. They can take up various cybersecurity certification courses offered by different institutes.
It is highly recommended to choose Emeritus India for an enriching learning experience and a comprehensive curriculum. We have various cybersecurity certification courses that will equip you with the required skills and knowledge. Our certification courses will also help you find answer network security interview questions, irrespective of their degree of complexity. A few examples of technical questions are:
- What is the meaning of CIA?
- What is salting, and why is it used?
- What is the difference between a white and black hat hacker?
- What is the meaning of encryption, and how are symmetric and asymmetric encryption different?
- What is the meaning of IPS?
So, are you ready to accelerate your career in cybersecurity? Enrol in the course today!
