Certified Computing Professional (CCP) — Questions and Answers

Question 1: The 3-2-1 backup rule states you should have:

3 copies of data, on 2 different media, with 1 stored offsite (Correct answer)
3 sites, 2 hot and 1 cold
3 backups per day, 2 onsite, 1 encrypted
3 RPOs, 2 RTOs, 1 BIA

Correct answer: 3 copies of data, on 2 different media, with 1 stored offsite

The 3-2-1 rule recommends three total copies of data stored on two different types of media with one copy kept offsite for disaster protection.

Question 2: Which scenario represents a violation of all three CIA Triad properties simultaneously?

A server crashes due to a hardware failure
A user reads a confidential file without permission
An employee accidentally deletes a non-critical log file
An attacker encrypts all files and takes the system offline after stealing sensitive data (Correct answer)

Correct answer: An attacker encrypts all files and takes the system offline after stealing sensitive data

Stealing data violates confidentiality, encrypting files violates integrity, and taking the system offline violates availability — hitting all three CIA properties.

Question 3: Which RAID level provides disk mirroring with no parity, offering full redundancy?

RAID 5
RAID 1 (Correct answer)
RAID 0
RAID 6

Correct answer: RAID 1

RAID 1 mirrors data across two drives, so if one fails the other contains an identical copy, providing full redundancy at the cost of 50% storage efficiency.

Question 4: Which metric measures the average time a system operates before experiencing a failure?

RTO (Recovery Time Objective)
MTTR (Mean Time To Recovery)
MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) (Correct answer)
SLA (Service Level Agreement)

Correct answer: MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures)

MTBF quantifies system reliability by calculating the average operational time between failures, helping organizations predict maintenance needs.

Question 5: How does adding a cryptographic salt to a password before hashing defend against rainbow table attacks?

It applies multiple rounds of hashing to slow down attackers
It ensures each password produces a unique hash even if two users have the same password (Correct answer)
It increases the password length, making brute-force infeasible
It encrypts the hash output using the salt as a symmetric key

Correct answer: It ensures each password produces a unique hash even if two users have the same password

A random salt is appended to the password before hashing, making precomputed rainbow tables useless because the same password with different salts produces entirely different hashes.

Question 6: What distinguishes a 'reduced instruction set' (RISC) approach in terms of instruction execution time?

Most instructions are designed to execute in a single clock cycle (Correct answer)
Instructions always require multiple memory accesses
Execution time is determined by microcode sequences
All instructions execute in a variable number of cycles based on complexity

Correct answer: Most instructions are designed to execute in a single clock cycle

RISC designs target single-cycle execution for most instructions by using simple, uniform instruction formats and load/store memory access patterns, enabling efficient pipelining.

Question 7: Which backup strategy involves copying only the files that have changed since the last full backup?

Differential backup
Mirror backup
Full backup
Incremental backup (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Incremental backup

Incremental backup copies only data changed since the last backup of any type, minimizing storage use but requiring multiple sets for restoration.

Question 8: Which of the following is an example of internal fragmentation?

Allocated memory that exceeds the process's actual needs within a fixed partition (Correct answer)
Free memory scattered in non-contiguous chunks
Unused memory between two allocated partitions
Memory wasted due to the page table itself

Correct answer: Allocated memory that exceeds the process's actual needs within a fixed partition

Internal fragmentation is unused space inside an allocated block when the allocation unit is larger than needed.

Question 9: What does the CAP theorem state about distributed databases?

A system can guarantee at most two of Consistency, Availability, and Partition tolerance (Correct answer)
A system can guarantee Consistency, Availability, and Partition tolerance simultaneously
Consistency and Availability are mutually exclusive in all systems
Partition tolerance is optional in well-designed systems

Correct answer: A system can guarantee at most two of Consistency, Availability, and Partition tolerance

The CAP theorem states that a distributed system can only guarantee two of the three properties: Consistency, Availability, and Partition tolerance.

Question 10: Which type of encryption uses the same key for both encryption and decryption?

Symmetric encryption (Correct answer)
Hybrid encryption
Public-key encryption
Asymmetric encryption

Correct answer: Symmetric encryption

Symmetric encryption uses a single shared secret key for both encrypting and decrypting data, making it fast but requiring secure key distribution.

Question 11: Which testing technique involves testing individual components or functions in isolation, often using stubs and drivers?

Integration testing
Unit testing (Correct answer)
Acceptance testing
System testing

Correct answer: Unit testing

Unit testing tests the smallest testable parts of an application (units/functions) in isolation, using stubs to simulate dependencies.

Question 12: Which protocol dynamically assigns IP addresses to network devices?

DHCP (Correct answer)
SNMP
ARP
ICMP

Correct answer: DHCP

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) automatically assigns IP addresses and other network configuration to clients.

Question 13: Which abstract data type operates on a FIFO (First In, First Out) principle?

Heap
Queue (Correct answer)
Graph
Stack

Correct answer: Queue

A queue processes elements in FIFO order — the first element enqueued is the first dequeued.

Question 14: What distinguishes a hash function from encryption?

