3.6 Cyber Security - Threats Flashcards
What is the definition of ‘cyber security’?
Cyber security refers to the ways in which organisations and individuals can defend computers, systems, networks, programs and data from malicious attacks.
What is social engineering?
This is art of manipulating individuals into sharing confidential personal information such as passwords.
Name 4 types of social engineering.
Phishing, pharming, shouldering, blagging.
What is malware?
Malware is short for ‘malicious software’ and is a term that refers to software which is designed to be harmful to a computer or system.
Name 3 types of malware
Virus, Trojan, Spyware
What is the difference between a virus and a Trojan?
A virus can hard your computer, for example, by deleting or altering files. A Trojan pretends to be a trusted file but can give unauthorised access to a computer when it is run.
Why is a weak or default password a cyber security threat?
Using a weak password/default password means that it can easily be guessed or found in a brute force attack.
What is a brute force attack?
This uses trial and error to find passwords, log in details or encryption keys. The weaker these are, the easier it is to find these in a brute force attack.
Explain what is meant by misconfigured access rights.
This is when user accounts have incorrect permissions giving them access to information they should not have, e.g. employee details.
Give 2 examples of removable media.
USB memory sticks, SD cards, external hard drives.
What are the cyber security dangers of using removable media?
Malware could be transferred from the removable device to the computer system. Also, if lost, sensitive data could be taken by others.
What are the dangers of using unpatched or out of data software?
Some bugs can give hackers the opportunity to steal data or access a system so the ‘patch’ (piece of code) will prevent this happening. Out of data software may not be supported which means that if there are bugs there will be patch.
