Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting computers, servers, mobile devices, electronic systems, networks, and data from digital attacks, theft, and damage. As the world becomes increasingly dependent on technology and the internet, cybersecurity has become a critical issue for individuals, organizations, and governments. With the increasing number of cyber threats, there is a wide range of cybersecurity trivia questions that can be asked, whether you're a cybersecurity professional, a student, or simply someone who is interested in the subject.
Here are some examples of cybersecurity trivia questions you might come across: What is the name of a software program designed to prevent, detect, and remove computer viruses? What is the name of a type of cyber attack that uses social engineering tactics to trick people into giving away sensitive information? What is the name of a security measure that encrypts data before it is sent over the internet? How many types of cyber attacks are there? These questions cover a wide range of cybersecurity topics, from the types of threats and vulnerabilities to the technologies and practices used to protect against them.
In addition to the various technical aspects of cybersecurity, there are also many fun and interesting facts to learn about cybersecurity. For example, did you know that the software program designed to prevent, detect, and remove computer viruses is called antivirus software? Or that a type of cyber attack that uses social engineering tactics to trick people into giving away sensitive information is called phishing? These trivia questions will not only test your knowledge but also give you a glimpse into the many fascinating aspects of cybersecurity, the history of its development, the different types of cyber threats, and its impact on the society and economy.
133 Cybersecurity Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2024)
- A fraudulent email pretending to be from your bank and asking for your login information is a classic example of what kind of simple cyberattack, which is by far the most common cyberattack on the internet?
Answer: Phishing
- What “B” is a type of identity-based data whose examples include fingerprints, DNA, and handwritten text?
Answer: Biometric
- In the context of password generation, for what does the acronym OTP stand? The term dynamic password is often used synonymously with OTP.
Answer: One-time password
- Stored digital data is said to be “at” what if it’s inactive? (Hint: As opposed to being “in motion” when moving in a network)
Answer: Rest
- When a password is limited strictly to numeric characters, the secret is often referred to as a PIN. What does that acronym stand for?
Answer: Personal Identification Number
- What term is used for a testing environment in a computer system in which new or untested software or coding can be run securely? In a different context, this term refers to a children’s play area.
Answer: Sandbox
- It sounds like a row of safety plugs, but SSL is actually an Internet encryption protocol. What is SSL an acronym for?
Answer: Secure Sockets Layer
- On June 7, 2021, the Department of Justice announced that it had seized approximately $2.3 million worth of what cryptocurrency from the Darkside Colonial Pipeline hackers?
Answer: Bitcoin
- Deepwatch is a cybersecurity company that has offers threat management with real time monitoring since 2015. It is headquartered in what state that's home to Rocky Mountain National Park?
Answer: Colorado
- Although cartoon bears might like it, a hacker might not enjoy being tricked into hacking what sweet-sounding, eight-letter decoy computer system that's purposely made to attract attackers to gain insight into how to decrease cybersecurity threats?
Answer: Honeypot
- Which term related to designing houses can also describe the underlying cybersecurity structure, as well as the technology and policies that support it?
Answer: Architecture
- In 2022, which government entity got told off for requiring American citizens to verify their identity with a facial recognition program (ID.me) before they could get their tax records?
Answer: Internal Revenue Service
- It sounds like something a hacking hound would do, but which term describes watching for and catching data packets passing through a network’s traffic?
Answer: Sniffing
- What “J” cybersecurity company based out of Denver, CO offers an automated server management tool? Its name is a compound word, which kind of sounds like it’s commanding a cumulonimbus to leap.
Answer: JumpCloud
- "CoaLMine105" is easy to pull up with a new password manager Microsoft Edge released in a preview channel named for what frequently yellow type of bird?
Answer: Canary
- Massimiliano Montoro developed a password cracking tool for Windows that was named after what biblical pair of brothers with a notable, fatal head-cracking in their story?
Answer: Cain and Abel
- What professional social networking site announced a theft of 6.5 million usernames and passwords in 2012, and an even bigger hack of 117 million passwords in 2016?
