revision

revision

1. cyberattacks

   • definition- attempts to compromise a system or obtain unauthorised digital data (hacking)
   • skill- explain cyberattacks and how to avoid them
     • phishing
     • malware
       • ransomware
       • botnets
       • keyloggers
   • key terms
     • hacking- unauthorised access to computer material
     • phishing- sending a fake email or message pretending to be from a bank/ organisation, which tricks users into trying to log on to a fake website, stealing the login details
     • malware- malicious software, designed to cause harm
     • ransomware- malware that encrypts users files and demands a ransom to decrypt it
     • botnet- a network of computers which contain malware allowing them to be controlled by a hackker
     • keylogger- malware that records every keypass and sends it to a hacker for analysis

2. cyber defences

   • definition- techniques and systems to reduce the impact of cyberattacks
   • skill- explain the process and impact of
     • security software (antivirus)
     • white and grey hat hacking
     • backups
   • key terms
     • security software- often called antivirus software even though it deals with more than just viruses, scans computers for known malware and removes it. must be kept up to date with the latest malware definitions
     • white hat hacking- hacking that is done with the athorisation of the company being hacked. the hacker produces a report of all the vulnerabilites they found, so that the company can fix them
     • grey hat hacking- hacking done without athorisation of the company, but with good intentions, often the company will be informed of how the hacker was able to gain access
     • backups- keeping a copy of important data on a different system, so that it can be restored if the original is damaged

3. encryption

   • definition- altering data so that it can not be read by anyone other than the intended recipient
   • skills
     • encrypt and decrypt messages using a caesar cipher and substition cipher
     • use brute force and statistical attacks to crack simple ciphers
   • key terms
     • cipher- a method of encrypting text
     • plaintext- the unencypted data
     • cipher text- the encrypted data
     • key- some information needed to encrypt/ decrypt the data
     • crack- to read encrypted data without being given the key beforehand
     • brute force- crack a cipher by trying every possible key until successful
     • statsitical attack- crack a cipher by using statistics and estimates of the mast likely valuables
     • caesar cipher- a simple cipher, where each letter is shifted a number of places up the alphabet
     • substitional cipher- a simple cipher where each letter is replaced by a different letter