Hashing requires two parties to share a key
Hashing is faster than encryption
Hashing is a one-way function with no decryption key (Correct answer)
Hashing uses larger keys than encryption

Correct answer: Hashing is a one-way function with no decryption key

Hashing is a one-way function designed to be irreversible; there is no key and the original data cannot be recovered from the hash.

Question 15: Which data structure is most appropriate for implementing an undo feature in a text editor?

Hash Table
Stack (Correct answer)
Queue
Array

Correct answer: Stack

A stack is ideal for undo because each action is pushed on the stack and the most recent action (last pushed) is reversed first.

Question 16: Which data structure uses a LIFO (Last In, First Out) access pattern?

Binary Tree
Linked List
Stack (Correct answer)
Queue

Correct answer: Stack

A stack follows LIFO order, meaning the last element pushed is the first one popped.

Question 17: Which OSI layer handles the syntax and semantics of data exchanged, including encryption and compression?

Presentation layer (Correct answer)
Transport layer
Application layer
Session layer

Correct answer: Presentation layer

The Presentation layer (Layer 6) is responsible for data format translation, encryption, and compression.

Question 18: A cold site in disaster recovery is best described as:

A facility with power and connectivity but no pre-installed hardware or data (Correct answer)
A mobile recovery unit
A facility fully mirroring the primary data center
A cloud-based backup solution

Correct answer: A facility with power and connectivity but no pre-installed hardware or data

A cold site provides only the basic infrastructure (power, HVAC, connectivity) and requires equipment installation and data restoration before use.

Question 19: Which property of a cryptographic hash function ensures that two different inputs cannot produce the same hash output?

Avalanche effect
Key diffusion
Collision resistance (Correct answer)
Preimage resistance

Correct answer: Collision resistance

Collision resistance means it is computationally infeasible to find two different inputs that produce the same hash output.

Question 20: In graph theory, a graph where all edges have a direction is called a:

Cyclic graph
Weighted graph
Directed graph (digraph) (Correct answer)
Undirected graph

Correct answer: Directed graph (digraph)

A directed graph (digraph) has edges with a specific direction, represented by arrows from one vertex to another.

Question 21: What is a rainbow table attack?

A precomputed table of hash values used to reverse hash functions and recover passwords (Correct answer)
An attack that exploits collisions in public key certificates
A side-channel attack that measures electromagnetic emissions
An attack that cycles through every possible key combination

Correct answer: A precomputed table of hash values used to reverse hash functions and recover passwords

A rainbow table is a precomputed lookup table that maps hash values back to their plaintext inputs, allowing rapid password recovery without brute-force computation.

Question 22: In Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), what is the role of a Certificate Authority (CA)?

To store private keys in a secure hardware module
To encrypt all network traffic between parties
To issue and sign digital certificates that bind public keys to identities (Correct answer)
To generate private keys for end users

Correct answer: To issue and sign digital certificates that bind public keys to identities

A Certificate Authority issues digital certificates and digitally signs them to bind a public key to an entity's identity, establishing trust in the PKI.

Question 23: What is key escrow in cryptography?

A technique for generating keys from passwords using PBKDF2
A method to split a key into multiple shares requiring cooperation to reconstruct
An algorithm for securely distributing symmetric keys over public networks
A system where encryption keys are held by a trusted third party for authorized recovery (Correct answer)

Correct answer: A system where encryption keys are held by a trusted third party for authorized recovery

Key escrow is the practice of depositing encryption keys with a trusted third party so they can be recovered by authorized entities such as law enforcement or an employer.

Question 24: The space complexity of an adjacency list representation for a graph with V vertices and E edges is:

O(V × E)
O(V²)
O(E²)
O(V + E) (Correct answer)

Correct answer: O(V + E)

An adjacency list stores each vertex once and each edge once (or twice for undirected), giving O(V + E) space.

Question 25: Which IT governance framework uses a balanced scorecard approach to measure IT performance across four perspectives?

COBIT (Correct answer)
PMBOK
TOGAF
ITIL

Correct answer: COBIT

COBIT incorporates balanced scorecard concepts, measuring IT performance from financial, customer, internal process, and learning/growth perspectives.

Question 26: Which SQL aggregate function returns the number of rows that satisfy a condition, excluding NULL values?

COUNT(column) (Correct answer)
AVG(column)
SUM(column)
COUNT(*)

Correct answer: COUNT(column)

COUNT(column) counts only non-NULL values in the specified column, whereas COUNT(*) counts all rows including those with NULLs.

Question 27: Which of the following best describes a 'warm site' in disaster recovery?

An empty building with only power and cooling
A fully operational duplicate data center
A cloud snapshot updated every 24 hours
A facility with hardware pre-installed but requiring data restoration before use (Correct answer)

Correct answer: A facility with hardware pre-installed but requiring data restoration before use

A warm site has hardware and network connectivity in place but lacks current data, requiring restoration from backups before normal operations can resume.

