Dangerous Data

Question 1

Cybersecurity

Answer 1

The information, tools, and practises relating to the protection of computers, networks, programs, and data.

Question 1

Hacker

Answer 1

A person who illegally accesses computers to cause intentional harm.

Question 2

White Hat Hacker

Answer 2

A hacker who is employed in order to identify flaws in a computer system.

Question 3

Black Hat Hacker

Answer 3

A hacker who acts with malicious intent.

Question 4

CIA (Cybersecurity)

Answer 4

Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability - the three principles of information security, suggesting that information should only be read by the intended people, should remain unchanged, and be available when required.

Question 5

Phishing

Answer 5

The process of sending emails or other forms of communication to a user supposedly coming from a company or other legitimate source. This is in order to trick a user in to responding with personal information such as a password or bank account details.

Question 6

Spear Phishing

Answer 6

A type of phishing directed towards people and organisations of interest using pre-known information.

Question 7

Whaling

Answer 7

A type of spear phishing directed towards senior management.

Question 8

Backdoor

Answer 8

A gap in a computers security which allows hackers to steal data or control the device. This permits a hacker to log keystrokes, monitor clipboard activity, capture screenshots, and detect security software.

Question 9

Keystroke Logging

Answer 9

The process of recording a series of entered keys in order to obtain information such as passwords or PIN numbers.

Question 10

Clipboard Activity Monitoring

Answer 10

The process of recording information on an area of memory known as the ‘clipboard’ which contains copied text and data.

Question 11

APT (Dangerous Data)

Answer 11

Advanced Persistent Threat - a combination of several attacks, such as spear phishing and malware, to expose an organisation for a long period of time.

Question 12

Hashing

Answer 12

The process of transforming a piece of plaintext to a hash using a certain algorithm such as MD5. Every piece of plaintext has a unique hash, with all hashes being of the same length. It is almost impossible to transform a hash back in to plaintext.

Question 13

Brute Force Attack

Answer 13

A method of breaking passwords which means cycling through every possible password.

Question 14

Dictionary Attack

Answer 14

A method of breaking passwords which means trying common passwords stored in a dictionary.

Question 15

Keylogger Program

Answer 15

A program which logs combinations of entered keys.

Question 16

Password Manager

Answer 16

An application for storing passwords for different sites and software.

Question 17

Two-factor Authentication

Answer 17

A requirement by a facility to present two items of information, such as a fingerprint and password, or bank card and PIN.

Question 18

Hardware Security Token

Answer 18

A small item kept in a wallet or on a keychain. The one-time password on it can be used together with a known password to sign in to a bank account online.

Question 19

Malware

Answer 19

A term for malicious software.

Question 20

Ransomware

Answer 20

A type of malware which asks the user for a financial payment, threatening to destroy or encrypt files if it is not given.

Question 21

Virus

Answer 21

A type of malware which can duplicate itself once in a computer. They are attached to specific applications and are activated once the program is run, at which point they send copies to new areas of memory. They consist of three components: the infection mechanism, the trigger, and the payload.

Question 22

Infection Mechanism (Malware)

Answer 22

The part of a virus which locates targets by searching through files or for a new device on a network.

Question 23

Trigger (Malware)

Answer 23

An event which activates a virus - often a date or action.

Question 24

Payload (Malware)

Answer 24

The part of a virus which contains destructive code, used to encrypt data, damage the OS, and other functions.

Question 25

Worm

Answer 25

A form of self-duplicating malware that acts as a standalone application. They can spread through network connections to infect other devices and are activated using a trigger.

Question 26

Trojan

Answer 26

A form of malware, generally transmitted through emails or pop-up advertisements. It contains a harmful payload which can gain control of a computer, copy personal information, monitor keystrokes, or spread to other devices.

Question 27

Adware

Answer 27

A form of malware which forces users to view advertising and can report internet usage.

Question 28

Spyware

Answer 28

A form of malware which attempts to access data by monitoring keystrokes or other patterns.

Question 29

Rootkit

Answer 29

A hidden malware program which can remotely control a computer.

Question 30

Hijacker

Answer 30

A type of malware which can redirect browsers to unintended sites for advertising revenue or to download further malware.

Question 31

Social Engineering

Answer 31

The use of psychology to influence a user in to performing actions that compromise security.

Question 32

Zero Days

Answer 32

A bug unknown to developers and security systems. They can pose a serious threat to companies and users, especially as they take a long period of time to patch.

Question 33

Botnet

Answer 33

A set of infected computers which, together, perform a malicious task over the internet. They can consist of thousands of machines, and can perform tasks including sending spam emails, completing brute-force decryption, mining Bitcoin, initiating a DoS attack, and using click fraud to simulate clicking on an advert.

Question 34

Zombie

Answer 34

A term for an infected computer on a botnet.

Question 35

Client-Server Botnet

Answer 35

A form of botnet in which machines are controlled by a remote command and control server, sometimes multiple. The zombie contacts the server over the internet using pre-existing channels, and can even receive updates through this.

Question 36

Peer-to-Peer Botnet

Answer 36

A modern form of botnet which does not require a central server. Each zombie stores a list of peers which it can exchange information with. Commands and updates begin at a 'commander' and are sent through the network as devices communicate. They are difficult to take down as they only require a single commander to be online.

Question 37

DoS Attack

Answer 37

Denial-of-Service Attack - a method of damaging a network by flooding connections with data that prevents legitimate traffic.

Question 38

DDos Attack

Answer 38

Distributed Denial of Service Attack - a form of DoS attack which consists of thousands of zombies spread out across the internet collaborating on an attack.

Question 39

Antivirus Software

Answer 39

A software intended to combat malware. It uses several techniques to do so including signatures and heuristics.

Question 40

Signatures (Malware)

Answer 40

A unique pattern of data created by a malware program. It can be detected by antivirus software either passively or whilst performing a disk scan, but signatures have to be known for this to work. Signatures can change if a malware creator chooses to update them, and some modern malware can even change its own signature.

Question 41

Heuristics (Malware)

Answer 41

Rules which identify dangerous software based on previous malware experience. They look for code common in malware such as overwriting key OS files. Some heuristics place malware in a simulated computer known as a 'sandbox' to study its effect.

Question 42

Sandbox (Malware)

Answer 42

A simulated computer used to test the effect of software thought to be malware.

Question 43

PLC

Answer 43

Programmable Logic Controller - a machine which allows assembly lines to be updated via magnetic tape cartridges or internet connection. They have long lifetimes, do not consider security concerns, often have default passwords and insecure networks, and work with older models and components.

Question 44

Air Gap

Answer 44

A space which prevents data from leaving or entering a facility.