Certified Network Defender (CND)

Last checked October 22, 2026 against the official EC-Council exam page.

1. Question 1Administrative and Technical Network Security

   Which control enforces least privilege for network device administration?

   1. AA shared administrator account, so that the team can share the same access easily
   2. BTelnet access from any internal host, so that administrators can log in quickly
   3. CThe default vendor passwords, which are kept unchanged so that the team never gets locked out
   4. DRole-based access with individual accounts, centrally authenticated through AAA such as TACACS+
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   Correct answer: D

   Individual accounts with role-based permissions, authenticated centrally through AAA, enforce least privilege and provide accountability. Shared accounts, Telnet and default passwords each weaken administration.

2. Question 2Perimeter and Endpoint Security

   Where should a web server that is exposed to the internet typically be placed?

   1. AIn a DMZ, with firewall rules that restrict its access to the internal network
   2. BInside the internal LAN with no firewall between the web server and the internal hosts
   3. COn the same VLAN as the finance servers, so that its management is simpler to coordinate
   4. DOn a staff member's personal laptop, which the staff member keeps running during the working day
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   Correct answer: A

   A DMZ isolates internet-facing servers, and firewall rules restrict what they can reach inside the network. Placing the web server inside the LAN, on the finance VLAN or on a laptop exposes internal systems.

3. Question 3Data and Application Security

   Which control protects data in transit between a client and a web server?

   1. AHashing the user's password, which protects the stored password in the database only
   2. BFull-disk encryption on the client laptop, which protects data that is stored on the device
   3. CTLS, which encrypts the data as it moves between the client and the server
   4. DPrinter settings that restrict which users may print the documents sent from the web server
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   Correct answer: C

   TLS encrypts data in transit between the client and server. Password hashing and disk encryption protect data at rest, and printer settings are unrelated.

4. Question 4Network Attacks and Defence Strategy

   An attacker sends a flood of TCP SYN packets to a server and never completes the handshakes, so that many connections stay half-open. Which attack is this?

   1. AA SYN flood, a denial-of-service attack that exhausts half-open connection resources
   2. BAn SQL injection that changes the database queries sent by the web application
   3. CA cross-site scripting attack that runs script in the browser of each visitor to the site
   4. DA phishing campaign that sends emails to staff asking them to confirm their credentials
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   Correct answer: A

   A SYN flood sends SYN packets without completing handshakes, which exhausts the server's half-open connection resources. SQL injection, cross-site scripting and phishing are different attack types.

5. Question 5Enterprise Cloud and Wireless Security

   In cloud security, which model defines which security tasks belong to the provider and which belong to the customer?

   1. AShared hosting, which places many customers on one server without defining any separate roles
   2. BThe shared responsibility model, which divides security duties between the provider and the customer
   3. CA public cloud with no responsibilities defined, since the provider handles all of the security
   4. DHosted DNS, which resolves domain names for the services that the customer runs in the cloud
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   Correct answer: B

   The shared responsibility model divides security duties between the cloud provider and the customer. Shared hosting, an undefined public cloud and hosted DNS do not define responsibilities.