1.What are the advantages of ISO 27001 certification for the organization?

An ISO 27001 certification is an achievement for any organization. The advantages of this
certification are as follows-

● Protection the organization from cyber attacks

● Maintaining the confidentiality of the organization.
● The ability of a hacker to access confidential information is minimized.
● It ensures legal protection.
● The organization is protected against data theft.
● The availability of IT systems and processes is ensured.
● Financial loss and damage to reputation are mitigated.
● IT risks and potential damage are mitigated.
● IT risks are controlled.
● The weak areas are exposed and rectified.
● The compliance requirements are met.
● Expenses are reduced
● An ISO 27001 certification proves that the organization has a well-defined system to
handle cyber attacks and cybersecurity.
● The framework is used to handle many compliance requirements, like PCI and NIST.
● This certification offers a framework for technology and people. This framework ensures
that technology and people adhere to the requirements of the organization.

2.What are the aims of the ISO 27001 certification?

The ISO 27001 certification aims towards a centrally controlled management system. It protects
information consistently. Additionally, it ensures effective monitoring to cut down threats to
business processes. It also effectively curbs IT security risks.

3.What is the validity of your ISO 27001 certification?

The ISO certification is valid for three years.

4.Which areas are assessed for the ISO 27001 certification?

The following areas are assessed following the ISO 27001 certification-

● Guidelines of Information security

● Asset management
● Security of staff
● Supplier relationships
● Cryptography
● Compliance
● Access control
● Physical And environmental-related security
● Purchasing, developing and maintaining systems
 ● Communication security
● Information security aspects of managing business continuity
● Operational security

5.What is meant by risk assessment according to ISO 27001 certification?

Risk management is an integral part of ISO 27000 certification. According to ISO 27001

certification, risk assessment helps organizations identify, analyze, and evaluate the information
security processes’ weaknesses.

6.What is the purpose behind the ISO 27001 certification?

Every company has certain standards for maintaining its data and information. The purpose
behind ISO 27001 certification is to provide a framework for such standards. This certification
teaches employees to protect the information, not be IT engineers.

7.Which industries need ISO 27001 certified employees?

Basically, any industry that handles sensitive data needs ISO 27001 certified professionals.A few
examples of such industries are as follows-

● Financial industry
● IT companies
● Government agencies
● Telecom industry

8.What is ISO 27001 all about?

ISO 27001 provides the method so that companies may find out which potential risks may
happen to them. Then, ISO 27001 defines certain procedures to change the behavior of
employees. The changed behavior of employees prevents such incidents from getting repeated.

9.Is ISO 27001 only necessary for IT companies?

A common misconception is that ISO 27001 certification only benefits IT companies especially
IT Project Managers. However, this certification is less about IT and more about protecting
information. All industries are prone to security breaches. Many such industries use sub-standard
technology for protecting their sensitive information. Most of their employees are not even
familiar with the technology. It has limited scope to prevent cybercrime or data theft.

 It is where ISO 27001 comes into play. It outlines a method for all the industries to find out
what could happen to them. Then, it defines the procedures for changing employee behavior. A
changed employee behavior prevents such incidents from repeating. So, any organization that
has sensitive information to be protected needs ISO 27001. The organization may be private or
government. It may be a profitable organization or non-profit.
10.Why is ISO 27001 certification needed for the Banking sector?

 Laws related to protecting data are the strictest in the banking sector. ISO 27001 is the ideal
method to achieve compliance. So, presenting it to the executives is simple. The joyous news?
The lawyers have based their laws according to ISO 27001 guidelines.

The financial sector contains data about how much money an individual has in which bank.

 Also, a popular English proverb says, “Prevention is better than cure.” It is better to prevent data
theft from occurring than to deal with its consequences. The banking sector needs to take the
most prompt action when it comes to protecting sensitive data. So, ISO 27001 certification is
necessary for this sector.

11.Why is ISO 27001 certification necessary in the health care sector?

The health care industry needs to protect the records of its patients. The pharmaceutical
companies protect the data they are acquiring with certain formulae. The manufacturing industry
requires to protect data related to a particular part they are manufacturing. So, this sector is in
urgent need of ISO 27001 certification.

12.Why does the telecom industry need an ISO 27001 certification?

The telecom industry protects massive data. Of late, after a few massive natural disasters hit
certain countries, the telecom industry has faced multiple outages. So, the industry has acquired
loads of data for rectifying the outage. ISO 27001 provides a framework for protecting sensitive
data.

