The History Of Cybersecurity Flashcards
What is a computer virus?
Malicious code written to interfere with computer operations and cause damage to data and software.
Who created the Brain Virus?
In what year?
For what purpose?
Created by the Alvi brothers
In 1986
To track illegal copies of medical software
Who created the Morris Worm?
In what year?
For what purpose?
Created by Robert Morris
In 1988
Developed to assess the size of the internet.
How did the Morris Worm spread?
By crawling the web and installing itself on computers to tally the number connected to the internet, but failed to tally the already infected ones, thus reinstalled itself continuously till the computers ran out of memory and crashed
What is phishing?
This is the use of digital communications to trick people into revealing sensitive data or deploying malicious software
What is Spear Phishing
A malicious email attack targeting specific users (or groups)
What is whaling?
A form of spear phishing that targets the executives of a company to gain access to sensitive data
What is Vishing?
A form of phishing which makes use of voice communications to obtain sensitive information or to impersonate a known person/source
What is Smishing?
A form of phishing making use of SMS (text) communication to trick users in order to obtain information or impersonate a known person/source
What is Malware and it’s primary purpose?
Software designed to harm devices or networks.
To obatin money, orbin some cases an intelligence advantage that can be used against a person, organization or territory.
What is a worm?
How does it differ from a virus?
A worm is malware that can duplicate itself across systems on its own.
It differs in not needing a user to initiate it by a download. It simply spreads on its own infecting a whole network.
What is Ransomware?
This is a form of malware attack in which data is unwillingly encrypted, and a ransom is demanded for restoration.
What is Spyware?
A form of malware in which information is gathered and sold without consent.
What is Social Engineering?
A manipulation technique that exploits human error to gain private information, access or valuables.
List 4 types of social engineering attacks (Hint: SM-Ph, WH, USB, pSE)
- Social Media Phishing
- Watering Hole attack
- USB baiting
- Physical Social Engineering