Answer: LinkedIn
- What company, founded in 2003 by Dean Drako in Campbell, CA, offers security on networks and clouds? Its name is the same as a dangerous fish chronicled in a 1977 song by the band Heart.
Answer: Barracuda
- What “M” computer security company, founded by namesake John in 1987 before being acquired by Intel in 2011, is well known for its anti-virus software that is available to individual consumers?
Answer: McAfee
- What “M” cybersecurity Technologies company, based out of Commerce, CA, offers managed IT services across the country? Its name is also a plural of a measurement of 5,280 feet.
Answer: Miles Technologies
- A cyberattack in which the attacker intercepts and alters data as it is transmitted between two parties is known as an MitM attack - what do the letters MitM stand for?
Answer: Man-in-the-middle
- What type of security—OPSEC for short—helps make sure that the sensitive info in your system does not end up in ill-intentioned hands? (Hint: It’s also called procedural security)
Answer: Operational
- What term is used for the most basic level or core of an operating system, responsible for resource allocation, file management and security? In a different context, this word can also mean the seed and hard husk of a cereal.
Answer: Kernel
- What does the first "D" stand for in the common cybercrime known as a DDoS attack?
Answer: Distributed (Distributed Denial-of-Service)
- What color team are the operators who try to block a mock attack on their system?
Answer: Blue
- Titan Rain was a series of attacks on U.S. computers that started in 2003. The hackers gained access to defense networks at places like Lockheed Martin and NASA. Which country did the attacks originate from?
Answer: China
- In 2015, over 25 gigabytes of user data was famously leaked by a group self-named "The Impact Team", exposing people seeking extramarital affairs on which two-word Canadian dating network? Both words are common girls' names.
Answer: Ashley Madison
- What is the 6-letter term for a group of computers that is networked together and used by hackers to steal information?
Answer: Botnet
- What is the name of the Austin-based software business founded by brothers David and Donald Yonce considered to be in the middle of the December 2020 Federal government hack?
Answer: SolarWinds
- Doug Engelbart was the inventor of what computer accessory? The first one was made from wood.
Answer: Mouse
- The "man without a head" is the emblem of what Guy Fawkes-lovin' hacker group that reemerged in 2020?
Answer: Anonymous
- You probably are more familiar with the discipline from watching “CSI,” but which scientific field can also be applied to computing—specifically, to investigate how technology is used in criminal activity?
Answer: Forensics
- One way to intercept internet or phone conversations through covert means takes its name from an actual physical interference with an important cable to overhear others. Today, the seven-letter term is still used in relation to listening to something that one should not hear (such as a pass word). What is this term?
Answer: Wiretap
- The four principle wireless encryption standards available at most access points are WPA, WPA2, WPA3, and which less-secure fourth option?
Answer: WEP
- Founded by Austrian activist, attorney, and author Max Schrems, the acronym in the non-profit organization NOYB – European Center for Digital Rights stands for what phrase that seemingly advises others to mind their own and to not be nosy?
Answer: None Of Your Business
- If a friendly horse offers you something online that turns out to be malware, that's a cyberattack named for a siege on what ancient city?
Answer: Troy
- If you want to make sense of ciphertext, you’ll need a key to decrypt it. What’s the name for the readable, plain language text it turns into?
Answer: Plaintext
- A concept borrowed from ol’ Westerns, a “black hat” hacker has nefarious purposes (like stealing data to sell), while a “white hat” hacker is often doing their work on behalf of their employer (or at least, with their permission). Which third hacker with what color hat is sort of between the two—they don’t have permission to hack, but they also don’t exploit any vulnerabilities they find?
Answer: Grey
- Which term that’s borrowed from a busy emergency room full of patients in need of medical attention refers to automatically (e.g., by using technology) assigning priority to cybersecurity alerts?
