Bill is a network administrator. He wants to eliminate unencrypted traffic inside his company's network. He decides to setup a SPAN port and capture all traffic to the datacenter. He immediately disco

The correct answer is B. SNMP and he should change it to SNMP V3. Explanation Option B is correct because UDP port 161 is the well-known port for SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), and SNMPv1/v2c transmit data - including community strings (essentially passwords) - in plaintext. SNMPv3 introduced authentication and encryption (using pro

Submitted by viktor_hu· Mar 6, 2026Vulnerability Analysis

Question

Bill is a network administrator. He wants to eliminate unencrypted traffic inside his company's network. He decides to setup a SPAN port and capture all traffic to the datacenter. He immediately discovers unencrypted traffic in port UDP 161. what protocol is this port using and how can he secure that traffic?

Options

Ait is not necessary to perform any actions, as SNMP is not carrying important information.
BSNMP and he should change it to SNMP V3
CRPC and the best practice is to disable RPC completely
DSNMP and he should change it to SNMP v2, which is encrypted

How the community answered

(36 responses)

A
8% (3)
B
83% (30)
C
3% (1)
D
6% (2)

Explanation

Option B is correct because UDP port 161 is the well-known port for SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), and SNMPv1/v2c transmit data - including community strings (essentially passwords) - in plaintext. SNMPv3 introduced authentication and encryption (using protocols like AES and SHA), making it the only version that satisfies the requirement to eliminate unencrypted traffic.

Why the distractors are wrong:

Option A is incorrect because SNMP community strings and network device information (topology, configurations, uptime) are highly sensitive and absolutely worth protecting from interception.
Option C is incorrect because UDP 161 is not used by RPC (Remote Procedure Call); RPC typically uses TCP/UDP port 135.
Option D is incorrect because SNMPv2c, while offering some improvements over v1, still transmits data in plaintext - it does not provide encryption.

Memory Tip

Think "v3 = Victory over plaintext" - only SNMPv3 adds the security trio of Authentication, Encryption, and Message Integrity. A quick port association to remember: 161 = SNMP (think "1-6-1, SNMP done").

Topics

#SNMP#Network Protocol Security#Port Identification#Unencrypted Traffic

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