Cybersecurity Flashcards
An example of a cybersecurity threat is social engineering techniques. Explain what this is and give examples
-the use of deception to target people into giving away personal/confidential information
-exploits human weakness to create situations where the person gives away information unknowingly
Examples:
-blagging/pretexting: where the attacker pretends to be someone else encouraging the person to give private information
-vishing: trying to get personal information over the telephone (i.e. voice notes and calls)
-phishing: cyber-attacker uses an email or text to persuade the victim to click on a hyperlink and enter personal information
-shouldering: watching what a user is doing on their computer, usually to steal a password
An example of a cybersecurity threat is malicious code (malware). Explain what this is and give examples.
Software that is designed to:
• prevent a computer from working properly
• gather information from a user without the user knowing
• gain unauthorised access to a computer system
• display unwanted advertising.
Some examples of malware include:
Viruses:
-causes deliberate harm to data stored on a computer or copies itself so that it transfers to as many computers as possible
-they can delete specific files or change software files so that they don’t run or destroy all data on a computer
-viruses can copy themselves through USBs, memory cards, recordable optical disks, across a network, from the internet, etc
Trojans: disguised as genuine software but instead installs malware ; they can be disguised as adverts but also documents/email attachments
Spyware: collects information about people/organisations without their knowledge
-keyloggers: a type of spyware that tracks a user’s keystrokes to find out what is being typed, including passwords
-worm: like a virus but copies itself across a network without user action or needing to be attached to a host file
Adware: software that display adverts on a computer or collect data about the user that can be used for marketing, leading to unwanted adverts like pop-up windows and a change of browser home page.
Explain what makes a weak password
-using the same password across multiple sites, as if one is discovered then it will be easy to figure out the others
-not changed often, so more chance of shouldering being a problem for them
-using default passwords like qwerty and 1234
-using PINs associated with themselves like birthdays
An example of a cybersecurity threat is pharming. Explain what this is.
-cyber attack intended to redirect a website’s traffic to a fake website.
-victim may try and login using password, credit card details, etc believing that the website is genuine
An example of a cybersecurity threat is misconfigured access rights. Explain what this is.
-usually only a systems admin can access every computer system’s information, whereas each user can only access their own
-however,permissions can be given so they can gain access, and if this is done wrongly, then people may access personal data within a database
An example of a cybersecurity threat is removable media. Explain what this is.
-if something can be removed, then it can be lost or stolen
-by gaining access to it, they can easily insert it into a computer system and read, or maybe write/delete data on the media
-this data can also be copied onto their own system
-they can also introduce malware onto it
Explain how unpatched/outdated software is an example of a cybersecurity threat.
-security flaws/loopholes allows hackers to gain unauthorised access
-this relies not only on software manufacturers, but also users to instal the updates, or at least set up computers to automatically install software updates
Clues to spot in a phishing email
the sender’s email address is not from the company the email claims to be
from
• the address of the website is not the real company, although the address
may look real, but links to elsewhere. Hover your pointer over the address to
check its real destination
• spelling and grammar errors are present in the email
• the recipient is asked to open an attachment
• the recipient is persuaded to take urgent action
What are the 4 main levels of access rights to data?
Read-only
Create
Write
Delete
Explain the different methods of detecting/preventing cyberattacks (verification methods)
-biometric measures: Using a unique part of someone’s biology to identify someone. This can include scanning fingerprints, the iris and facial recognition
-CAPTCHA: protects websites against bots, usually by displaying blurry text that a human can read, something computers cannot do as easily. reCAPTCHA is where the user simply clicks on a box to confirm they are not a robot
-password systems: automated procedures that ensure passwords comply to restrictions to remain safe, i.e. minimum length, cannot have been used before, must include at least 1 symbol/number, forcing the user to change password regularly
-email and mobile phone confirmations: ensures that people do not use other people’s personal data to sign up for websites
Explain some software solutions to detecting/preventing cyber-attacks
-automatic software updates: manufacturers issue an update/“patch” which covers security loopholes to protect systems from hackers. As this is automatic, the user doesn’t need to remember to install them
-anti-malware software: scans a computer for malware and removes them (only required when anti-malware software is first installed) ; has a resident shield to detect malware as soon as it enters the computer system
Explain some user solutions to detecting/preventing cyber-attacks
-be wary of unknown phone callers, emails, etc
-check hyperlinks in an email before opening it
-manage passwords
Explain penetration testing
-authorised attempts to attack a system to test its security and find weaknesses
-organisation owning system asks for it
White box penetration testing:
-malicious insider does the testing
-knowledge of basic credentials, e.g. IP address, software, usernames, etc
-helps to protect against security threats from within an organisation
Black box testing:
-tester has no information about the system or users
-more realistic as hackers are usually uninformed
-helps to protect against security threats from outside the organisation
