Security Flashcards
Which kinds of malware are spread by piggybacking?
Trojan, Virus
What harm does the virus, ransomware do?
Locking the computer or files until money is sent/received. Potentially deleting files if nothing is sent fast enough
Why is spyware often built into software with a legitimate purpose?
To encourage users to download and install it, allowing the owners to collect data that can be profiled
What are the usual end goals of a direct hacking attempt?
To gain access to records or commands where high level instructions can be run to control or damage
How does Public Key Encryption keep data secure?
Data secured with a public key can only be decrypted with a corresponding private key as the encryption is one way. If the public key is widely shared the data is still secure as long as the private key remains secure
What are the major vulnerabilities of a firewall?
It allows connections that appear legitimate to get to applications that have been set up to run. These vulnerabilities may be exploited and the firewall would not interact
What are the two different types of protection that are part of a network and often separate to a desktop computer?
Firewall and Proxy server. A Firewall can run on a local machine or remotely while the Proxy must be remote
What are the most common types of security problems that affect small businesses?
Phishing attempts are the most common, taking advantages of lax security practises and a lack of expertise in security
How does Polymorphic Code cause problems for antivirus?
It changes the code within a piece of malware, which can make the malware appear to be different from how it’s expected to appear.
Encryption is often measured in bits. What does that mean?
It refers to the length of the key used to encrypt and decrypt data. Each digit in the key must be known to secure or access data, a larger key becomes more difficult to crack offering exponentially more possible variations
How does heuristic based analysis work?
A method of detecting viruses by examining code for suspicious properties and what an application can do and can use to identify variants
