Threats and Attacks Flashcards
What type of security threats and attacks are there?
- Unintentional
- Intentional
What are some examples of unintentional threats and attacks?
- Coding faults
- Operational faults
- Environmental faults
What are some examples of intentional security threats and attacks?
(Malicious code)
- Trojan horses
- Trap doors
- Viruses
- Worms
What is physical security?
It’s when we restrict access to an object by physical means.
Why is it bad to neglect physical security?
This can undermine other security mechanisms that protect a system. Pointless to have a good file-protection system if the hardware the file is stored on is easily accessible.
What are is a human factor that contribute to weak security?
Users can undermine system security through their naivete, laziness or dishonesty.
What is program security?
A set of conditions that programs that run on a computer are:
- written correctly
- installed and configured properly
- used in the way they were intended
- properly behaved (malicious code)
What are some examples of malicious code?
- Trojan horses
- Traps doors
- viruses
- worms
What are trojan horses?
A trojan horse is a program that is disguised as legitimate program but secretly has a malicious feature.
What is a root kit?
A collection of Trojan Horse programs that replace a range of system utility programs. With the goal to secretly take over a users system.
What is a trap door?
Flaws that designers place in programs so that specific security checks are not performed under certain circumstances.
What is a virus?
A fragment of code created to spread copies of itself to other programs
What does a virus require to spread?
A host (typically a program)
What is the goal of a virus?
To spread and infect as many hosts as possible.
What can viruses also do apart from spread?
They may have added malicious instructions that are run every time the viruses code is executed, such as deleting files or killing other running programs.
How do you detect for viruses?
Virus scanning programs check files for signatures of know viruses.
What is a virus signature?
Some unique fragment of code from the virus that appears in every infected file.
What are polymorphic viruses?
Viruses that change their appearance each time they infect a new file.
What is a worm?
A stand-alone program that can replicate itself and spread.
What is the difference between a worm and a virus?
A worm remains on a single machine whereas viruses spreads from host to host, network to network.
What is buffer overflow attack?
Put more data into a variable than the space has to hold, making it leak out and overwriting other data.
What is the result of a buffer overflow attack?
Alteration of data or execution of arbitrary code.
What are digital signatures?
Digital signatures are cryptographic techniques used to provide authenticity, integrity, and non-repudiation for digital messages or documents
Describe digital signatures authentication property:
Authentication verifies the identity of the user. Ensuring the origin of the signed message is legit and can be trusted.
