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CompTIA Security+ General Security Concepts Summary

Checked 10/29/26

General Security Concepts: key points

  • Confidentiality, integrity, and availability are the CIA triad.
  • Hashing is one-way; encryption can be reversed with the right key.
Importance
★★★☆☆ (3 / 5)
Weight
About 11 of 90 Security+ (SY0-701) questions (12%)

Security control categories and types, the CIA triad, non-repudiation, AAA, zero trust, deception technology, change management, and cryptography (encryption, hashing, digital signatures, PKI, certificates).

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General Security Concepts: 10 sample questions

Practice questionReviewedSecurity+ (SY0-701) › General Security Concepts★★★★☆

Question 1. Which part of the CIA triad is protected when only authorized people can read a file?

  1. ① Integrity
  2. ② Availability
  3. ③ Non-repudiation
  4. ④ Confidentiality
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Answer: ④ Confidentiality

Key point: Confidentiality = only authorized people can see data

Confidentiality keeps information secret from anyone who is not allowed to see it. Encryption and access controls are common ways to protect it.

Wrong choices

  • Integrity: Integrity means data is not changed without authorization.
  • Availability: Availability means systems and data are there when needed.
  • Non-repudiation: Non-repudiation means someone cannot deny an action they took.
Practice questionReviewedSecurity+ (SY0-701) › General Security Concepts★★★★☆

Question 2. A company stores a hash of each file so it can detect if a file is changed. Which security goal does this support?

  1. ① Authorization
  2. ② Availability
  3. ③ Integrity
  4. ④ Confidentiality
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Answer: ③ Integrity

Key point: Hash comparison = integrity check

If even one bit of a file changes, its hash changes. Comparing hashes shows whether data was altered, which protects integrity.

Wrong choices

  • Availability: Hashes do not keep systems running.
  • Confidentiality: A hash does not hide the file's contents.
  • Authorization: Authorization decides what a user may do.
Practice questionReviewedSecurity+ (SY0-701) › General Security Concepts★★★★☆

Question 3. In AAA, which step answers the question "What is this user allowed to do?"

  1. ① Authentication
  2. ② Accounting
  3. ③ Authorization
  4. ④ Auditing
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Answer: ③ Authorization

Key point: AAA: authenticate → authorize → account

AAA stands for authentication (prove who you are), authorization (decide what you may do), and accounting (record what you did).

Wrong choices

  • Authentication: Authentication proves who the user is.
  • Accounting: Accounting records what the user did.
  • Auditing: Auditing reviews records later; it does not grant permissions.
Practice questionReviewedSecurity+ (SY0-701) › General Security Concepts★★★★☆

Question 4. A security guard and a locked server room door are examples of which control category?

  1. ① Technical
  2. ② Managerial
  3. ③ Physical
  4. ④ Operational
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Answer: ③ Physical

Key point: Guards, locks, fences = physical controls

Physical controls protect real-world spaces and equipment: guards, locks, fences, badges, and cameras.

Wrong choices

  • Technical: Technical controls are built into hardware or software, such as firewalls.
  • Managerial: Managerial controls are policies and risk decisions.
  • Operational: Operational controls are day-to-day processes carried out by people, such as awareness training.
Practice questionReviewedSecurity+ (SY0-701) › General Security Concepts★★★★☆

Question 5. Which type of encryption uses the same key to encrypt and decrypt data?

  1. ① Steganography
  2. ② Asymmetric
  3. ③ Hashing
  4. ④ Symmetric
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Answer: ④ Symmetric

Key point: Same key both ways = symmetric

Symmetric encryption, such as AES, uses one shared secret key for both encrypting and decrypting. It is fast, but the key must be shared safely.

Wrong choices

  • Asymmetric: Asymmetric encryption uses a public key and a private key.
  • Hashing: Hashing is one-way and has no decryption key.
  • Steganography: Steganography hides data inside other data; it is not a key type.
Practice questionReviewedSecurity+ (SY0-701) › General Security Concepts★★★★☆

Question 6. Which of these is a symmetric encryption algorithm?