Question 28: A doubly linked list differs from a singly linked list in that each node has pointers to:

Two next nodes
Both the next and previous nodes (Correct answer)
The head and tail only
Every other node

Correct answer: Both the next and previous nodes

A doubly linked list maintains both a next and a previous pointer in each node, enabling bidirectional traversal.

Question 29: What is steganography in the context of information security?

Hiding data within other non-secret data to conceal its existence (Correct answer)
Converting data into an unreadable format using keys
Encrypting data using a symmetric algorithm
Compressing data to reduce transmission overhead

Correct answer: Hiding data within other non-secret data to conceal its existence

Steganography hides secret information within ordinary, non-secret files (such as images or audio) so that the existence of the hidden message is concealed.

Question 30: Which security protocol provides end-to-end encryption for email including digital signatures and encryption of message bodies?

SPF (Sender Policy Framework)
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)
SMTP over TLS (STARTTLS)
S/MIME (Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) (Correct answer)

Correct answer: S/MIME (Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions)

S/MIME provides cryptographic security for email by supporting digital signing and encryption of message content, ensuring confidentiality and authenticity end-to-end.

Question 31: Which cipher is theoretically unbreakable when used correctly because its key is as long as the message and used only once?

One-time pad (Correct answer)
Caesar cipher
Vigenère cipher
Blowfish cipher

Correct answer: One-time pad

The one-time pad is provably unbreakable when the key is truly random, at least as long as the message, secret, and never reused.

Question 32: In information systems theory, which level of management is primarily served by Executive Information Systems (EIS)?

Operational level
Strategic (top management) level (Correct answer)
Technical (developer) level
Tactical (middle management) level

Correct answer: Strategic (top management) level

EIS provides senior executives with summarized, high-level information to support long-term strategic planning and decision-making.

Question 33: In object-oriented design, what is 'abstraction'?

Hiding the complex implementation details and exposing only the necessary interface (Correct answer)
Copying the attributes of one class into another
Grouping related classes into packages
Preventing a class from being instantiated

Correct answer: Hiding the complex implementation details and exposing only the necessary interface

Abstraction simplifies complexity by exposing only the relevant details of an object and hiding its internal implementation.

Question 34: Which NoSQL database type is best suited for storing and querying highly connected data such as social networks?

Column-family store
Key-value store
Document store
Graph database (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Graph database

Graph databases use nodes and edges to represent and traverse relationships, making them optimal for highly connected data like social networks.

Question 35: In OSI terminology, the unit of data at the Data Link layer is called a:

Segment
Frame (Correct answer)
Packet
Datagram

Correct answer: Frame

The Protocol Data Unit (PDU) at the Data Link layer is called a frame, which includes the MAC header and trailer.

Question 36: What is the purpose of a Message Authentication Code (MAC)?

To establish a session key between communicating parties
To verify both the integrity and authenticity of a message using a shared secret key (Correct answer)
To encrypt a message so only the recipient can read it
To compress a message before secure transmission

Correct answer: To verify both the integrity and authenticity of a message using a shared secret key

A MAC is computed using both the message content and a shared secret key, allowing the recipient to verify that the message was not tampered with and came from a legitimate sender.

Question 37: Which control is BEST described as a corrective control?

Patch management restoring a compromised system (Correct answer)
Warning sign on a restricted area
Security camera recording activity
Firewall blocking unauthorized traffic

Correct answer: Patch management restoring a compromised system

Patch management that restores a compromised system is a corrective control because it fixes damage after an incident occurs.

Question 38: A circular linked list differs from a standard linked list in that the last node's pointer points to the:

Previous node
Itself
Head (first) node (Correct answer)
Null/None

Correct answer: Head (first) node

In a circular linked list, the tail node's next pointer wraps back to the head, forming a continuous loop.

Question 39: Which HTTP method is typically used to update an existing resource in a RESTful API?

PUT (Correct answer)
DELETE
POST
GET

Correct answer: PUT

PUT is the standard RESTful HTTP method for updating or replacing an existing resource at a specified URI.

Question 40: Which graph representation uses a 2D matrix to indicate edges between vertices?

Incidence matrix
Edge table
Adjacency list
Adjacency matrix (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Adjacency matrix

An adjacency matrix uses an n×n boolean (or weighted) matrix where entry [i][j] indicates an edge from vertex i to vertex j.

Question 41: What is data warehousing primarily designed for?

Analytical reporting and decision support (Correct answer)
Managing live customer orders
Real-time transaction processing
Storing unstructured multimedia files

Correct answer: Analytical reporting and decision support

A data warehouse consolidates historical data from multiple sources to support complex analytical queries and business intelligence.

Question 42: What is the primary ethical obligation of a CCP professional when a conflict of interest arises during cpu architecture & instruction sets activities?

Disclose the conflict to all relevant parties and recuse from the decision if necessary (Correct answer)
Resolve the conflict privately without informing stakeholders
Ignore the conflict if it does not directly affect the current task
Proceed while favoring the outcome that benefits the professional personally

Correct answer: Disclose the conflict to all relevant parties and recuse from the decision if necessary

The primary ethical obligation when a conflict of interest arises in cpu architecture & instruction sets is to disclose it to all relevant parties and, if necessary, recuse from the decision. This maintains professional integrity and stakeholder trust.

