Security Flashcards
Name some typical security threats for web applications
Phishing
Ransomware
Malware
Data
Denial-of-service attack
SQL injection
Cross-site scripting
Spyware
Man-in-the-middle attack
What is phishing?
Phishing is a form of social engineering and scam where attackers deceive people into revealing sensitive information or installing malware such as ransomware.
What is ransomware?
Ransomware is a form of malware that results in an attacker holding their victim’s data or computer hostage. The attacker threatens to block access to, corrupt, or publish the data unless their victim pays a ransom fee.
Ransomware attacks are typically initiated through phishing emails that contain malicious attachments or links that lead the user’s computer to download malware. The device gets infected by the malware, which looks for files to encrypt and prevents users from accessing them. Ransomware is also spread via drive-by downloading, which occurs when users visit an infected website that downloads malware onto their device without them knowing.
What is malware?
What is a denial-of-service attack
A DDoS attack is a web security threat that involves attackers flooding servers with large volumes of internet traffic to disrupt service and take websites offline. The sheer volume of fake traffic results in the target network or server being overwhelmed, which leaves them inaccessible.
DDoS attacks are often carried out by disgruntled employees or hacktivists who want to cause harm to an organization by taking their server offline. Others are done for the fun of exploiting cyber weakness, and many DDoS attacks are financially motivated, such as certain organizations stealing information from their competitors. They can also be used as part of a ransomware attack.
What is SQL injection?
Structured Query Language (SQL) is a computing language used to search and query databases. SQL injection is a web security threat in which attackers exploit vulnerabilities in the application code. Attackers achieve this by inserting an SQL query in standard online form fields, such as login boxes on a website, which are passed to the application’s SQL database.
SQL injection attacks have succeeded in exploiting vulnerabilities on shared codebases like WordPress plugins. A vulnerability in the code can lead to hundreds of thousands of websites using the code being hacked. Attackers use this web security issue to steal corporate data, such as customer files and financial information.
What is cross-site scripting?
Cross-site scripting (XSS) is a form of web security issue that enables attackers to execute malicious scripts on trusted websites. In an XSS attack, web applications or pages are used to submit malicious code and compromise user interactions. The attacker can then seize a user’s identity to carry out malicious activity, gain authorized access to corporate information, or steal their data.
The script used in XSS attacks prevents users’ browsers from identifying malicious activity. The attacker is therefore free to browse the user’s cookies, sensitive data, and session tokens stored in their browser.
What is Spyware?
Spyware is a form of malware that gathers data from users and their devices then sends it to third-party individuals without consent.
What is man-in-the-middle attack?
A man-in-the-middle attack is a type of cyber threat where a cybercriminal intercepts communication between two individuals in order to steal data.
What is a virus?
Viruses and worms are malicious programs that spread through computers and networks. Both exploit software vulnerabilities that allow an attacker to steal data from systems. Viruses and worms also install backdoors into systems that an attacker can use to gain unauthorized access, corrupt files, and inflict broader damage to a company.
Worms, in particular, eat up vast amounts of computer memory and network bandwidth, which leads to servers, systems, and networks overloading and malfunctioning. Worms can operate independently, enabling them to spread between systems, but a virus requires a host computer to carry out malicious activity.
