CISSP Practice Exam 2025 – Complete Prep Guide

The role of a Network Interface Card (NIC) is to connect a system to a network, enabling communication between devices. The NIC serves as the hardware interface between a computer and the network, allowing for the transmission and reception of data over various types of networks, such as wired or wireless.

By functioning as the essential point of connectivity, the NIC converts data from the computer into a format suitable for transmission over the chosen media, be it Ethernet cables or Wi-Fi signals. Each NIC has a unique MAC address that serves as a hardware identifier on the network, ensuring that data packets are delivered to the correct device.

Other options, while relevant to networking, do not describe the primary function of a NIC. Encrypting data is typically handled by specialized encryption software or hardware solutions, managing database connections pertains to database management systems rather than networking hardware, and monitoring network traffic usually involves network analysis tools or software, separate from the basic connectivity role provided by a NIC.