Also, the regulations of the telecom industry are on the rise. So, ISO 27001 certification Is of
prime importance in this sector to protect the data.

13.What are a few common steps for passing the ISO 27001 certification?

ISO 27001 certification needs a lot of preparation. Let us find out a few common steps for
passing this certification-

● Preparation
● Establishing the context, scope, and objectives
● Conducting a risk assessment
● Establishing a management framework
● Implementing controls to mitigate risks
● Conducting training
● Reviewing and updating the necessary documents
● Measuring, monitoring, and reviewing
● Conducting internal audits
 ● Registration/certification audits

14.ISO 27001 certification compulsory for an organization?

An ISO 27001 certification increases the standard of the organization. However, it is not
mandatory for compliance.

15.What are the domains of ISO 27001?

ISO 27001 has several domains. They are as follows-

● Security policy
● Organization of information security
● Human resources security
● Asset management
● Physical and environmental security
● Operation and communication management
● Access control
● Acquiring, maintaining, and developing information systems
● Managing information security
● Managing business continuity
● Compliance

16.What is the difference between ISO 27001 and ISO 27002?

ISO 27001 is a standard. Organizations seek the certification to achieve the standard. On the
other hand, ISO 27002 is a code of practice. ISO 27002 provides additional guidelines regarding
the information for security controls identified in Annex A of ISO 27001-2013.

17.What does an ISO 27001 audit mean?

 Every organization undergoes an audit to evaluate the Information Security Management

System. Such audits are done against ISO 27001-2013 standard and internal requirements. The
purpose of the audit is to determine that an organization is using its information security policy
to protest itself against potential threats. These audits are known as ISO 27001 audits. They may
be external or internal. Certain factors pose a threat to the availability, confidentiality, and
integrity of sensitive information. An ISO 27001 audit checks whether the organization is
equipped to deal with such threats.

18.What is the meaning of Annex A of ISO 27001:2013 standard?

Annex A of the standard has114 controls. They are organized into fourteen categories according
to categories. They deal with multiple issues, such as-

● Transmission and encryption of data

● Information security training
 ● Physical security
● Access management

19.Which level of background screening is needed for iSO 27001 compliance?

The concept of performing background screening on all employees is a fundamental part of all
Information security standards. The organizations need to be sure about the people who get
access to confidential information. The background screening reflects a particular gradient. For
example,- an accountant goes through a bare minimum background check with an extra credit
check. On the other hand, a candidate applying for a legal advisor’s Post is granted more access
to sensitive data than an accountant. So, the legal advisor needs more background screening.

20.Is ISO 27001 certification sufficient to meet GDPR?

GDPR covers the processing and security of data.-Only ISO 27001 certification is not enough to
get compliance with GDPR.

21.Does ISO 27001 impact the staff of the organization?

Yes, ISO 27001 certification has the potential to impact the staff of the organization. All the ISO
27001 certified organizations have to ensure that they complete staff awareness training. In the
absence of staff awareness training, the organization’s information and management system may
be at risk. In case a major change is introduced to storing, archiving, and retrieving data, the ISO
27001 training will affect the staff.

22.Is it possible to do ISO 27001 and GDPR simultaneously?

Yes, it is possible to do ISO 27001 and GDPR simultaneously.

23.How reliable is an ISO 27001 certification?

An ISO 27001 is of utmost reliability.

24.What else is new about ISO 27001? Is it only about risk?

ISO 27001 is not only about risk. It involves plenty of other changes. For example,- management
has an additional responsibility in IT risk management and IT Service Management There will
also be more flexibility in your selection of risk methods.

25.Does it takes a great effort to shift to the new ISO 27001?

There is nothing to worry about if the company is already ISO 27001 certified. However, ISO
27001 is not only full of technical demands for security or internal audit. The 2005 version of the
draft matches the 2013 version. The prime difference between the two versions is that its
presentation has changed. The 2013 version has sharper formulations. Certain areas have been
made more flexible.

26.How is the mapping between NIST SP 800-53 controls and ISO 27001?

Yes, the mapping between NIST SP- 800-53 and ISO 27001 is good.

27.Will the management have to face any consequences if they do not live up to
compliance?

If any company has decided to appoint a risk owner, they will face the consequence of not living
up to compliance. Not living up to compliance may have an impact on ISO 27001 certification. It
may result in a reprimand during audit visits.

28.Why was ISO 24001:2013 published?

International standards need to be frequently revised. Management systems evolve, reflect, and
mature the changing requirements globally. As a result, they become widely used. So, we have
ISO 27001:2013.

