(SEM III) THEORY EXAMINATION 2020-21 COMPUTER SYSTEM SECURITY

This is the official AKTU University Question Paper for B.Tech 3rd Semester students, covering the subject Computer System Security. The paper includes three major sections—A, B, and C, with a mix of conceptual, theoretical, and application-based questions.

SECTION A – Very Short Answers (2 marks × 10 = 20 marks)

This section contains 10 brief questions on fundamental security topics, including:

Role of cipher and key in cryptography                                      Advantages & limitations of UNIX

Concept of privilege and secure architecture principles             Working of SSL

Issues with ptrace                                                                        Covert channels and disadvantages

Dropping privileges using effective user IDs                             Need for DNSSEC

Goals of confidentiality policies                                               Advanced anti-XSS tools

These questions test basic security concepts and definitions.

SECTION B – Attempt Any 3 Long Answers (10 marks × 3 = 30 marks)

This section includes in-depth questions such as:

Logout process, session hijacking & prevention                  Network-based IDS & strengths

Explanation of SQL Injection, CSRF, XSS, Sessions, HTTP Auth problems

Role-based access control (RBAC) & its properties           Session fixation attacks & prevention

These questions evaluate understanding of web security vulnerabilities, defensive practices, and access control models.

SECTION C – 5 Sub-Parts (Attempt 1 from each) (10 marks each)

This section includes higher-weight analytical questions, such as:

Exploiting web application vulnerabilities              Identity-based access control & weaknesses

Single-key vs Public-key cryptography                 Knark and its features

LRK v4 Trojans (e.g., ifconfig, login, ls, passwd, ps, rshd, syslogd) 

Digital signatures and real-world usage                  DoS attacks & mitigation

Real-world security protocols                                 Windows vs UNIX access control

DNS working

This section tests deep understanding + real-world application of cybersecurity concepts.

This paper checks your knowledge of:

Cryptography basics                              Web vulnerabilities

Operating system security                     Network security

Access control                                        DoS attacks

Digital signatures                                   DNS and real-world protocols

It mixes short crisp definitions, explanations, and long conceptual questions.