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CISSP · Question #1089

A federal agency has hired an auditor to perform penetration testing on a critical system as part of the mandatory, annual Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) security assessments…

The correct answer is B. Black box testing. Black box testing is a type of penetration testing that simulates an attack from an external source with little or no prior knowledge of the target system. The tester relies on publicly available information, such as network scans, domain names, or email addresses, to discover…

Submitted by yaw92· Mar 5, 2026Security Assessment and Testing

Question

A federal agency has hired an auditor to perform penetration testing on a critical system as part of the mandatory, annual Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) security assessments. The auditor is new to this system but has extensive experience with all types of penetration testing. The auditor has decided to begin with sniffing network traffic. What type of penetration testing is the auditor conducting?

Options

  • AWhite box testing
  • BBlack box testing
  • CGray box testing
  • DRed box testing

How the community answered

(43 responses)
  • A
    2% (1)
  • B
    91% (39)
  • C
    5% (2)
  • D
    2% (1)

Explanation

Black box testing is a type of penetration testing that simulates an attack from an external source with little or no prior knowledge of the target system. The tester relies on publicly available information, such as network scans, domain names, or email addresses, to discover and exploit the vulnerabilities of the system. Black box testing mimics the perspective and tactics of a real- world attacker, and evaluates the system's security posture, resilience, and exposure. Black box testing is often used to assess the security of web applications, network services, and wireless networks. Black box testing is different from white box testing, which simulates an attack from an internal source with full or partial knowledge of the target system. White box testing requires access to the system's source code, design documents, or configuration files, and evaluates the system's security architecture, logic, and functionality. White box testing is often used to assess the security of software code, databases, and APIs. Black box testing is also different from gray box testing, which simulates an attack from an external or internal source with limited knowledge of the target system. Gray box testing requires access to some information about the system, such as user credentials, network diagrams, or application interfaces, and evaluates the system's security controls, processes, and data flows. Gray box testing is often used to assess the security of web services, mobile applications, and cloud environments. Black box testing is also different from red box testing, which is not a type of penetration testing, but a term used to describe the testing of physical security devices, such as locks, alarms, or cameras, using specialized tools or

Topics

#penetration testing#black box testing#network sniffing

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