Embedded and IoT Security Engineering Quiz

1. In embedded firmware security, what does code signing accomplish?

Compresses firmware files for faster downloads

Verifies firmware authenticity and integrity using cryptographic signatures

Encrypts all device communications

Removes unnecessary code to reduce size

2. Which vulnerability type allows attackers to bypass authentication in embedded systems?

Weak or hardcoded credentials

High power consumption

Excessive logging

Fast processing speed

3. What is the role of a secure enclave in IoT device security?

Stores sensitive data and performs cryptographic operations in isolation

Encrypts all network traffic

Monitors device temperature

Manages device battery power

4. In embedded systems, what is a common source of entropy for cryptographic key generation?

System clock only

Hardware random number generators or physical noise

User input passwords

Predictable seed values

5. What does certificate pinning accomplish in IoT applications?

Reduces data transmission size

Prevents man-in-the-middle attacks by hardcoding trusted certificates

Increases device processing speed

Eliminates the need for encryption

6. Which communication protocol provides built-in security features for IoT?

CoAP

DTLS (Datagram Transport Layer Security)

Raw UDP

Unencrypted HTTP

7. What is a key challenge in securing legacy embedded systems?

Too much processing power

Limited resources and difficulty patching older hardware

Excessive encryption overhead

Inability to connect to networks

8. In IoT security, what is the purpose of device attestation?

Proves the device is genuine and running legitimate firmware

Encrypts all network traffic

Prevents physical tampering

Increases network bandwidth

9. Which attack involves injecting malicious code into a running embedded application?

Replay attack

Buffer overflow or code injection attack

Denial of Service

Eavesdropping

10. What is the primary benefit of over-the-air (OTA) firmware updates in IoT?

Reduces device cost

Enables remote patching without physical device access

Increases device processing power

Eliminates the need for secure boot

11. What is the primary security risk associated with firmware updates in IoT devices?

Increased power consumption

Man-in-the-middle attacks during transmission and installation

Loss of device connectivity

Reduced storage capacity

12. Which of the following is a characteristic of a trusted execution environment (TEE)?

Runs all applications with root privileges

Isolated, secure processor area resistant to external attacks

Eliminates the need for encryption

Allows unrestricted access to device memory

13. What is a common vulnerability in IoT devices with default credentials?

Improved performance

Unauthorized access and device compromise

Reduced power consumption

Enhanced firmware security

14. In threat modeling for IoT, what does STRIDE stand for?

Security, Threats, Risk, Implementation, Design, Evaluation

Spoofing, Tampering, Repudiation, Information Disclosure, Denial of Service, Elevation of Privilege

Standards, Tools, Requirements, Infrastructure, Data, Encryption

Scanning, Testing, Reporting, Identification, Documentation, Exploitation

15. What is the primary purpose of a Hardware Security Module (HSM) in embedded systems?

Reduces device manufacturing costs

Stores and manages cryptographic keys securely

Increases device processing speed

Eliminates the need for firmware updates

16. Which protocol is commonly used for lightweight IoT device communication?

HTTP/2

MQTT

FTP

SMTP

17. In IoT networks, what is the role of a gateway device?

Stores all sensor data locally

Acts as a bridge between IoT devices and the cloud or backend system

Generates encryption keys for all devices

Monitors physical access to the network

18. What is a side-channel attack in the context of embedded security?

Exploiting unintended information leaks like timing or power consumption

Attacking the device through its power supply cable

Intercepting wireless signals during transmission

Reverse-engineering the device firmware

19. Which cryptographic approach is most suitable for resource-constrained IoT devices?

RSA-4096 for all operations

Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) with smaller key sizes

DES encryption

No encryption due to performance limits

20. In embedded systems, what does 'secure boot' accomplish?

Verifies the integrity of the bootloader and kernel before execution

Encrypts all user data on the device

Prevents unauthorized physical access

Disables unnecessary network services

SecurityX Embedded and IoT Security Engineering Quiz