Methods of Preventing a Network Attack Flashcards
All 10 cards in this deck
What is penetration testing?
Deliberately attacking a system to find its weaknesses before a real attacker does; the vulnerabilities found are reported so they can be fixed.
What does anti-malware software do?
Scans files and incoming data and compares them with known malware signatures, then quarantines or deletes anything it finds and stops it running.
What is a firewall?
Software or hardware that stops unauthorised access to a network by checking incoming and outgoing traffic against a set of rules and blocking anything not allowed.
How do user access levels limit the damage caused by an attack?
Each user can only reach the files and functions their role needs, so a compromised account gives the attacker access to only a small part of the system.
What makes a strong password policy?
Long passwords mixing upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols, changed regularly, not reused, with a limit on failed login attempts.
How does encryption protect data?
It scrambles the data into ciphertext using a key, so anyone who intercepts or steals it cannot understand it without the key.
True or false? Encryption prevents data from being intercepted.
False. It does not stop interception — it makes the intercepted data meaningless without the decryption key.
Give three physical security measures used to protect a computer system.
Locked doors on server rooms, CCTV, security guards, biometric locks. They prevent theft of, damage to, or direct access to devices.
True or false? A firewall will stop an employee being tricked by a phishing email.
False. A firewall only filters network traffic; staff training and awareness are needed against social engineering.
What is the main reason an organisation should use several prevention methods together rather than just one?
No single method prevents every form of attack, so the layers cover each other's weaknesses.
e.g. a firewall cannot stop a user revealing their password to a phishing email