What is malware?
An umbrella term for a variety of forms of hostile or intrusive software.
Name three forms of malware.
Computer viruses, trojans and spyware.
What is a computer virus?
Malware that attaches itself to a legitimate program or file and spreads when the infected file is opened.
What is a trojan?
A malicious program that disguises itself as legitimate software.
What is spyware?
Malware that secretly gathers information about a user’s activity, such as keystrokes, and sends it to the attacker.
What is social engineering?
Techniques used to manipulate people into giving away confidential information.
What is phishing?
Sending a communication that looks genuine, containing a link used to fraudulently obtain personal information.
How are brute-force attacks normally conducted?
Using automated software that quickly tests thousands of possible username and password combinations.
What is the purpose of brute-force attacks?
To break into user accounts or systems by guessing login credentials.
How are denial of service attacks normally conducted?
By sending a massive number of requests to a server in a short space of time.
What is the purpose of denial of service attacks?
To overwhelm a website or online service, making it slow or inaccessible for real users.
Which type of networks are particularly vulnerable to data interception and theft?
Unsecured networks.
How does SQL injection work?
Malicious SQL code is entered into website input fields; if input is not checked, the code is run by the database.
What is penetration testing?
Simulated attacks used to find vulnerabilities before real attackers do.
What does penetration testing prevent?
Helps prevent SQL injection, brute‑force attacks, and data interception by identifying weaknesses that can be fixed.
What is anti-malware software?
Software that scans for, detects and removes malware by comparing files to a known database.
What does anti-malware software prevent?
Helps prevent malware infections such as viruses, trojans, spyware and ransomware.
What is a firewall?
Monitors incoming and outgoing traffic and blocks data that does not meet security rules.
What does a firewall prevent?
Can block denial of service attacks and malware from the internet.
What are user access levels?
Restrictions on what each user can view or change in a system, based on their role.
What do user access levels prevent?
Help prevent misuse of data, insider threats and damage from low‑level compromised accounts.
What is the purpose of a password?
Protects accounts by making it harder for attackers to log in without authorisation.
What do secure passwords help prevent?
Limit brute-force attacks and unauthorised access.
What is encryption?
A process that turns data into unreadable code unless decrypted with the correct key.
