CCST - Cisco Certified Support Technician Essential Security Principles (CIA) Questions and Answers 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An accountant discovers that a financial report file has been modified, and the totals no longer match the source data. A checksum analysis confirms the file has changed since it was last saved. Which core security principle has been violated?
- Confidentiality
- Availability
- Integrity (Correct answer)
- Non-repudiation
Correct answer: Integrity
Integrity is the principle that ensures data has not been altered or tampered with in an unauthorized manner. The checksum mismatch is a direct indication that the file's integrity has been compromised.
Question 2: Which of the following security controls is primarily used to enforce the principle of confidentiality?
- RAID 5 array
- AES encryption (Correct answer)
- Digital signatures
- Daily data backups
Correct answer: AES encryption
AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is a method of encrypting data, making it unreadable to unauthorized individuals. This directly supports confidentiality by preventing the unauthorized disclosure of information.
Question 3: A company's primary web server goes offline due to a hardware failure. However, an automated system immediately redirects all incoming traffic to a secondary, identical server with no noticeable interruption to users. This setup is a direct implementation of which security principle?
- Integrity
- Confidentiality
- Auditing
- Availability (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Availability
Availability ensures that systems and data are accessible to authorized users when needed. Using a redundant or failover server is a key strategy for maintaining high availability.
Question 4: Which of the following is the BEST example of a mechanism used to ensure data integrity?
- Implementing a complex password policy
- Using a firewall to block unauthorized network traffic
- Generating an MD5 hash of a file (Correct answer)
- Storing sensitive files in a locked room
Correct answer: Generating an MD5 hash of a file
An MD5 hash creates a unique digital fingerprint of a file. By comparing the hash of a file at two different times, one can verify if any changes have been made, thus ensuring the file's integrity.
Question 5: A support technician is instructed to securely dispose of old hard drives containing customer data. The company policy requires the use of a degausser before physical destruction. This policy is primarily in place to protect which security principle?
- Availability
- Confidentiality (Correct answer)
- Integrity
- Authorization
Correct answer: Confidentiality
Degaussing magnetically erases the data on the hard drives, making it unrecoverable. This prevents unauthorized individuals from accessing the sensitive customer data, thereby upholding the principle of confidentiality.
Question 6: A security administrator is designing a new system. They require that data be protected from unauthorized viewing, that it cannot be altered without permission, and that it is accessible when needed. Which security model are they implementing?
- The principle of least privilege
- The AAA (Authentication, Authorization, Accounting) framework
- The defense-in-depth strategy
- The CIA (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability) triad (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The CIA (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability) triad
The CIA triad is the foundational model for information security. It is composed of three core principles: Confidentiality (protected from unauthorized viewing), Integrity (cannot be altered without permission), and Availability (accessible when needed).
CCST - Cisco Certified Support Technician Essential Security Principles (CIA) Questions and Answers 1
An accountant discovers that a financial report file has been modified, and the totals no longer match the source data.
A checksum analysis confirms the file has changed since it was last saved.
Which core security principle has been violated?