Cybersecurity Fundamentals Practice Test
Twenty-five original questions covering what an entry-level security certification asks about: the CIA triad, authentication and least privilege, phishing and social engineering, malware and ransomware, what encryption does and does not protect, firewalls and intrusion detection, and the first moves of an incident response. Scored the moment you finish, with a topic breakdown and a reason given for each answer.
For information and self-assessment only, to help you prepare. Always refer to the official certifying body's own materials and content outline as the source of record.
Official body: CompTIA ↗ — publisher of Security+, the common entry credential; ISC2 publishes the CC certification as an alternative starting point
What it covers
25 questions across 7 topics, scored by topic so you can see where the gaps are rather than just how many you missed:
- Core principles
- Authentication and access control
- Social engineering and attacks
- Malware and ransomware
- Cryptography basics
- Network defense
- Incident response
Ready when you are
25 questions, about 25 minutes. Nothing is sent anywhere — the whole thing runs in your browser, and no account is needed.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the Security+ exam?
No. Every question is written from scratch to cover the subject areas an entry-level security certification covers. Reproducing questions from a real exam breaches copyright and the agreement candidates sign, and it teaches badly besides: security questions turn on judgment about a scenario, which memorizing an answer key does nothing to build.
What score suggests I have the fundamentals?
Seventy percent is the threshold here, though an even spread across topics matters more than the total. Security exams punish gaps rather than shallowness: someone confident on attacks and vague on cryptography can average well and still be caught out. The topic breakdown exists so a strong average cannot hide a blank domain.
How should I fit this into a study plan?
Allow about twenty-five minutes, close to a minute per question, which mirrors real exam pacing. Take it early to find the weak topics, study those, then retake it a week or more later. Spacing the retake is considerably more effective than repeating it the same day, when you are recalling the page rather than the material.
Do I need a technical background to start in security?
Less than people assume, but not none. Most entry-level security work sits on top of networking and operating system basics, so a candidate who cannot read an IP address or explain a service will struggle regardless of how much security theory they know. Building that foundation first usually shortens the whole path rather than lengthening it.