WGU C836 FUNDAMENTALS
INFORMATION SECURITY STUDY
GUIDE 2026 COMPLETE QUESTIONS
AND VERIFIED ANSWERS
◉ HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
Answer: this law improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the health
care system and protects patient privacy
◉ FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) Answer: this
law protects the privacy of students and their parents
◉ SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act) Answer: this law regulates the financial
practice and governance of corporations
◉ GLBA (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act) Answer: this law protects the
customers of financial institutions
◉ compliance Answer: relating to an organization's adherence to laws,
regulations, and standards
◉ regulatory compliance Answer: Regulations mandated by law usually
requiring regular audits and assessments
,◉ industry compliance Answer: Regulations or standards designed for
specific industries that may impact ability to conduct business (e.g. PCI
DSS)
◉ privacy Answer: the state or condition of being free from being
observed or disturbed by other people
◉ The Federal Privacy Act of 1974 Answer: This act safeguards privacy
through the establishment of procedural and substantive rights in
personal data
◉ privacy rights Answer: Rights relating to the protection of an
individual's personal information
◉ PII (Personally Identifiable Information) Answer: Information that
can be used to identify an individual, and should be protected as
sensitive data and monitored for compliance
◉ cryptography Answer: the science of keeping information secure
◉ Cryptanalysis Answer: The science of breaking through the
encryption used to create ciphertext
◉ cryptology Answer: The overarching field of study that covers
cryptography and cryptanalysis
, ◉ cryptographic algorithm (cipher) Answer: The specifics of the process
used to encrypt plaintext or decrypt ciphertext
◉ plaintext (cleartext) Answer: unencrypted data
◉ ciphertext Answer: encrypted data
◉ Caesar cipher Answer: an ancient cryptographic technique based on
transposition; involves shifting each letter of a plaintext message by a
certain number of letters (historically 3)
◉ ROT13 cipher Answer: a more recent cipher that uses the same
mechanism as the Caesar cipher but moves each letter 13 places forward
◉ symmetric key cryptography (private key cryptography) Answer: uses
a single key for both encryption of the plaintext and decryption of the
ciphertext
◉ block cipher Answer: A type of cipher that takes a predetermined
number of bits in the plaintext message (commonly 64 bits) and encrypts
that block
◉ stream cipher Answer: A type of cipher that encrypts each bit in the
plaintext message, 1 bit at a time
INFORMATION SECURITY STUDY
GUIDE 2026 COMPLETE QUESTIONS
AND VERIFIED ANSWERS
◉ HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
Answer: this law improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the health
care system and protects patient privacy
◉ FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) Answer: this
law protects the privacy of students and their parents
◉ SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act) Answer: this law regulates the financial
practice and governance of corporations
◉ GLBA (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act) Answer: this law protects the
customers of financial institutions
◉ compliance Answer: relating to an organization's adherence to laws,
regulations, and standards
◉ regulatory compliance Answer: Regulations mandated by law usually
requiring regular audits and assessments
,◉ industry compliance Answer: Regulations or standards designed for
specific industries that may impact ability to conduct business (e.g. PCI
DSS)
◉ privacy Answer: the state or condition of being free from being
observed or disturbed by other people
◉ The Federal Privacy Act of 1974 Answer: This act safeguards privacy
through the establishment of procedural and substantive rights in
personal data
◉ privacy rights Answer: Rights relating to the protection of an
individual's personal information
◉ PII (Personally Identifiable Information) Answer: Information that
can be used to identify an individual, and should be protected as
sensitive data and monitored for compliance
◉ cryptography Answer: the science of keeping information secure
◉ Cryptanalysis Answer: The science of breaking through the
encryption used to create ciphertext
◉ cryptology Answer: The overarching field of study that covers
cryptography and cryptanalysis
, ◉ cryptographic algorithm (cipher) Answer: The specifics of the process
used to encrypt plaintext or decrypt ciphertext
◉ plaintext (cleartext) Answer: unencrypted data
◉ ciphertext Answer: encrypted data
◉ Caesar cipher Answer: an ancient cryptographic technique based on
transposition; involves shifting each letter of a plaintext message by a
certain number of letters (historically 3)
◉ ROT13 cipher Answer: a more recent cipher that uses the same
mechanism as the Caesar cipher but moves each letter 13 places forward
◉ symmetric key cryptography (private key cryptography) Answer: uses
a single key for both encryption of the plaintext and decryption of the
ciphertext
◉ block cipher Answer: A type of cipher that takes a predetermined
number of bits in the plaintext message (commonly 64 bits) and encrypts
that block
◉ stream cipher Answer: A type of cipher that encrypts each bit in the
plaintext message, 1 bit at a time
