Fundamentals of Cyber Security Flashcards
Define the term social engineering.
The art of manipulating people so they divulge personal information such as passwords to bank account details.
Explain the term blagging.
Blagging is the act of creating and using an invented scenario to engage a targeted victim in a manner that increases the chance the victim will divulge information or perform actions that would be unlikely in ordinary circumstances.
Explain the term phishing.
A technique of fraudulently obtaining private information, often using email or SMS
Explain the term pharming.
A cyber attack intended to redirect a website’s traffic to another, fake site.
- The attacker will put code code on your hard drive or on the actual server itself.
- When you type in a genuine website address, pharming redirects you to a fake/bogus website and you will be asked to give personal info.
Explain the term shouldering.
Observing a person’s private information over their shoulder eg cashpoint machine PIN numbers.
Define the term ‘malware’.
The term used to refer to a variety of forms of hostile or intrusive software.
Describe how malware can be protected against.
Anti-malware software:
Prevents harmful programs from being installed on the computer.
Prevents important files, such as OS, from being changed or deleted.
If a virus does install itself, the software will detect it whilst performing regular scans - any virus detected will be scanned.
Describe the term computer virus.
A program that is installed on your computer without your knowledge or permission with the purpose of doing harm.
- Includes instructions to replicate automatically on a computer and between computers.
Describe the term trojan.
A program which appears to have one legitimate purpose but actually has another - normally spread by emails.
Describe the term spyware.
Software that gathers information about a person or organisation without their knowledge. Often used to track and store users’ movements on the internet.
Describe the term adware.
Analyses which internet sites a user visits and then presents adverts for products which the user may be interested in.
Explain biometric measures as a security measure.
Biometric measures are used to identify people to prove to the system that they are who they claim to be - this includes fingerprint scan, voice pattern sample or retinal scan.
Explain CAPTCHA (or similar) as a security measure.
Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computer and Humans Apart, is a type of test to determine whether or not the user is human.
Explain using email confirmations to confirm a user’s identity as a security measure.
Email confirmations may be sent when you sign up to a new web service. You will not be registered until you click on the link to finish off the registration process and activate the account.
Explain automatic software updates as a security measure.
Browsers, pdf readers, and other software can be automatically updated by selecting options to automatically update and install either from the OS or from the software.
- This will remove any harmful code that has been planted in the software by the hacker, or potential vulnerabilities that could be exploited in the future.
