Threats to Data, Info & Systems Flashcards
What is malware?
Malware is malicious software designed to harm or gain unauthorized access to a computer system.
What are the different types of malware?
The different types of malware include viruses, worms, Trojans, and spyware.
What is a virus?
A virus is a type of malware that copies and inserts itself into programs running on your computer system. It spreads when the programs or data files it is attached to are passed to another system.
What is a worm?
A worm is a type of malware that is similar to a virus but does not need to attach itself to other programs. It spreads through tunnelling through a network and exploiting security holes in systems to gain access.
What is a Trojan?
A Trojan is a harmful program that masquerades as a legitimate software application. It spreads by users downloading it thinking it is a program they want, but it hides a harmful payload. It doesn’t self-replicate like worms and viruses.
What is spyware?
Spyware is a malicious program that monitors user activity for the purpose of stealing personal information. An example would be a keylogger that records every keystroke a user makes and sends it back to a malicious user. This is commonly spread as part of a Trojan.
How can malware impact individuals and organizations?
Malware can corrupt or delete data being stored on IT systems, causing inconvenience and potential loss of important information. Spyware can also be used to gather personal data for the purpose of stealing money or committing identity fraud.
What is a hacker?
A hacker is someone who gains unauthorized access to a computer system.
What is a brute force attack?
A brute force attack is a type of hacking where a program automatically goes through a list of common passwords until it eventually guesses the correct password and gains access to the computer system.
What is a white hat hacker?
A white hat hacker is someone who tests systems for security flaws by attempting to gain access in order to help check the security procedures of an organization. They may even be paid bounties for detecting security flaws in software and reporting them to the organization that developed the software.
How can hacking impact individuals and organizations?
Hacking can result in unauthorized access to an organization’s or individual’s data, which can be used to steal financial information or commit identity fraud. Hackers could also use private and confidential data for blackmail purposes
What is phishing?
Phishing is a type of attack where emails are sent pretending to be from a reputable company in order to gain personal or financial information.
How does phishing work?
A phishing email will appear to be from a reputable business and will usually contain a link that appears to be for their website. However, when clicked on it will take the user to another website that is designed to look like the business’ but is not. This website will contain a form to be filled out with personal data and when submitted will go to the malicious user.
What is phone phishing?
Phone phishing is where people phone users claiming to be from a legitimate business in order to gain personal and financial information.
How can phishing impact individuals and organizations?
The goal of phishing is usually to obtain personal and financial information, which can be used for stealing money or committing identity fraud. The data stolen from organizations through a phishing email could also be used to perform a hack on the organization.
