3.0 Security Architecture

Question 1

What is Serverless Architecture

Answer 1

Function as a Service

Question 2

Q: What is physical isolation in networking?

Answer 2

A: Using separate hardware to prevent attacker movement between networks.

Question 3

Q: What is logical segmentation?

Answer 3

A: Using VLANs to segment networks on the same switch.

Question 4

Q: What is SDN (Software Defined Networking)?

Answer 4

A: Makes the physical network programmable via software.

Question 5

Q: What are the three planes in SDN?

Answer 5

A: Data Plane (packet forwarding), Control Plane (routing), Management Plane (configuration).

Question 6

Q: What is virtualization?

Answer 6

A: Running multiple OSes on one hardware using hypervisors.

Question 7

Q: What is containerization?

Answer 7

A: Isolated app environments using Docker; share host OS.

Question 8

Q: Difference between containers and VMs?

Answer 8

A: Containers share host OS; VMs use hypervisors and separate OS.

Question 9

Q: What is SCADA/ICS?

Answer 9

A: Supervisory control systems for industrial devices; not internet-exposed.

Question 10

Q: What is RTOS?

Answer 10

A: A real-time OS that guarantees task execution within strict timing constraints.

Question 11

Q: What is an embedded system?

Answer 11

A: A device with hardware and software built for a single purpose (e.g., smartwatches, traffic lights).

Question 12

Q: What does MTTR stand for?

Answer 12

A: Mean Time to Repair — how long it takes to fix a system after failure.

Question 13

Q: What is elasticity in cloud computing?

Answer 13

A: The ability to scale resources dynamically in response to workload demand.

Question 14

Q: What is risk transference?

Answer 14

A: Shifting risk to another party (e.g., using a cloud provider or insurance).

Question 15

Q: Best practice if infected by malware?

Answer 15

A: Restore from clean backups or use pre-configured corporate images.

Question 16

Q: Why are embedded systems hard to patch?

Answer 16

A: They may lack interfaces or vendor support, making patching difficult or impossible.

Question 17

Q: What is a security zone?

Answer 17

A: Logical or physical areas with different trust levels (e.g., DMZ, internal network).

Question 18

Q: What is the difference between fail-open and fail-closed?

Answer 18

Fail-open: Allows traffic during failure

Fail-closed: Blocks traffic for security

Question 19

Q: What is passive monitoring?

Answer 19

A: IDS-like system that observes and logs activity without interfering.

Question 20

Q: What is a jump server?

Answer 20

A: A secure intermediary used to access internal servers via VPN, SSH, or RDP.

Question 21

Q: What is a forward proxy?

Answer 21

A: Intercepts outbound internet traffic from inside a network.

Question 22

Q: What is a reverse proxy?

Answer 22

A: Accepts incoming internet traffic and forwards it to internal servers.

Question 23

Q: What is a load balancer used for?

Answer 23

A: Distributes traffic across multiple servers for high availability and performance.

Question 24

Q: What is SSL offloading?

Answer 24

A: Delegates encryption/decryption to the load balancer to reduce server load.

Question 25

Q: What is EAP?

Answer 25

A: Extensible Authentication Protocol; a framework supporting many authentication methods.

Question 26

Q: What is IEEE 802.1X used for?

Answer 26

A: Port-based network access control requiring authentication before network access.

Question 27

Q: What is NAC?

Answer 27

A: Network Access Control; validates a device before granting network access.

Question 28

Q: What is the EAP authentication process?

Answer 28

A: Supplicant → Authenticator → Authentication Server (e.g., RADIUS, LDAP).

Question 29

Q: What is UTM?

Answer 29

A: Unified Threat Management — all-in-one device (firewall, AV, spam filter); legacy solution.

Question 29

Q: What does a traditional firewall filter on?

Answer 29

A: OSI Layer 4 (transport layer — ports and protocols).

Question 30

Q: What is an NGFW?

Answer 30

A: Next-Gen Firewall with Layer 7 inspection, app awareness, and intrusion prevention.

Question 31

Q: What does a VPN do?

Answer 31

A: Encrypts traffic between devices over untrusted networks.

Question 31

Q: What is a WAF?

Answer 31

A: Web Application Firewall; protects web apps by filtering HTTP/HTTPS traffic (detects SQLi, XSS).

Question 32

Q: What is IPsec tunnel mode?

Answer 32

A: Encrypts entire IP packet with a new outer header for secure transmission.

Question 33

Q: What is SSL/TLS VPN?

Answer 33

A: VPN using SSL/TLS protocols (e.g., HTTPS); often browser-based using port 443.

Question 34

Q: What is SD-WAN?

Answer 34

A: Software-defined WAN that dynamically manages connections across remote sites.

Question 35

Q: What is SASE?

Answer 35

A: Secure Access Service Edge — integrates SD-WAN and cloud-based security.

Question 36

Q: What is PII?

Answer 36

A: Personally Identifiable Information — can be used to identify an individual.

Question 37

Q: What is data sovereignty?

Answer 37

A: Legal requirement that data be stored/processed within specific countries.

Question 38

Q: What is failover?

Answer 38

A: Automatic switching to backup systems when primary fails.

Question 39

Q: What is a UPS?

Answer 39

A: Uninterruptible Power Supply — short-term backup power during outages.

Question 40

Q: What is the purpose of sensors and collectors in SIEM?

Answer 40

A: Sensors gather security data; collectors forward it to a SIEM for analysis and alerts.

Question 41

What is RADIUS?

Answer 41

(Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) Centralized authentication server, often used with EAP/802.1X.

Question 42

What is EAP?

Answer 42

A framework that supports various authentication methods (certs, passwords, smart cards). Extensible Authentication Protocol

Question 43

What is LDAP?

Answer 43

(Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) Used for directory services and authentication (e.g., Active Directory).

Question 44

What is 802.1X?

Answer 44

Standard for port-based network access control, enforces authentication.

Question 45

What is SSL/TLS ?

Answer 45

(Secure Sockets Layer / Transport Layer Security) Encryption protocols for secure communication (e.g., HTTPS, SSL VPN).

Question 46

What is a WAF?

Answer 46

WAF (Web Application Firewall) Filters HTTP/HTTPS traffic; protects web apps from injection attacks.