Cyber Security Engineer Interview Questions

Cybersecurity engineers, also known as Information security engineers, identify threats and vulnerabilities in systems and software, then apply their skills to developing and implementing high-tech solutions to defend against hacking, malware and ransomware, insider threats and all types of cybercrime.

Whether you're a job seeker preparing to be interviewed for the role of Cyber Security Engineer or an employer preparing to interview candidates for Cyber Security Engineer position, these Cyber Security Engineer interview questions will help you prepare yourself for the job interview session.

Cyber Security Engineer Interview Questions

Below are a list of some skill-based Cyber Security Engineer interview questions.

1. Talk about your achievements or certifications.
2. Talk about your professional achievements or major projects.
3. What do you do to remain up to date on the latest trends and developments in cybersecurity and the ways to breach that security?
4. What is a man-in-the-middle attack?
5. How do you deal with “man in the middle” attacks?
6. What methods do you use when planning a system's security?
7. Explain the CIA Triad
8. What would you do if you were alerted to a hacking attempt or breach?
9. How do you go about securing a server?
10. Why is Domain Name System (DNS) monitoring important?
11. What’s the difference between hashing, encoding, and encrypting?
12. If you had to compress and encrypt data during a transmission, which would you do first and why?
13. Define the salting process and what it’s used for?
14. Name three means of user authentication.
15. Why are internal threats usually more effective than external?
16. What’s the most effective measure to take against a cross-site request forgery (CSRF)?
17. If you were looking for incoming CSRF attacks, what would you look for?
18. What are the advantages of bug bounty programs over normal testing practices?
19. What tools do you use for security assessment?
20. What tech blogs do you follow?
21. Describe a security issue or crisis that you resolved. 
22. What’s the difference between a threat, a vulnerability, and a risk?
23. What’s the primary reason most companies haven’t fixed their vulnerabilities?
24. Do you have a wireless access point and if so, how do you defend it?
25. If you work with a Linux server, what are three steps you have to take to secure it?
26. You get a call from an executive who tells you to bend company policy and let them use their home device for company work. What do you do?
27. Do you prefer closed ports or filtered ports on your firewall?
28. What are your favorite tools for performing security assessments?
29. If you were to start a job as a Cyber Security Engineer at a major corporation, what would your priorities be?
30. What techniques can be used to prevent a brute-force login attack?
31. What is ARP and when would you use it?
32. What kind of security do you have on your home system?
33. What is a three-way handshake?
34. What kind of problems or anomalies would you look for in an already compromised system?
35. What’s the difference between HTTPS, SSL, and TLS? Which one is more secure?
36. What are the best practices in setting up a VPN?
37. What is cross-site scripting?
38. Have you ever experienced a serious breach?
39. How would you prevent this kind of attack from being successfully carried out?
40. You find a USB flash drive in the parking lot with a “2020 salaries” label on it. What do you do with it?
41. What weak spots or anomalies would you look for in a security system?
42. How do you secure your home network?
43. What’s your process for securing a server/cloud/database?
44. How do you deal with high-pressure environments?
45. How do you stay informed about tech news?

Cyber Security Engineer Interview Questions and Answers

Every interview is different and the questions may vary. However, there are lots of general questions that get asked at every interview.

Below are some common questions you'd expect during Cyber Security Engineer interviews. Click on each question to see how to answer them.

1. What is Your Greatest Strength?
2. Why Do You Want To Leave Your Current Job?
3. What is Your Salary Expectation?
4. What Is Your Greatest Accomplishment?
5. Why Do You Want This Job?
6. Do You Have Any Questions for Us?
7. Are You a Leader or a Follower?
8. Why Should We Hire You?
9. What is Your Greatest Weakness?
10. Tell Me About Yourself