Question 43: Which property of a binary heap ensures the parent node's key is always greater than or equal to its children's keys?

Max-heap property (Correct answer)
BST property
Balanced property
Min-heap property

Correct answer: Max-heap property

The max-heap property states that every parent node has a key ≥ its children, placing the maximum at the root.

Question 44: What is the worst-case time complexity of insertion into a hash table that uses open addressing?

O(n) (Correct answer)
O(1)
O(log n)
O(n²)

Correct answer: O(n)

In the worst case (e.g., all keys hash to the same slot), open addressing degrades to O(n) as every slot must be probed.

Question 45: What is the primary purpose of a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)?

To ensure critical business operations continue during and after a disaster (Correct answer)
To define employee roles during non-emergency operations
To schedule routine maintenance windows
To document all IT assets and their replacement costs

Correct answer: To ensure critical business operations continue during and after a disaster

A BCP outlines procedures and strategies to ensure essential business functions remain operational or resume quickly after a disruptive event.

Question 46: What is the average-case time complexity for searching in a balanced binary search tree (BST)?

O(n log n)
O(n)
O(1)
O(log n) (Correct answer)

Correct answer: O(log n)

A balanced BST halves the search space at each level, yielding O(log n) average-case search time.

Question 47: What is the time complexity of accessing an element by index in an array?

O(n)
O(log n)
O(1) (Correct answer)
O(n²)

Correct answer: O(1)

Arrays provide O(1) random access because elements are stored at contiguous memory addresses.

Question 48: Which memory protection technique assigns each process a base register and a limit register?

Paging
Segmentation
Inverted page tables
Base-and-limit registers (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Base-and-limit registers

Base-and-limit registers define the legal address range for a process, and any access outside that range causes a trap.

Question 49: What does VLAN stand for in networking?

Verified Link Access Node
Variable Length Area Node
Virtual Local Area Network (Correct answer)
Virtual Linked Address Network

Correct answer: Virtual Local Area Network

VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) logically segments a physical network into separate broadcast domains.

Question 50: A CCP professional encounters an unfamiliar situation while performing iaas, paas & saas models duties. What is the most appropriate first action?

Apply a solution from an unrelated field without verification
Consult relevant standards, guidelines, or a qualified supervisor before proceeding (Correct answer)
Proceed based on general assumptions to avoid delays
Skip the task entirely and move to the next assignment

Correct answer: Consult relevant standards, guidelines, or a qualified supervisor before proceeding

When facing unfamiliar situations in iaas, paas & saas models, the most appropriate action is to consult relevant standards, guidelines, or a qualified supervisor. This ensures safety, accuracy, and compliance while building professional knowledge.

Question 51: Which term describes the process of testing disaster recovery plans through simulation without actually switching over production systems?

Tabletop exercise (Correct answer)
Parallel test
Checklist review
Full interruption test

Correct answer: Tabletop exercise

A tabletop exercise is a discussion-based session where team members walk through a disaster scenario verbally to identify gaps without disrupting operations.

Question 52: What is the purpose of a feasibility study in systems analysis?

To conduct user acceptance testing
To define the system's database schema
To write the detailed design specification
To determine whether a proposed system is technically, economically, and operationally viable (Correct answer)

Correct answer: To determine whether a proposed system is technically, economically, and operationally viable

A feasibility study assesses technical, economic, legal, operational, and scheduling factors to determine if a project should proceed.

Question 53: Which protocol uses port 443 for secure web communications?

SMTP
HTTP
FTP
HTTPS (Correct answer)

Correct answer: HTTPS

HTTPS uses TLS/SSL encryption and operates on port 443 by default.

Question 54: What is the primary difference between stream ciphers and block ciphers?

Stream ciphers are used for stored data and block ciphers for network transmission
Stream ciphers encrypt data one bit or byte at a time, while block ciphers encrypt fixed-size chunks of data (Correct answer)
Stream ciphers use asymmetric keys while block ciphers use symmetric keys
Block ciphers are always faster than stream ciphers for large data volumes

Correct answer: Stream ciphers encrypt data one bit or byte at a time, while block ciphers encrypt fixed-size chunks of data

Stream ciphers process plaintext one bit or byte at a time using a keystream, while block ciphers operate on fixed-length groups of bits, making them suited for different use cases.

Question 55: In cryptography, what does the term 'key derivation function (KDF)' refer to?

A function that derives one or more cryptographic keys from a master secret or password (Correct answer)
A protocol for exchanging keys securely over an untrusted network
An algorithm that generates public/private key pairs from random seeds
A method for splitting a single key into multiple shares

Correct answer: A function that derives one or more cryptographic keys from a master secret or password

A KDF takes a secret value such as a password or master key and derives one or more strong cryptographic keys using techniques like PBKDF2, bcrypt, or HKDF.

Question 56: What is the role of a data dictionary (system catalog) in a DBMS?