Answer: Triage
- What identity theft protection company with two “L” words stuck together was acquired by Symantec in 2017 and now shares its name with Norton? Their logo is a yellow circle that has been filled in with a check mark.
Answer: LifeLock
- Which D-term describes the field of forensics that would investigate cybercrime?
Answer: Digital
- What term is given to a software application that automatically downloads or displays marketing banners or pop-ups when a user is online?
Answer: Adware
- What drama thriller TV show stars Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson, a cybersecurity engineer and hacker with social anxiety disorder, clinical depression, and dissociative identity disorder?
Answer: Mr. Robot
- What is the two word term for the type of cybersecurity breach in which a user is convinced to disclose secrets due to an exploitation of trust and reliance on cognitive biases? In short, this is a type of attack focused on human gatekeepers of information rather than the computer system itself.
Answer: Social engineering
- No flexibility on your answers: launched in 2006, Amazon's EC2 stands for WHAT Compute Cloud?
Answer: Elastic
- Which term borrowed from a wet weather event refers to a cyber attack that sends more traffic into a system than it can handle? (Hint: It’s a more layperson-friendly term for a Denial of Service attack)
Answer: Flooding
- According to a former Facebook employee, the company used to have a master password that could unlock any user's account. This password was a variation on the name of what martial artist and actor, perhaps because he definitely couldn't be considered "too weak"?
Answer: Chuck Norris
- In 2017 and 2018, "CryptoKitties" were sold for thousands of dollars at auction, attracting attention to this game which was built on what type of cryptographic technology?
Answer: Blockchain
- Google’s reCAPTCHA protects websites from getting spammed by making users complete a visual task (like picking out all the bicycles in a photo). It’s an example of which famous test to tell humans from machines? (Hint: It was originally called “the imitation game”).
Answer: Turing
- The U.S. National Cyber Security Division opened for the first time in 2003 and is currently housed within what Federal Department? John Kelly, Kirstjen Nielsen, and Kevin McAleenan all served as Secretary of this Department during the Trump administration.
Answer: Department of Homeland Security
- In 1988, the Morris Worm was created (and released) just to see whether it could be pulled off. As it spread via the Internet, mayhem (and a criminal conviction) followed. It was the first major example of which “highly infectious” computer security threat?
Answer: Virus
- In June 2022, which Maryland-based global hotel chain experienced its third major cybersecurity breach in four years, with guest credit card data and internal business info being among the data compromised by the hack (which was an attempt to extort money from the company)?
Answer: Marriott
- Rami Malek won an Emmy playing brilliant but unstable cybersecurity expert and vigilante hacker Elliot Alderson on what USA Network series that aired from 2015 to 2019?
Answer: Mr. Robot
- What term beginning with F is a method used to discover errors or potential vulnerabilities in software?
Answer: Fuzzing
- According to its website, what cybersecurity company – whose motto is “Human error. Conquered.” – deems itself as the “world’s first and largest New-school security awareness training and simulated phishing platform”?
Answer: KnowBe4
- Norton AntiVirus is an anti-malware and anti-virus software package that has been developed and distributed by what company since 1991? This parent company has a portmanteau'd name and was first publicly traded in 1989.
Answer: Symantec
- Which scripting language/engine that’s great for automating tasks on Windows can also be used to manage cybersecurity?
Answer: PowerShell
- A global ransomware attack on Windows computers that occurred in May 2017 came from a virus with what "tearful" name?
Answer: WannaCry
- With the first name Peter, which programmer released a series of computer utilities in 1982, which included Unerase, a utility to find deleted files? His name is well known in anti-virus software
Answer: Norton
- “PoW” is a way to track new crypto creation on the blockchain and (hopefully) deter spammers and malicious attacks. What does PoW stand for?
Answer: Proof-of-Work
- In 1999, the National Security Agency banned what popular toy from its premises over concerns that the toy might be able to record and repeat classified information? Roger Shiffman, owner of Tiger Electronics, later stated that the toy "has absolutely no ability to do any recording whatsoever."
