14- Threats to computer systems and networks Flashcards
What are the different ways a network can be hacked?
malware phishing brute force denial of service data interception and theft structured query language injection poor network policy people
What is malware?
Malware is malicious software that is designed to hack a system. Malware can take many different forms.
What different forms can malware take place as?
Viruses, worms, trojans, spyware and ransomware
What are viruses?
Programs embedded (hidden) within other files. They replicate themselves and become part of other programs. Viruses often cause damage by deleting or modifying data.
What are worms?
Programs similar to viruses except that they are not hidden within other files. Worms often spread through emails.
What are trojans?
Programs which pretend to be legitimate but in reality are malware. They are often disguised as email attachments. Trojans cannot spread by themselves - instead they deceive a user into installing the program
What is spyware?
Programs that monitor user activities (such as websites visited, usernames and passwords used) and send the information back to a hacker.
What is ransomware?
Programs that attempt to blackmail a user into making a payment to a hacker. Some types of ransomware do little but try to scare users into paying, while others go further - they encrypt documents and will not decrypt them until a ransom is paid.
What is phishing?
Emails that try to trick users into giving away personal details. The phishing email pretends to be a genuine message and tries to deceive the user into following a link to a website that looks like the real company, for example, a bank. However, it is a fake website designed to catch data such as bank account numbers and security codes.
What is a brute force attack?
Where a program is used to find a password by trying all possible combinations of characters until the correct one is obtained.
What is a Denial of service attack?
Where a computer (or many computers) is used to prevent a server from performing its tasks. This is done by bombarding the server over and over again with requests. Eventually the server is tied up trying to handle all the DOS requests, making it very difficult for it to respond to legitimate requests.
What is Data interception and theft
Where data is intercepted during transmission. This is done using software called a packet sniffer, which examines data packets as they are sent around a network, or across the internet. The information gathered is sent back to a hacker.
What is SQL injection?
SQL is used to search databases. A hacker can enter some malicious SQL into a database, which can cause errors or unintended operations.
What is poor network policy?
Where a network does not have security rules in place for users to follow.
How are people a threat to networks?
Where users do not adhere to network policy. People frequently ignore rules, or accidentally or deliberately break them. For example, many users choose easy to guess passwords, or send and receive personal emails which may contain viruses. This behaviour increases the chances of a network being compromised and its data being accessed by unauthorised users. This is sometimes called social engineering.
