Top 20 Security+ Exam Questions (and How to Answer Them)
The 20 Security+ SY0-701 question patterns candidates see most - attack scenarios, control selection, PBQ traps - with the reasoning for each correct answer.
Security+ questions · 9 min read · updated 2026-09-05
Security+ recycles a small number of question *patterns* across a large pool of questions. Master these twenty patterns and most exam items will feel like variations you have already solved.
Attack and threat patterns (Domain 2)
Phishing and social engineering items ask for the best next action: report, block the sender and delete - never open the attachment. Ransomware questions pivot on isolation and offline backups; the answer is containment, then restore, then pay nothing.
Malware family questions pair a behaviour with a family: encryption plus ransom note = ransomware, self-replication = worm, disguised legitimate app = trojan. Password-spraying vs brute force and SQL injection vs XSS are decided by the technique, not the target.
Control and architecture patterns (Domains 1, 3)
Best-control questions map the asset to the safeguard: data at rest - encryption; data in use - tokenization or masking; credential theft - MFA plus privileged access management; insider leak - DLP plus least privilege. Zero-trust items hinge on continuous verification beating perimeter-only controls.
Cloud and virtualization items test shared responsibility: the provider secures the infrastructure, you secure data, identities and configuration. Hypervisor or container escape questions expect isolation and patching recommendations, not disabling virtualization.
Operations and governance patterns (Domains 4, 5)
Incident-response ordering is tested repeatedly: contain, eradicate, recover, lessons learned - and preserve evidence before touching anything. Log questions ask where an event lives (authentication in identity logs, file access in system logs) and why NTP time sync matters for correlation.
Governance wording traps: policy is mandatory, a standard defines the how, a guideline is advisory. Risk math (ALE = SLE x ARO) appears once per exam with clean numbers. Third-party risk questions favour assessments plus contractual controls over trust.
Frequently asked questions
- Are Security+ exam questions multiple choice only?
- No - the exam opens with a few performance-based questions (PBQs): drag-and-drop, matching or ordering items. The rest are multiple choice, often wrapped in short scenarios.
- Where can I practise free Security+ questions?
- PassYour offers a free 10-question Security+ quiz online with no account needed, and the full 225-question bank with explanations is included in the Security+ track alongside three timed mock exams.
- How do I answer the 'best' or 'most likely' Security+ questions?
- Read the question for the goal (containment, prevention, compliance) and eliminate options that are technically true but not the best next step. Security+ rewards the control that addresses root cause with least business disruption.
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