5.2 Network security Flashcards
Network security
Activities designed to protect a network and its data from threats such as viruses, hacker attacks, denial of service attacks, data interpretation and theft, and equipment failure.
Denial of service (DoS)
An attack on a network that attempts to prevent legitimate users from accessing its services.
Access control
This determines which users have access to which data, and what they are allowed to do with this.
Hacking
The act of gaining unauthorised access to a computer system and the data it contains.
Physical security
Controlling access to critical parts of a network using physical methods rather than software.
Malware
Short for ‘malicious software’. It is used as a generic term for any kind of software that is designed to disrupt the use of a computer system.
USB
Universal Serial Bus sockets found on most modern computer systems.
Cyberattack
Any kind of malicious attack on a network-connected device.
Social engineering
Any kind of attack on a computer system or network that exploits how people behave and respond to certian situations.
Phishing
Attempting to get confidential information by sending a user a message that appears to come from a trustworthy person or organisation.
Shoulder surfing
Gaining access to information by watching someone enter it in a computer system.
Unpatched software
Software that hasn’t had the latest security updated applied to it, making it vulnerable to attack.
Code vulnerability
A computer program that has been written in such a way that it creates a security issue that may be taken advantage of to gain access to the computer system or data within it.
Modular testing
Testing each block of code as it is completed to ensure the code works as expected.
Audit trail
A record of activities that have taken place on a computer system.
This record is generated automatically and will record what and who or what made the change.
