Forms of Attack on a Network Flashcards

All 8 cards in this deck

What is malware?

Software written to damage, disrupt or gain unauthorised access to a computer system.
e.g. viruses, worms, trojans, ransomware, spyware

What does ransomware do to a system?

Encrypts the user's files so they cannot be opened, then demands a payment for the decryption key.

An employee receives an email that looks like it is from their bank, asking them to click a link and enter their login details. What form of attack is this?

Phishing — a form of social engineering. Its purpose is to steal personal data such as usernames, passwords or bank details.

True or false? The people who use a system are often its weakest point in terms of security.

True. Attackers use social engineering to trick users into revealing passwords or access, bypassing technical security.

What is a brute-force attack?

An attack that automatically tries many possible combinations of characters to guess a password, in order to gain unauthorised access to an account or system.

What is a denial of service (DoS) attack?

Flooding a server with so many requests that it cannot respond to genuine users, making the service slow or completely unavailable.

What is data interception and theft?

Capturing data as it travels across a network (e.g. packet sniffing) and stealing it, leading to stolen passwords, fraud or loss of confidential data.

What is SQL injection?

Typing SQL code into a website input box so that it is run by the database, letting an attacker view, change or delete data such as usernames and passwords.