Seemed broad at first but they clearly wanted you to pick one and actually explain it, not just rattle off a list.
Start by briefly listing the most common cyber attacks (e.g., phishing, ransomware, DDoS, SQL injection, XSS) to show breadth, then select one attack to walk through in detail, covering how it works, why it's effective, and potential mitigations. Tailor the detailed example to demonstrate technical depth and relevance to software engineering at Google, emphasizing root cause analysis and trade-offs in defense.
Pro tip: Choose an attack that aligns with Google's focus on scalable systems and security, such as a large-scale DDoS or a supply chain attack, and discuss both technical and organizational mitigations to show a holistic understanding.
Briefly name 4-5 prevalent cyber attacks (e.g., phishing, ransomware, DDoS, SQL injection, XSS) to establish a broad understanding.
Choose one attack that you can explain thoroughly and that is relevant to the role, such as SQL injection for a software engineer.
Walk through how the attack works step-by-step, including the vulnerability exploited, the attacker's actions, and the impact.
Analyze why the attack succeeds (e.g., poor input validation, lack of encryption) and the trade-offs in preventing it (e.g., performance vs. security).
Suggest technical and procedural defenses (e.g., parameterized queries, WAF, security training) and how they address the root cause.
AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.