To store metadata describing the structure of the database (Correct answer)
To replicate data across multiple server nodes
To store the actual user data in compressed format
To cache frequently executed queries for performance

Correct answer: To store metadata describing the structure of the database

The data dictionary holds metadata—descriptions of tables, columns, data types, constraints, and access rights—used by the DBMS itself.

Question 57: Which concurrency control technique uses shared and exclusive locks to prevent conflicting database operations?

Timestamp ordering
Optimistic concurrency control
Shadow paging
Two-phase locking (2PL) (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Two-phase locking (2PL)

Two-phase locking grants shared locks for reads and exclusive locks for writes, releasing them only after the transaction commits.

Question 58: What does the Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol accomplish?

It authenticates users via digital certificates
It allows two parties to establish a shared secret over an insecure channel without prior contact (Correct answer)
It encrypts data using a shared symmetric key
It generates random keys for block cipher algorithms

Correct answer: It allows two parties to establish a shared secret over an insecure channel without prior contact

Diffie-Hellman allows two parties to jointly derive a shared secret key over an unsecured channel without ever transmitting the secret itself.

Question 59: When documenting activities related to tcp/ip & osi model layers, which practice is considered essential for CCP certification holders?

Completing documentation only when requested by auditors or supervisors
Maintaining comprehensive records that include procedures, observations, results, and any anomalies (Correct answer)
Recording only outcomes while omitting the methods and processes used
Keeping documentation in personal notes that are not accessible to other team members

Correct answer: Maintaining comprehensive records that include procedures, observations, results, and any anomalies

Comprehensive documentation that includes procedures, observations, results, and any anomalies is essential in tcp/ip & osi model layers. This supports quality assurance, enables peer review, and satisfies regulatory and audit requirements.

Question 60: Mean Time To Recovery (MTTR) measures:

The probability of a system failing within a given period
The cost per hour of system downtime
The average time between system failures
The average time required to restore a failed system to full operation (Correct answer)

Correct answer: The average time required to restore a failed system to full operation

MTTR is the average elapsed time from when a failure occurs until the system is fully operational again, used to evaluate the efficiency of recovery processes.

Question 61: In SSL/TLS, what does the handshake process primarily accomplish?

It verifies that the data payload contains no malware
It compresses the data for faster transmission
It negotiates cipher suites and establishes session keys for secure communication (Correct answer)
It fragments large packets into smaller transmission units

Correct answer: It negotiates cipher suites and establishes session keys for secure communication

The TLS handshake negotiates the protocol version and cipher suite, authenticates the server, and establishes a shared session key for encrypting subsequent communication.

Question 62: A priority queue dequeues elements based on:

Alphabetical order
Insertion order
Random selection
Assigned priority value (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Assigned priority value

A priority queue always removes the element with the highest (or lowest) priority value, regardless of insertion order.

Question 63: Which type of database schema describes the logical structure of the entire database as seen by the DBMS?

Conceptual schema (Correct answer)
External schema
Internal schema
Physical schema

Correct answer: Conceptual schema

The conceptual (or logical) schema defines the community view of the database—its tables, relationships, and constraints—independent of physical storage.

Question 64: What is the purpose of an index in a relational database?

To speed up data retrieval operations (Correct answer)
To enforce referential integrity
To encrypt sensitive columns
To store backup copies of rows

Correct answer: To speed up data retrieval operations

Indexes create a separate data structure that allows the DBMS to locate rows faster without scanning the entire table.

Question 65: Which traversal visits a binary tree's left subtree, then the root, then the right subtree?

Post-order
In-order (Correct answer)
Pre-order
Level-order

Correct answer: In-order

In-order traversal (Left → Root → Right) visits nodes in ascending order for a binary search tree.

Question 66: A vulnerability assessment differs from a penetration test in that it:

Identifies and classifies vulnerabilities without attempting to exploit them (Correct answer)
Simulates a real attacker attempting to breach the system
Requires physical access to target systems
Is performed only by external third parties

Correct answer: Identifies and classifies vulnerabilities without attempting to exploit them

Vulnerability assessments scan and categorize security weaknesses, while penetration tests go further by actively exploiting vulnerabilities to measure real-world impact.

Question 67: In Earned Value Management (EVM), a Cost Performance Index (CPI) value greater than 1.0 indicates the project is:

Over budget
Under budget (cost efficient) (Correct answer)
Behind schedule
On schedule

Correct answer: Under budget (cost efficient)

CPI = EV / AC; a CPI > 1.0 means the earned value exceeds actual cost, indicating the project is under budget.

Question 68: Which technology replicates data to a secondary location in real time to support near-zero RPO?

Scheduled batch transfer
Synchronous replication (Correct answer)
Tape rotation
Asynchronous replication

Correct answer: Synchronous replication

Synchronous replication writes data simultaneously to both primary and secondary locations, ensuring zero or near-zero data loss but requiring low-latency links.

Question 69: A hash table resolves collisions using chaining by storing colliding elements in a:

Linked list at each bucket (Correct answer)
Stack at each bucket
Binary tree at each bucket
Sorted array at each bucket

Correct answer: Linked list at each bucket

Chaining stores all keys that hash to the same bucket in a linked list attached to that bucket.