  1. ① AES
  2. ② SHA-256
  3. ③ RSA
  4. ④ ECC
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Answer: ① AES

Key point: AES = symmetric

AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is a widely used symmetric algorithm. RSA and ECC are asymmetric, and SHA-256 is a hash.

Wrong choices

  • RSA: RSA is asymmetric.
  • SHA-256: SHA-256 is a hashing algorithm.
  • ECC: ECC (elliptic curve cryptography) is asymmetric.
Practice questionReviewedSecurity+ (SY0-701) › General Security Concepts★★★★☆

Question 7. What is the main difference between hashing and encryption?

  1. ① Hashing needs a private key, while encryption does not
  2. ② Hashing hides data, while encryption only checks it
  3. ③ Hashing is one-way, while encryption can be reversed with the right key
  4. ④ Hashing makes data longer, while encryption makes it shorter
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Answer: ③ Hashing is one-way, while encryption can be reversed with the right key

Key point: Hash = one-way fingerprint; encryption = reversible

A hash is a fixed-length fingerprint of data and cannot be turned back into the original. Encryption scrambles data so it can be unscrambled with the correct key.

Wrong choices

  • Hashing needs a private key, while encryption does not: Hashing does not use a key to reverse the output.
  • Hashing makes data longer, while encryption makes it shorter: A hash is a fixed length; encryption output is about the size of the input.
  • Hashing hides data, while encryption only checks it: It is the other way: encryption hides data, and hashing checks integrity.
Practice questionReviewedSecurity+ (SY0-701) › General Security Concepts★★★★☆

Question 8. Alice wants to send Bob a message that only Bob can read, using asymmetric encryption. Which key should Alice use to encrypt it?

  1. ① Alice's public key
  2. ② Bob's public key
  3. ③ Alice's private key
  4. ④ Bob's private key
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Answer: ② Bob's public key

Key point: Encrypt for Bob = Bob's public key

With asymmetric encryption, you encrypt with the recipient's public key. Only the matching private key, which Bob keeps secret, can decrypt it.

Wrong choices

  • Bob's private key: Only Bob should ever have his private key.
  • Alice's private key: Encrypting with Alice's private key creates a signature anyone could check, not secrecy.
  • Alice's public key: Then only Alice could decrypt it.
Practice questionReviewedSecurity+ (SY0-701) › General Security Concepts★★★★☆

Question 9. To create a digital signature, the sender encrypts the hash of the message with which key?

  1. ① A shared symmetric key
  2. ② The sender's private key
  3. ③ The sender's public key
  4. ④ The receiver's public key
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Answer: ② The sender's private key

Key point: Sign with your private key; others verify with your public key

A digital signature is made by hashing the message and encrypting the hash with the sender's private key. Anyone can check it with the sender's public key.

Wrong choices

  • The receiver's public key: That is used to keep a message secret, not to sign it.
  • The sender's public key: The public key is used by others to check the signature.
  • A shared symmetric key: A shared key cannot prove which person signed.
Practice questionReviewedSecurity+ (SY0-701) › General Security Concepts★★★☆☆

Question 10. A web server is kept running with redundant power and a backup server. Which part of the CIA triad does this mainly protect?

  1. ① Availability
  2. ② Confidentiality
  3. ③ Accounting
  4. ④ Integrity
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Answer: ① Availability

Key point: Redundancy = availability

Availability means systems and data can be used when needed. Redundant power, backup servers, and failover all protect availability.

Wrong choices

  • Integrity: Integrity is about data not being changed without permission.
  • Confidentiality: Confidentiality is about keeping data secret.
  • Accounting: Accounting is about recording what users do.

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General Security Concepts: 5 questions →Security+ (SY0-701): 5 questions →

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