Access Control Strategies

Question 1

If a zero-day (never-before-seen) malware strain attempts to connect to your network, which firewall model will automatically block it?

Accepted Answer

A whitelist firewall — A Whitelist firewall blocks everything by default, so an unknown threat will be dropped since it is not explicitly allowed.

Question 2

AUTHENTICATION and AUTHORIZATION differ in that authentication verifies ___ and authorization determines ___.

Accepted Answer

identity; permissions — Authentication confirms identity (login); authorization decides which resources/actions that identity may access.

Question 3

RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) grants permissions based on…

Accepted Answer

Roles assigned to users — Users are assigned roles (e.g. admin, editor), and permissions are bound to roles — simplifying management at scale.

Question 4

ABAC (Attribute-Based Access Control) makes decisions based on…

Accepted Answer

User, resource, and context — ABAC evaluates attributes (department, time, location, resource owner) for fine-grained, context-aware authorization.

Question 5

The Principle of LEAST PRIVILEGE states that a subject should have…

Accepted Answer

Only the minimum needed — Minimizing granted rights limits the damage from compromised accounts or mistakes — a core security principle.

Question 6

An ACL (Access Control List) attaches permissions to…

Accepted Answer

A resource, with allowed subjects — ACLs are per-resource lists (e.g. file permissions) specifying allowed users/groups and their access rights.

Question 7

In DAC (Discretionary Access Control)…

Accepted Answer

Resource owners decide access — DAC lets owners grant/revoke access at their discretion (e.g. file owners sharing files) — flexible but prone to over-sharing.

Question 8

In MAC (Mandatory Access Control)…

Accepted Answer

A central policy/classification — MAC enforces system-wide policy based on security labels (common in military/government); users can't override it.

Question 9

SEPARATION OF DUTIES means…

Accepted Answer

Tasks require multiple people — Splitting sensitive operations (e.g. request vs approve) across roles prevents fraud and reduces insider risk.

Question 10

ZERO TRUST security assumes…

Accepted Answer

No implicit trust for any subject or network — Zero trust authenticates/authorizes every access continuously, rejecting the old assumption that inside-the-perimeter equals trusted.

Allow-list or block-list?

Test your knowledge

If a zero-day (never-before-seen) malware strain attempts to connect to your network, which firewall model will automatically block it?

Interview Questions

References & Further Reading

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