Question 70: Which attack exploits the mathematical relationship between a public key and its certificate to impersonate a trusted entity?

Man-in-the-middle attack using a forged or rogue certificate (Correct answer)
Side-channel timing attack
Brute-force key attack
Replay attack

Correct answer: Man-in-the-middle attack using a forged or rogue certificate

A man-in-the-middle attack using a rogue certificate intercepts communications by presenting a forged certificate trusted by the victim, allowing the attacker to impersonate the legitimate server.

Question 71: Which scheduling algorithm can lead to starvation of low-priority processes?

First-Come First-Served
Round Robin
Shortest Job First
Priority Scheduling (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Priority Scheduling

Priority Scheduling can starve low-priority processes if high-priority processes continuously arrive.

Question 72: Which data structure is best suited for implementing breadth-first search (BFS) in a graph?

Queue (Correct answer)
Priority Queue
Heap
Stack

Correct answer: Queue

BFS uses a queue to explore vertices level by level, processing each neighbor before moving deeper.

Question 73: What SQL keyword prevents duplicate rows from appearing in a query result?

GROUP BY
NOT NULL
DISTINCT (Correct answer)
UNIQUE

Correct answer: DISTINCT

SELECT DISTINCT eliminates duplicate rows from the result set, returning only unique combinations of the specified columns.

Question 74: In UML, which diagram type is used to show the sequence of messages exchanged between objects over time?

State machine diagram
Class diagram
Use case diagram
Sequence diagram (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Sequence diagram

A UML sequence diagram shows object interactions arranged in time sequence, illustrating how operations are carried out.

Question 75: What does RPO (Recovery Point Objective) represent?

The cost of data restoration
Maximum tolerable data loss measured in time (Correct answer)
The geographic location of backup systems
The number of recovery sites required

Correct answer: Maximum tolerable data loss measured in time

RPO defines the maximum age of data that must be recovered from backup storage for normal operations to resume after a failure.

Question 76: What does RTO (Recovery Time Objective) define in a disaster recovery plan?

The maximum acceptable downtime before systems must be restored (Correct answer)
The amount of data that can be lost in a disaster
The frequency of backup operations
The cost of recovering from a disaster

Correct answer: The maximum acceptable downtime before systems must be restored

RTO is the maximum acceptable length of time that a system can be offline before the outage causes unacceptable business impact.

Question 77: Which indexing structure is most efficient for range queries on numerical data in relational databases?

Hash index
B-tree index (Correct answer)
Full-text index
Bitmap index

Correct answer: B-tree index

B-tree indexes store data in sorted order, making them ideal for range queries since rows within a range can be traversed sequentially.

Question 78: In MongoDB, which operation is used to update only specific fields in a document without replacing the entire document?

replaceOne()
updateOne() with $set (Correct answer)
insertOne()
findOneAndReplace()

Correct answer: updateOne() with $set

updateOne() with the $set operator modifies only the specified fields of a document, leaving the rest of the document unchanged.

Question 79: Which normal form eliminates transitive dependencies among non-key attributes?

Second Normal Form (2NF)
Third Normal Form (3NF) (Correct answer)
First Normal Form (1NF)
Boyce-Codd Normal Form (BCNF)

Correct answer: Third Normal Form (3NF)

3NF removes transitive dependencies where a non-key column depends on another non-key column rather than directly on the primary key.

Question 80: In a client-server database architecture, where is the DBMS engine typically located?

In a cloud-only environment
On the server (Correct answer)
On every client machine
Embedded in each application

Correct answer: On the server

In client-server architecture, the DBMS engine runs on the server and processes queries sent by client applications.

Question 81: An organization's DR plan assigns a priority of Tier 1 to its order processing system. This means the system:

Has the lowest recovery priority due to its complexity
Must be recovered first because it is most critical to business operations (Correct answer)
Requires manual recovery procedures only
Can tolerate the longest downtime

Correct answer: Must be recovered first because it is most critical to business operations

Tier 1 in DR tiering identifies mission-critical systems that must be restored first because their outage causes immediate, severe business impact.

Question 82: Which type of disaster recovery site is fully equipped and operational, ready to take over immediately?

Hot site (Correct answer)
Mirror site
Cold site
Warm site

Correct answer: Hot site

A hot site is a fully operational duplicate of the primary site that can take over immediately with little to no downtime.

Question 83: What is the purpose of a memory-mapped file?

To encrypt file contents before writing to disk
To create a backup copy of physical RAM
To permanently store process memory on disk
To map a file's contents into a process's virtual address space for direct read/write access (Correct answer)

Correct answer: To map a file's contents into a process's virtual address space for direct read/write access

Memory-mapped files allow file I/O to be performed through normal memory read/write instructions instead of system calls.

Question 84: Which language is primarily used for managing data in a relational database?

SQL (Correct answer)
JavaScript
Python
HTML

Correct answer: SQL

SQL (Structured Query Language) is the standard language specifically designed for managing and manipulating data in relational databases. It allows users to perform various operations such as querying data, inserting new records, updating existing ones, and defining database schemas. Its declarative nature makes it highly effective for interacting with relational database management systems.

