Security engineer interview questions go beyond typical coding questions. They will test your grasp of various programming languages, and cybersecurity techs, and dig out your problem-solving approaches in just a few minutes. Even though ‘few’ minutes are not enough to fully prove your expertise, you must still try to give your best shot with the most organized and well-rounded answers. With cybersecurity spending projected to hit $187B (that too just last year), there’s no doubt these roles are in high demand. So if you have chosen this career, you are on the right track! Here are the top security engineer interview questions asked by leading tech companies to help you prepare.
Top 5 Cybersecurity Engineer Interview Questions
We have answered the top 5 cybersecurity engineer interview questions that most candidates face and have also added a questions list (including those asked by Amazon). Here are some common questions to be prepared to face no matter the company you are applying to:
- What is a three-way handshake?
The three-way handshake is the method TCP/IP uses to establish a connection between a client and a server. It is a bit like a formal introduction in networking terms. First, the client says ‘hello’ with a SYN packet. The server responds with ‘hello back, and nice to meet you’ using a SYN-ACK. Finally, the client confirms with an ACK, essentially saying ‘Great, let’s talk.’ This process ensures both sides are ready to communicate and agree on initial sequence numbers.
- What is a CIA Triad?
The CIA Triad refers to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. These are the three core principles that guide cybersecurity practices.
- Confidentiality is all about ensuring that sensitive information is only accessible to those who are authorized to see it.
- Integrity focuses on maintaining the accuracy and trustworthiness of data. It is like making sure no one can tamper with a document—what you see is what was intended, with no unauthorized changes.
- Availability means information and resources are accessible when needed.
You will face many such straightforward questions that are theory-based and therefore not only need to have the basics clear but also be able to explain them. In short, you will need to have proper interview training for cybersecurity roles to crack them easily.
- How would you secure your home network?
This cybersecurity interview question will test your understanding of the best practices of network security and whether you can implement them in your own life. Securing my home network starts with the basics. First, I would change the default username and password on the router – the factory settings are too easy to guess. Then, I would encrypt the network, usually by enabling WPA3.
It is also recommended to create a separate network for guests. This keeps the main network isolated and more secure. I would also enable a firewall to filter out malicious traffic and use strong (and unique) passwords for all connected devices.
Keeping firmware updated is another key step. But still, I would use a VPN for an extra layer of encryption, especially when accessing sensitive information.
- What techniques you can use to prevent a brute-force login attack?
This is another common cybersecurity interview question that seems basic but will test your skills in preventing a very common threat that people face on a daily basis.
Preventing a brute-force login attack starts with enforcing strong password policies.
- Make sure passwords are complex, with a mix of characters, and require regular updates.
- System-level policy enforcement is key – users shouldn’t be able to use weak passwords, even if they try.
- Another good measure would be to implement account lockouts after several failed attempts. CAPTCHAs blocking bots and two-factor authentication are some common ones that we get to see in our day-to-day lives.
- Have you ever faced a serious security breach in your life?
There are a lot of other ways you can answer this question. A cybersecurity training course with a well-rounded curriculum taught by industry experts can help you get prepared for such tricky questions. Because these guys know the best way to answer a question to fully show your expertise rather than giving generic answers.
The key to answering this question is to first narrate a significant incident that you faced and how you combated it. This will give the interviewers a glimpse into how you approach a problem. To earn some brownie points, you can also add some numbers – interviewers love numbers! You can tell them how much you helped your company (or yourself) save by combating the attack or if any other significant stat.
Senior Cybersecurity Interview Questions
For a senior cybersecurity interview role, you will need to brush up on your basics (along with advanced skills) as there might be areas you have gotten out of touch with. While the basic cybersecurity questions might still be asked for a senior role, it is more common to face advanced-level questions that will gauge the expertise you have gathered over the years. Here are some additional questions asked in the senior cybersecurity interviews:
- What is the difference between
- asymmetric and symmetric encryption?
- IPS and IDS?
- viruses and worms?
- HIDS and NIDS?
- White Box and Black Box Testing?
- XSS and CSRF?
- What Is SSL Encryption?
- Explain the steps to prevent a brute-force attack
- What is port scanning?
- What do you know about the OSI Model?
- White Hat vs. Black Hat vs. Gray Hat Hackers: Which ones are illegal?
- How frequently do you need to perform patch management?
- What do you know about identity theft? Explain the steps to prevent it.
- What are the different types of phishing?
- What are spyware attacks?
- What is forward secrecy?
- Can you explain ARP poisoning with an example?
- Do know what SQL injection is?
- What do know about active reconnaissance?
- What is SYN/ACK? Explain how it works.
- What do you about XXE?
Amazon Cybersecurity Interview Questions
Amazon, being a leading cybersecurity recruiter, is known to have one of the most difficult interview processes with hour-long grilling to accurately gauge your real skills. Whether you are preparing for an interview at Amazon or some other smaller company, preparing these questions will give you an edge to impress your interviewer. Listed below are some cybersecurity interview questions by Amazon interviewers:
- What are some important cloud security aspects of Amazon Web Service?
- What important security precautions will you take before migration to AWS Cloud?
- What laws cover the security aspects of cloud data?
- What are AWS infrastructure security products?
- What is AWS Directory Service?
- What do you know about
- AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)?
- AWS Single Sign-On?
- AWS CloudTrail?
- Amazon GuardDuty?
- Amazon CloudWatch?
- AWS Trusted Advisor.
- perfect forward secrecy?
- What role do AWS Security Bulletins play?
- What are some mentionable advantages of AWS security?
- Differentiate UDP from TCP.
- How do you differentiate between authorization namespaces and authentication?
- How does single sign-on work?
Conclusion
There you have it – the most-asked cybersecurity engineer interview questions. We have covered a comprehensive list of questions that have been asked by top MNCs this year but you will surely have a lot of other in-depth questions. These interviews are anything but cakewalks to crack and therefore we highly recommend proper interview training before you sit for them. If you are new to this field or switching careers, getting into a cybersecurity training program that covers all portions of the curriculum deeply is the best way to guarantee success. You will get help from industry leaders who know the right and wrong ways to answer a question and which way you can get hired easily. If you are looking for just this, EducationNest’s top cybersecurity and ethical hacking courses developed by industry leaders is your way to secure that job.