29.What does ISO 27001:2013 certification mean to organizations?

 The national accreditation bodies will publish a few transition rules. The rules will outline how
to shift from a 2005 standard certified management to the 2013 standard certified management.
The major changes will be in the following areas-

● Structural aspects
● The process they have used for continuous aspects
● Their approach towards risk assessment
● Documentation.

30.Why do you want to use SSH from a Windows computer?

Multiple organizations use a secure connection known as SSH on a host of different systems and
dedicated appliances. The actual SSH protocol can be implemented on a variety of systems.
Programs like Filezilla have Windows ports available. They simplify the connectivity for
Windows ports and Linux users.

31.What is the meaning of a POST code?

When a system refuses to boot, Post is the best system available. The specific POST codes may
highlight what an organization doesn’t like about its current set up. This highlighting is done by
using display LEDs in modern systems. However, the minimum required components to boot
need to be available before applying for the POST code.

32.How would you differentiate between Black Hat and White Hat?

A computer hacker who violates cybersecurity out of maliciousness or for some personal gain is
a Black Hat hacker. They break into secure networks intending to steal or modify data. They are
illegal hacking groups.

White Hat hackers are groups of ethical hackers.

 They are computer security experts who specialize in different methods of computer testing. 
They ensure the information system of an organization.

Top 20 interview questions to prepare for ISO27001 Lead Auditor

1. How would traceroute help you find out where a breakdown in communication is?
Ans. With the help of tracert or traceroute, you can see what routers you touch as you move
along the chain of connections to your final destination. However, if you end up with a problem
where you can’t connect or can’t ping your final destination, a tracert can help in that regard in
locating where the chain of connections stops. With this information, you can contact your own
firewall, your ISP, your destination’s ISP or somewhere in the middle.
 
2. Why would you want to use SSH from a Windows PC?
SSH (TCP port 22) is a secure connection used on many different systems and dedicated
appliances. Routers, Switches, SFTP servers and insecure programs being tunneled through this
port all can be used to help in hardening a connection against eavesdropping. Even though most
of the times when you hear about somebody ‘SSHing’ into a box it involves Linux, the SSH
protocol itself is actually implemented on a wide variety of systems. Programs like PuTTY,
Filezilla and others have Windows ports available, which allow Windows users the same ease-
of-use connectivity to these devices as do Linux users.
3. What’s the difference between Symmetric and Asymmetric encryption?
Symmetric encryption uses the same key to encrypt and decrypt, which is much faster but
difficult to implement most times because you would have to transfer the key over an
unencrypted channel. 
On the other hand, asymmetric uses different keys for encryption and decryption. 
4. What is SSL and why is it not enough when it comes to encryption?
Ans. SSL is identity verification, not hard data encryption. It is designed to be able to prove the
other end’s person’s identity who you are having a conversation with.
 SSL and its big TLS are used by almost everyone, but the problem is because the visibility is
maximum, it is a huge target and is mainly attacked via its implementation (The Heartbleed bug
for example) and its known methodology. As a result, SSL can be stripped in certain
circumstances, so additional protections for data-in-transit and data-at-rest are needed to be
prepared.
5. What does a POST code mean?
Ans. POST is one of the best tools available when a system will not boot. Normally through the
use of display LEDs in more modern systems or traditionally through audio tones, these specific
codes can tell you what the system doesn’t like about its current setup. Because of the rare nature
of this, unless you are on a tech bench day in and day out, reference materials such as the
Motherboard manual and your search engine of choice can be tremendous assets. Few pointers to
remember about this are:

o Access to the minimum required components to boot

o Access to all of your connections on the correct pins.