Answer: Furby
- What “H” cybersecurity company based in Miami, FL offers cybersecurity services and related training to corporations? It sounds like a college for people who want to use computers to get access to unauthorized data.
Answer: HackerU
- Known for apps like Words With Friends and Draw Something, what game company suffered a password breach of more than 170 million accounts in September 2019?
Answer: Zynga
- What type of virus is described as malware which disguises itself as a normal program, which shares its name with a notable horse that invaded the ancient city of Troy during a famous 12th century B.C. war?
Answer: Trojan
- Which term is used to describe the “cargo” that malware brings with it when it infects a device?
Answer: Payload
- Which security symbol usually associated with keys appears in the search bar to show that the connection between the web browser and website is encrypted?
Answer: Padlock
- What four-letter word is the name of the Malware that appeared in October 2001 and spread by getting to everyone in a user’s Outlook address book?
Answer: Klez
- What type of password checking strategy is when a system checks its own passwords to see how “crackable” they are and notifies users of any that are vulnerable?
Answer: Reactive
- What cybersecurity term meshes the words “software” and “malicious” together to describe bad programs that are used to infect a system?
Answer: Malware
- What two word term is given to the principle of proactively implementing a spectrum of security measures to strengthen a network or system to make it more robust against attack?
Answer: Active Defence
- What is the term for an administrative decision to change the security measures afforded to information based on a reassessment of the potential impact of its unauthorized disclosure?
Answer: Reclassification
- What term is given to a way of harvesting personal information, where a hacker puts a malicious code on your computer that redirects you to a fake site?
Answer: Pharming
- What two-word term refers to the hidden shares that happen through private channels that can’t be tracked by web analytics?
Answer: Dark Social
- What type of attack facilitates the passing of info along a channel that shouldn’t be able to permit the transfer?
Answer: Covert channel
- What term beginning with D is the intentional online exposure of an individual’s identity, private information or personal details without their consent?
Answer: Doxing
- What is the name of the software framework developed and maintained by Microsoft that was first built in the late 1990s and continues to primarily run on Windows machines with the C# language? Fun fact: This is a key piece of the Water Cooler Trivia stack.
Answer: .NET
- According to the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies, what "A" word means "an individual, group, organization, or government that conducts or has the intent to conduct detrimental activities?"
Answer: Adversary
- Which type of “bomb” is a bit of code put into software that is set up to trigger a malicious function if certain conditions are met? For example, some computer worms were infamously designed to attack on certain dates, like Friday the 13th.
Answer: Logic
- Put into effect in 2018, the European Union's GDPR is considered one of the world's toughest privacy laws. GDPR stands for "General Data WHAT Regulation." What word is missing?
Answer: Protection
- The first documented case of cyber espionage occurred between September 1986 and June 1987 and was committed by hackers from what Western European nation? The hackers, led by Markus Hess, sold information gathered from American military bases, universities, and defense contractors to the Soviet Union.
Answer: Germany
- What is the term in network security for an attack where a person or program allows themselves to be identified as someone else by falsifying data? It is no laughing matter, but when the word is used in film, it can be.
Answer: Spoof
- What colorful apparel is also a two-word term for a computer security expert who engages in “ethical hacking” to help expose and fix security flaws within a company’s information system?
Answer: White hat
- What is the name of the computer worm, which was first uncovered in 2010, that was used in a cyberattack to ruin nearly 20% of Iran's nuclear centrifuges, setting their program back years?
Answer: Stuxnet
- Starting with "C," what kind of "jacking" involves a hacker tricking another user into installing a seemingly harmless yet malicious program onto their computer and using the device's computing power to mine virtual currency?
Answer: Cryptojacking
- In May 2021, the FBI declared that what ransomware group was responsible for the cyberattacks that forced the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline petroleum networks?
Answer: Darkside
- Founded by Jay Chaudhry in 2007 and based in San Jose California, which cloud security company has the NASDAQ code ZS?
