Are you anxious about the SOC interview? But don’t worry. These top 15 SOC analyst interview questions will turn your anxiety into confidence, so if you are preparing for a career in cybersecurity or aiming to crack the SOC analyst interview, then you are at the right place. In this blog, I have shared the top 15 SOC analyst interview questions with appropriate answers so that you can give the answer to every question and sound confident in your interview. So, have a cup of coffee, and let’s get started on sharpening your cybersecurity interviewing skills.

What is port scanning?

Port scanning is a method of determining which ports on a network are open and could be receiving or sending data. It is also a process for sending packets to specific ports on a host and analysing responses to identify vulnerabilities.

You can imagine port scanning like knocking on the door of the computer to see which ones are open. Each door (port) can be used to send or receive data. Port scanning helps to find the vulnerability and weak spot so that we can fix it before the attackers do.

What is a firewall?

A firewall is a computer network security system that restricts or limits internet traffic into, out of, or inside a private network. It functions as a gatekeeper that keeps the unwanted visitor out of the network. A firewall helps to protect devices from hackers, viruses, and other online threats or unwanted activities.

What is security misconfiguration?

Security misconfiguration means the system hasn’t been set up properly or securely; it is working properly, but not protected the way it should be.

You can think of it like leaving the front door open so anyone can enter your home, but it is dangerous, isn’t it?

To keep our system (house) secure, we need to keep the front door properly closed.

Similarly, while setting up a system, we must:

  • Apply proper security settings
  • Disable unnecessary features or services
  • Install updates and security patches
  • Hide error messages that might reveal too much information.

Explain the Vulnerability, Threats and Risk.

Vulnerability:

Vulnerability is a weakness in a system that could be used by the hacker to get in. If there is any vulnerability in your system, then an attacker can easily target your system to steal the confidential information.

There are several reasons why vulnerabilities exist in systems. Some of them are weak passwords; always try to keep the strong password, including some characters, numbers and symbols. Keep your system up to date because it helps to fix known security issues.

Threats:
A threat is something that can take advantage of weakness and harm your system.

For example, an open window in your home is a weakness, and a thief is a threat who might use that open window to get in.

Risk:

Because of a weakness in your system, risk is a possibility that something bad will happen. When a threat and a vulnerability are both present, the risk will occur.

What is MITRE ATT&CK?

MITRE ATT&CK is a collection of information that shows what steps attackers take to steal the information or to attack a system. It includes the tools and techniques. It’s like a guidebook that helps the cybersecurity team to understand how attackers behave. so that they can better protect their system.

Explain the CIA?

CIA stands for Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. It is a model used to secure the information.

  • Confidentiality: Confidentiality means information should only be accessed by authorised people to protect the information. Unauthorised people should not be allowed to access the information because it creates the risk that an attacker might steal the confidential information.
  • Integrity: Integrity means information should not be changed during receiving and sending.
  • Availability: It means data should be available when needed.

We always try to maintain these three principles to keep information safe and secure.

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Explain the 7 Steps of the Cyber Kill Chain

1. Reconnaissance: In this step, the hacker or attacker tries all methods to collect the information about the target system. The goal is to collect enough data to plan a successful attack.

2. Weaponisation: The hacker creates the malicious software(malware), designed to exploit the vulnerabilities in the target system.

3. Delivery: After creating the virus and malware software, the hacker delivers this software through mail or message. They mostly attach the pirated link, and when the targeted user clicks on that link or opens the file, the malware silently starts downloading in the background.

4. Exploitation: The hacker uses a weakness (vulnerability) to gain access because gaining entry into the target system is difficult. If your system has no weakness, then it is tough for an attacker to get in.

5. Installation: After finding the vulnerability, the hacker installs the malware software on the target system.

6. Command and Control: Once the installation is complete, the hacker controls the system remotely.

7. Actions on Objectives: When they control the system, then they can easily steal the confidential data; they can corrupt the file access and steal the password, etc.

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Explain the AAA?

  • Authentication: It involves the user providing the information to prove who they are.

For example, if we want to log in to Facebook, then we enter the username and password. That’s authentication.

  • Authorization: After authentication, authorization decides what you are allowed to do and gives you the permission to access certain files, tools, media, etc.

For example, After logging in to Facebook or Instagram, we can see our profile or messages, but we cannot access someone’s message, right? So this is a Authorization we have privileges to access only our details.

  • Accounting: Accounting keeps track of what you do after logging in to your account on the device. It is the process of recording your activity, like login time, what you clicked, data used, etc.

For example, like a security camera that logs when you came, what you did, and when you left.

What is IDOR?

IDOR stands for Insecure Direct Object Reference. IDOR is a security issue that happens when a website fails to properly authenticate who is allowed to see or change content. It means the user can gain access to someone else’s private or confidential data just by altering the user ID and file name in the web address(URL).

What are encoding, hashing, and encryption?

  • Encoding: Converts the data in the desired format required for exchange between different systems.
  • Hashing: Maintains the integrity of a message or data. Any change done any day could be noticed.
  • Encryption: Ensures that the data is secure, and one needs a digital verification code or image in order to open it or access it.

What is Cryptography?

Cryptography is the art of hiding information so that only the right person can read it. Basically, we use cryptography to protect the sensitive information so that even if an attacker attains it, they cannot read it. It converts the original message, or we can say the plain text, into something secret code (called encryption), and the receiver can read it only if they have the right key or password to decrypt the message.

For example:

Plain text: I love dosa (before encryption).

Cypher text: $x677%#a (after encryption)

What is SQL injection?

SQL injection is a hacking type where an attacker inserts dangerous or malicious input (code) into a website form or URL to trick the database into doing something it shouldn’t, like showing, changing, or deleting data.

It happens when a website directly uses user input in an SQL query without checking or cleaning it (this is called unsanitised input).

What is the difference between static and dynamic malware analysis?

Static malware analysis:

  • Static analysis examines the malware’s code without running it.
  • Using tools like decompilers or disassemblers, you examine the code to see what the virus is designed to accomplish.
  • It’s like reading the recipe of a dangerous dish without actually cooking it.

Dynamic malware analysis:

  • In dynamic analysis, you run the malware in a safe environment (like a virtual machine) to see what it actually does.
  • You use tools to watch how it behaves, like checking if it creates files, uses the internet, or changes settings.
  •  It’s like testing the dangerous recipe in a protected kitchen to see exactly how it behaves.