 
6. What is the difference between a Black Hat and a White Hat?
Ans. A black hat hacker is a hacker who violates computer security for personal gain or
maliciousness. Black hat hackers are the stereotypical illegal hacking groups often portrayed in
popular culture, and are "the epitome of all that the public fears in a computer criminal". Black
hat hackers break into secure networks to destroy, modify, or steal data, or to make the networks
unusable for authorized network users.
On the other hand, White hat hackers refer to an ethical computer hacker, or a computer security
expert, who specializes in penetration testing and in other testing methodologies that ensure the
security of an organization's information systems. Ethical hacking is a term meant to imply a
broader category than just penetration testing.
7. You need to reset a password-protected BIOS configuration. What do you do?
Ans. While BIOS itself has been superseded by UEFI, most systems still follow the same
configuration for how they keep the settings in storage. Being a pre-boot system, BIOS has its
own storage mechanism for its settings and preferences. In the classic scenario, simply popping
out the CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) battery will be enough to have the
memory storing these settings lose its power supply, and as a result, it will lose its settings. 
As an alternative, you can use a jumper or a physical switch on the motherboard. This time you
need to actually remove the memory itself from the device and reprogram it. The simplest way
is,  if the BIOS has come from the factory with a default password enabled, try ‘password’.
8. What is XSS?
Ans. XSS is a Cross-site scripting that is often called the nightmare of Javascript. Because
Javascript can run pages locally on the client system as opposed to running everything on the
server side, this can cause headaches for a programmer if variables can be changed directly on
the client’s webpage. 
9. How would you log in to Active Directory from a Linux or Mac box?
Ans.  Active Directory uses an implementation of the SMB protocol, which can be accessed
from a Linux or Mac system by using the Samba program. Depending on the version, this can
allow share access, printing, and even Active Directory membership.
10. What are salted hashes?
Ans. Salt is basically random data. When a properly protected password system receives a new
password, it will create a hashed value for that password, create a new random salt value, and
then store that combined value in its database. This helps you defend against dictionary attacks
and known hash attacks.
11. What are the three ways to authenticate a person?
Ans. The 3 ways of authenticating a person are as follows:

o Something they know (password)

o Something they have (token)
o Something they are (biometrics). 

12. How would you judge if a remote server is running IIS or Apache?
Ans. Error messages sometimes give away what the server is running.  If the website
administrator has not set up custom error pages for every site, it too can give it. Also, just using
telnet can be enough to see how it responds. Never underestimate the amount of information that
can be gained by not getting the right answer but by asking the right questions.
13. What is data protection in transit vs data protection at rest?
Ans. When data is protected in the database or on its hard drive, it can be considered at rest. On
the other hand, while it is going from server to client it is in transit. 
14. You see a user logging in as root to perform basic functions. Is this a problem?
Ans. A Linux admin account (root) has many powers that are not permitted for standard users. It
is not always necessary to log all the way off and log back in as root in order to do these tasks.
For example, if you have ever used the ‘run as admin’ command in Windows, then you will
know the basic concept behind ‘sudo’ or ‘superuser (root) do’ for whatever it is you want it to
do. It’s a very simple and elegant method for reducing the amount of time you need to be logged
in as a privileged user. The more time a user spends with enhanced permissions, the more likely
it is that something is going to go wrong – whether accidentally or intentionally.
15. How do you protect your home Wireless Access Point?
Ans. There are 3 ways to protect the home wireless access point:

o Using WPA2
o Not broadcasting the SSID
o Using MAC address filtering 

16. On a Windows network, why is it easier to break into a local account than an AD account?
Ans. Windows local accounts have a great deal of baggage tied to them, running back a long
long way to keep compatibility for user accounts. If you have a password longer than 13
characters, you may have seen the message referring to this fact. However, Active Directory
accounts have a great deal of security tied onto them, not the least of which is that the system
actually doing the authenticating is not the one you are usually sitting at when you are a regular
user. Hence, it’s not easy to break into them.
17. What is the CIA triangle?
Ans. CIA triangle is made of 3 following components:
 o Confidentiality
o Integrity
o Availability. 

18. What is the difference between a vulnerability and an exploit?

Ans. In cybersecurity, vulnerability is a weakness that can be exploited by a cyber attack to gain
unauthorized access to or perform unauthorized actions on a computer system. Vulnerabilities
can allow attackers to run code, access a system's memory, install malware, and steal, destroy or
modify sensitive data.
On the other hand, An exploit is a piece of software, a chunk of data, or a sequence of commands
that takes advantage of a bug or vulnerability to cause unintended or unanticipated behavior to
occur on computer software, hardware, or something electronic. Such behavior frequently
includes things like gaining control of a computer system, allowing privilege escalation, or a
denial-of-service (DoS or related DDoS) attack.
  19. What is worse in Firewall Detection, a false negative or a false positive? And why?
Ans. A false positive is annoying, but it can be easily dealt with by calling a legitimate piece of
traffic bad. A false negative however is a piece of malicious traffic being let through without
incident. Hence, for obvious reasons, a false negative is worse.
20. What’s the difference between a White Box test and a Black Box test?
Ans. A White Box test is one where the pen testing team is given as much information as
possible regarding the environment.
On the other hand, no information are provided in a  Black Box test.