Answer: ZScaler
- Which term that you might use to describe an oil tanker disaster can also describe a data breach?
Answer: Spill
- In the Marx Brothers classic Horse Feathers, what's the password Groucho gives to gain admission to Chico's speakeasy? This word was later used as the title of a 2001 film about computer hackers.
Answer: Swordfish
- What “F” cybersecurity company, which offers firewalls and anti-virus protection among other services, was founded in 2000 in Sunnyvale, CA by Ken Xie? Their logo is the letter “O” formed by red blocks.
Answer: Fortinet
- What kind of “poisoning” technique involves hackers inserting malicious links into websites that are engineered to rank high on Google, thereby tricking people into clicking them when they search for something?
Answer: SEO
- What R term is an administrative decision to change the security measures afforded to information based on a reassessment of the potential impact of its unauthorised disclosure?
Answer: Reclassification
- What “D” term refers to a group of computers, printers and devices that are interconnected and governed as a whole? The word can also be used to describe a specified area of knowledge.
Answer: Domain
- “OAuth” is short for which type of authorization where you can use your login credentials for one app to grant a third-party app limited access or permissions without having to give it your password?
Answer: Open
- Which cybersecurity framework states that a network is always at risk from outside and inside threats, that every user should be verified every time, and that users should only have as much access as they need?
Answer: ZeroTrust
- Formally approved by the U.S. Department of Defense, what is the name of the information security certification known by a five-letter initialism with ~148,000 qualified holders as of January 20211? The organization overseeing this certification was formed in mid-1989 as a non-profit.
Answer: CISSP
- What term refers to the removal of information from a document to ensure that information remains private or secret from a wide audience?
Answer: Redaction
- What is the name of the security company founded in 2006 by two Harvard Business School students who couldn't find a security company designed to help renters? The couple was interested in the field after multiple friends in Cambridge had experienced break-ins. By 2014, the company has raised more than $50 million in venture capital.
Answer: Simplisafe
- Besides being an actual witch, what "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" character played by Alyson Hannigan was also a skilled computer hacker?
Answer: Willow
- The cybersecurity startup Island received $11 million in funding from what Bosack and Lerner-founded San Jose tech giant that pioneered the LAN?
Answer: Cisco Systems
- According to an analysis by the UK's National Cyber Security Centre that investigated passwords belonging to hacked accounts worldwide, what is the most common six-letter "word" that is used for passwords that don't require numbers or punctuation?
Answer: Qwerty
- What portmanteau term is given to a hacker whose motivation is political, religious or ideological, as opposed to criminal?
Answer: Hacktivist
- What term beginning with F is an automated software testing method that injects invalid, malformed, or unexpected inputs into a system to reveal software defects and vulnerabilities?
Answer: Fuzzer
- Which kind of interface is slow because transmits digital information bit by bit over a wire?
Answer: Serial
- An exploit payload is sometimes called by what other name that makes it sound like something a beach-bum hacker would spot on the sand?
Answer: Shellcode
- What “S” company, founded in 2001 by Eric Basu, offers security program and risk management to the US government?
Answer: Sentek Global
- What colorful term is given to a security mechanism prohibiting the execution of any program that is not on a pre-approved list of software?
Answer: Whitelist
- Headquartered (somewhat ironically?) in Santa Clara, California, what is the name of the American cybersecurity company that serves 85 of the Fortune 100 and is the home to both the Unit 42 threat research team and the Ignite cybersecurity conference?
Answer: Palo Alto Networks
- When the full extent of the 2020 SolarWinds-focused cyberattack on the U.S. federal government was starting to be understood, Microsoft's president described the attack as "largest and most sophisticated the world has ever seen." The malware responsible for the attack was named for what astronomical-sounding explosion?
Answer: Sunburst
- What “S” startup company, which started in London and Tel Aviv, offers security across all aspects of cloud computing? The four-letter company has a cartoon Doberman as its logo.
