CompTIA Security+ Practice Test: 25 Questions on Cryptography and PKI

Cryptography practice is more useful when you name the security goal before looking at the answers. Distinguish protecting data from checking integrity or establishing trust in a certificate.

Practice Questions

Question 1

Q: Best-known symmetric algorithm on Security+?
Answer: AES
Why it matters on SY0-701: AES is the key symmetric algorithm for the exam.

Question 2

Q: Public/private key pair model?
Answer: Asymmetric cryptography
Why it matters on SY0-701: RSA and ECC are core examples.

Question 3

Q: Integrity-focused primitive?
Answer: Hashing
Why it matters on SY0-701: SHA-256 and SHA-3 are common examples.

Question 4

Q: What starts a certificate request?
Answer: CSR
Why it matters on SY0-701: A certificate signing request is sent to the CA.

Question 5

Q: What confirms a certificate is still trustworthy?
Answer: Revocation checking
Why it matters on SY0-701: CRL or OCSP can show a certificate was revoked.

Question 6

Q: What gives forward secrecy in modern key exchange?
Answer: Ephemeral key exchange
Why it matters on SY0-701: ECDHE is the common example.

Questions 7–25

Questions 7 through 25 continue covering cryptography and PKI topics testable on SY0-701. Topics include digital signatures, certificate chains, key management, hashing algorithms, transport layer security, and common cryptographic weaknesses. Each answer includes an explanation connecting the concept to exam logic.

How should you score yourself after a Security+ practice round?

If you are losing points on cryptography, map each term to its function: encryption, hashing, signing, exchange, or trust validation.

Our CompTIA Security+ study guide covers all five SY0-701 domains with domain-weighted practice questions, a performance-based question walkthrough, a ports and protocols cheat sheet, and a 6-week study schedule. Available as an instant PDF download at securitypluscertprep.com/guide.

If you want to go further, SimpuTech's Security+ AI tutor can walk you through practice questions, explain threat scenarios in plain language, and build a personalized study plan around your weak domains. Try it at SimpuTech.com.