Information Technology Specialist (ITS) Cybersecurity Practice Exam

What type of attack involves substituting a source IP address to impersonate a legitimate system?

1. ARP Spoofing

2. IP Spoofing

3. DNS Spoofing

4. Port Scanning

The correct answer is: IP Spoofing

The attack that involves substituting a source IP address to impersonate a legitimate system is known as IP Spoofing. In this type of attack, the attacker manipulates the packet header to replace their own IP address with that of another device, which is often a trusted or legitimate source. This allows the attacker to obfuscate their identity and potentially gain unauthorized access to systems or data, as the communication appears to originate from a trusted entity. IP Spoofing can be used in various malicious activities, such as Denial of Service (DoS) attacks, where the attacker floods a target with traffic using IP addresses that appear legitimate, or during the process of gaining access to secure networks by masquerading as a recognized IP address. Understanding IP Spoofing is crucial for network security, as it highlights the importance of validating IP addresses and implementing security measures that can detect and prevent such deceptive tactics. In contrast, ARP Spoofing involves sending false Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) messages to a local network, DNS Spoofing refers to corrupting the DNS cache to redirect users to fraudulent sites, and Port Scanning is a technique used to identify open ports on a networked device. Each of these methods serves different purposes within the