Answer: Snyk
- What is the two-word ursine name of the Russian cyber espionage group, also known as APT28, thought to be operating since the 2000s
Answer: Fancy Bear
- What was the spooky name of the first computer worm, created in 1971, that could be defeated by the first antivirus software (aptly named Reaper)?
Answer: Creeper
- What term is given to a built-in failsafe mechanism in the VPN app that’s designed to prevent your actual IP address from being exposed to your ISP?
Answer: Kill Switch
- What kind of malware places itself deep inside a computer’s code, allowing for the hacker to have remote control? Maybe control by a band co-founded by Tarik “Black Thought” Trotter in 1987.
Answer: Rootkit
- What “I” Labs, based out of Bristol, UK, offers cybersecurity training to help companies deal with cyber threats? Its name is a word that can be used to describe a three-dimensional image that surrounds a user.
Answer: Immersive Labs
- What pair of keys—private and public—work together to do different, but complementary, cybersecurity tasks like encrypting and decrypting?
Answer: Asymmetric
- What C-word cybersecurity firm based in Austin has a one-word compound name that implies it can attack problems quickly across a variety of software? Its logo is a red hawk swooping in, just like bad luck on July 18, 2024.
Answer: CrowdStrike
- What term is given to a malicious technique by which a victim is tricked into clicking on a URL, button or other screen object other than that intended by or perceived by the user?
Answer: Clickjacking
- An ACE is when a hacker spots a flaw that gives them an easy in, gains control, and can then run whatever code they want. What does ACE stand for?
Answer: Arbitrary Code Execution
- What virus, which spread widely in 1999, is said to have been named by its creator, programmer David Lee Smith, after an exotic dancer in Florida?
Answer: Melissa
- What term beginning with "G" describes a software project that is developed from scratch rather than built from an existing program?
Answer: Greenfield
- Wazuh is a free, open-source software for threat detection and integrity monitoring. Its logo resembles a coyote, and is made out of what color?
Answer: Blue
- Passwords have commonly been involved in military use for centuries. In the opening of the Battle of Normandy, U.S. paratroopers would use the password "flash" which was required to be answered by what related "counterpassword?"
Answer: Thunder
- Which cybersecurity company founded by a team of former NSA employees in 2015 is based in Maryland and calls itself “the managed security platform for the 99%?”
Answer: Huntress
- A user that should not have access to a network gaining access to it is a “leaky” example of what kind of gap or problem in a system that makes a cybersecurity threat more likely to succeed?
Answer: Vulnerability
- Turn to the side and tell me: what P-term is any form of automated processing of personal data that consists of the use of personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person?
Answer: Profiling
- What university initially maintained the text file named HOSTS.TXT that mapped host names to the numerical addresses of computers on the ARPANET?
Answer: Stanford
- What is the term for a fake warning about a virus or other piece of malicious code? It usually takes the form of an e-mail or other message warning the reader of a dangerous new virus and suggesting that the reader pass the message on.
Answer: Hoax
- Also called a “jump box” or “jump server,” what kind of host is used to manage remote access to a private network from an external one (e.g., for authorized users connecting through the Internet)?
Answer: Bastion
- In iOS and Safari, how many characters long are their generated passwords, made letters, numbers, hyphens and special characters?
Answer: 20
- What two-word term is given to malicious or misleading data from a remote name server is saved by another name server?
Answer: Cache Poisoning
- What “C” cybersecurity company based out of Israel offers cybersecurity protection for the computer systems inside of cars? In 2021, the company was acquired by LG.
Answer: Cybellum
- What sort of tracking involves inserting an intermediary link between you and the website you want to visit, allowing a tracker to know you and/or your interests, and thus use this data to sell more targeted ads.
Answer: Bounce Tracking
- What global cybersecurity company based out of Burlington, MA has a name that sounds like a subtle difference?
Answer: Nuance Global Security
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About the Author
Eli Robinson is the Chief Trivia Officer at Water Cooler Trivia. He was once in a Bruce Springsteen cover band called F Street Band.
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