Question 85: Which Agile framework uses the concepts of 'value streams' and 'Agile Release Trains' to scale Agile across large enterprises?

SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) (Correct answer)
DSDM (Dynamic Systems Development Method)
Scrum of Scrums
LeSS (Large-Scale Scrum)

Correct answer: SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework)

SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) organizes teams into Agile Release Trains aligned to value streams to coordinate large-scale Agile delivery.

Question 86: In an entity-relationship (ER) diagram, a weak entity is characterized by:

Being represented with a single rectangle
Having multiple candidate keys
Lacking a primary key on its own and depending on a strong entity (Correct answer)
Having no attributes

Correct answer: Lacking a primary key on its own and depending on a strong entity

A weak entity cannot be uniquely identified by its own attributes alone and relies on the primary key of a related strong entity for identification.

Question 87: Which of the following is a characteristic of relational databases?

Data is stored in hierarchical files.
Data is stored as raw binary blobs.
Data is stored in networked objects.
Data is stored in table structures with defined relationships (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Data is stored in table structures with defined relationships

A characteristic of relational databases is that data is stored in a structured format using tables, also known as relations. Each table consists of rows and columns, and relationships between different tables are established through common fields, typically using primary and foreign keys. This tabular structure allows for efficient data organization, querying, and integrity management.

Question 88: What is a variable in programming?

A fixed instruction.
A named space to store data values (Correct answer)
A program title.
An unchangeable number.

Correct answer: A named space to store data values

In programming, a variable is a symbolic name given to a storage location in memory that holds a value. This value can be changed or 'varied' during the execution of a program, allowing programmers to store and manipulate data dynamically. Variables are fundamental building blocks for all programming languages.

Question 89: What is the key length used by AES-256?

512 bits
192 bits
256 bits (Correct answer)
128 bits

Correct answer: 256 bits

AES-256 uses a 256-bit key, which is the longest standard key size for AES and provides the highest security level of the AES variants.

Question 90: Which of the following is primarily a physical security control?

Encryption at rest
Mantrap entry system (Correct answer)
Role-based access control
Password complexity policy

Correct answer: Mantrap entry system

A mantrap is a physical control consisting of two interlocking doors that prevents tailgating and unauthorized physical entry.

Question 91: Differential backup differs from incremental backup in that it:

Compresses data more aggressively than incremental backups
Copies all data changed since the last full backup, regardless of intermediate backups (Correct answer)
Runs less frequently than incremental backups
Copies only data changed since the last backup of any type

Correct answer: Copies all data changed since the last full backup, regardless of intermediate backups

Differential backups always back up all changes since the last full backup, making restoration simpler (full + latest differential) but using more storage than incremental.

Question 92: Which algorithm is the foundation of RSA encryption's security?

The difficulty of factoring large prime numbers (Correct answer)
The difficulty of breaking elliptic curve equations
The difficulty of reversing SHA-256 hashes
The difficulty of solving discrete logarithm problems

Correct answer: The difficulty of factoring large prime numbers

RSA's security relies on the computational difficulty of factoring the product of two large prime numbers back into its prime factors.

Question 93: Which relational concept defines the set of allowable values for an attribute?

Cardinality
Tuple
Domain (Correct answer)
Schema

Correct answer: Domain

A domain defines the set of valid values that an attribute can hold, such as integers in a specific range or strings of a certain length.

Question 94: In a binary tree, a node with no children is called a:

Root
Branch
Parent
Leaf (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Leaf

A leaf node is a node in a binary tree that has no left or right child.

Question 95: Radix Sort processes digits from least significant to most significant. This variant is called:

Bucket Radix Sort
Hybrid Radix Sort
LSD Radix Sort (Correct answer)
MSD Radix Sort

Correct answer: LSD Radix Sort

LSD (Least Significant Digit) Radix Sort processes from the rightmost digit first and is stable, producing correct results after all passes.

Question 96: Which asymmetric key operation is used to create a digital signature?

Hashing the message with the recipient's private key
Encrypting the message with the sender's public key
Decrypting the message with the recipient's public key
Encrypting a hash of the message with the sender's private key (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Encrypting a hash of the message with the sender's private key

A digital signature is created by hashing the message and then encrypting that hash with the sender's private key, allowing anyone with the public key to verify authenticity.

Question 97: What is Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS) in the context of TLS?

A guarantee that session keys are never stored on disk
A property ensuring that compromise of long-term keys does not expose past session keys (Correct answer)
An algorithm that generates keys resistant to quantum computer attacks
A protocol extension that prevents man-in-the-middle attacks on TLS handshakes

Correct answer: A property ensuring that compromise of long-term keys does not expose past session keys

PFS ensures that each session uses an ephemeral key derived independently, so that even if the server's long-term private key is later compromised, previously recorded sessions remain protected.

Question 98: Which SQL command is used to remove all rows from a table quickly without logging individual row deletions?

