Practice Test Geeks(CSA) Certified System Administrator Practice Test
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Network and Security Administration Flashcards

7 cards from real CSA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Network and Security Administration flashcards as text

  1. Which authentication protocol sends credentials in plaintext and should never be used over untrusted networks?

    Answer: PAP

    PAP (Password Authentication Protocol) transmits usernames and passwords in cleartext, making it vulnerable to interception.

  2. What does the 'least privilege' security principle require?

    Answer: Users receive only the minimum access needed for their role

    Least privilege limits each user or process to only the permissions required to perform their function, reducing the attack surface.

  3. A subnet has the address 192.168.10.0/26. How many usable host addresses does it provide?

    Answer: 62

    A /26 subnet has 64 total addresses (2^6), minus 2 for network and broadcast, leaving 62 usable host addresses.

  4. Which log file on a Linux system records successful and failed authentication attempts?

    Answer: /var/log/auth.log

    /var/log/auth.log (or /var/log/secure on RHEL-based systems) captures PAM, sudo, and SSH authentication events.

  5. What is the main function of a Certificate Authority (CA) in a PKI environment?

    Answer: Issue and sign digital certificates to verify identity

    A CA is a trusted entity that issues digital certificates and digitally signs them to verify the identity of certificate holders.

  6. Which protocol is used to synchronize system clocks across a network, which is critical for log correlation and Kerberos authentication?

    Answer: NTP

    NTP (Network Time Protocol) synchronizes clocks across systems; Kerberos requires clocks within 5 minutes of each other to prevent replay attacks.

  7. An administrator wants to monitor device health metrics like CPU load and interface errors across the network. Which protocol is most commonly used?

    Answer: SNMP

    SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is the standard protocol for collecting and managing performance and status data from network devices.