REMOVE
DROP
DELETE
TRUNCATE (Correct answer)

Correct answer: TRUNCATE

TRUNCATE removes all rows from a table rapidly by deallocating data pages rather than logging each row deletion.

Question 99: In a singly linked list, each node contains data and a pointer to which node?

The next node (Correct answer)
The tail node
The previous node
The head node

Correct answer: The next node

In a singly linked list, each node holds a reference (pointer) to the next node in the sequence.

Question 100: In the E-R model, a relationship in which one entity can be associated with many instances of another entity, but each instance of the second can relate to only one of the first, is called:

One-to-one
Many-to-many
Recursive
One-to-many (Correct answer)

Correct answer: One-to-many

A one-to-many (1:N) relationship means one record in table A can link to multiple records in table B, but each B record links to only one A record.

Question 101: A Business Impact Analysis (BIA) primarily identifies:

Employee performance metrics during crises
Hardware replacement costs
Network vulnerabilities and attack vectors
Critical business functions and the impact of their disruption (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Critical business functions and the impact of their disruption

A BIA identifies critical business processes and evaluates the financial and operational impact of their disruption to prioritize recovery efforts.

Question 102: In the context of process states, what does it mean for a process to be in the 'blocked' state?

The process is waiting for a CPU time slice
The process has been swapped out to disk
The process has finished execution
The process is waiting for an event such as I/O completion (Correct answer)

Correct answer: The process is waiting for an event such as I/O completion

A blocked process is waiting for an event (e.g., I/O completion) before it can continue execution.

Question 103: What is the primary difference between TCP and UDP regarding connection state?

TCP is connectionless; UDP maintains state
Both TCP and UDP require a three-way handshake
TCP establishes a connection before data transfer; UDP sends data without establishing a connection (Correct answer)
UDP provides reliable delivery; TCP does not

Correct answer: TCP establishes a connection before data transfer; UDP sends data without establishing a connection

TCP is connection-oriented and requires a handshake to establish state before data transfer, while UDP is connectionless and sends datagrams without prior setup.

Question 104: What cryptographic concept ensures that a sender cannot later deny having sent a message?

Availability
Confidentiality
Non-repudiation (Correct answer)
Integrity

Correct answer: Non-repudiation

Non-repudiation, typically achieved through digital signatures, prevents a sender from denying authorship of a message they signed.

Question 105: Sliding window flow control in TCP is designed to:

Allow multiple unacknowledged segments to be in transit simultaneously (Correct answer)
Limit the number of TCP connections on a port
Prevent IP packet fragmentation
Randomize the initial sequence number

Correct answer: Allow multiple unacknowledged segments to be in transit simultaneously

The sliding window mechanism allows a sender to transmit multiple segments before receiving acknowledgments, improving throughput over high-latency links.

Question 106: What does sharding accomplish in a NoSQL or distributed database context?

Compresses infrequently accessed data to cold storage
Creates read-only replicas for reporting
Horizontally partitions data across multiple nodes to distribute load (Correct answer)
Encrypts data partitions for security

Correct answer: Horizontally partitions data across multiple nodes to distribute load

Sharding splits a large dataset into smaller partitions (shards) distributed across multiple nodes, enabling horizontal scaling and parallel query execution.

Question 107: What is a failover cluster primarily used for?

Automatically switching to a standby system when the primary fails (Correct answer)
Encrypting data during transmission
Archiving old data to cold storage
Load balancing across multiple servers

Correct answer: Automatically switching to a standby system when the primary fails

A failover cluster monitors nodes and automatically redirects workloads to a surviving node when a failure is detected, minimizing downtime.

Question 108: What does the term 'instruction latency' refer to in CPU pipeline design?

The size of the instruction cache
The number of pipeline stages in the processor
The maximum clock frequency of the CPU
The number of cycles required to complete an instruction before its result is available (Correct answer)

Correct answer: The number of cycles required to complete an instruction before its result is available

Instruction latency is the total number of clock cycles from when an instruction begins execution until its result can be used by a subsequent instruction.

Question 109: What is 'data vaulting' in the context of disaster recovery?

Encrypting data before it is written to disk
Electronically transmitting backup data to a secure offsite storage facility (Correct answer)
Physically locking tape drives in a fireproof safe
Testing data integrity after a backup completes

Correct answer: Electronically transmitting backup data to a secure offsite storage facility

Electronic vaulting (data vaulting) automatically transfers backup data over a network to an offsite facility, eliminating the need for physical media transport.

Question 110: In the context of data mining, 'classification' refers to:

Grouping similar records into clusters without predefined labels
Assigning records to predefined categories based on attributes (Correct answer)
Detecting unusual data points that deviate from the norm
Summarizing large datasets into compact statistics

Correct answer: Assigning records to predefined categories based on attributes

Classification algorithms train on labeled data to predict the category of new records, such as spam vs. not-spam.

Certified Computing Professional (CCP)

The ICCP Certified Computing Professional (CCP) validates broad computing knowledge across software engineering, data management, security, and IT management. Candidates must pass a written examination and demonstrate at least 48 months of experience in computer-based information systems.

110

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90 min

Time Limit

70%

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