Pearson · Digital Information Technology · 603/7050/6
BTEC Tech Award Digital Information Technology: Threats to data
Effective digital working practices · Pearson BTEC Tech Award Digital Information Technology (603/7050/6), specification point 3.B1. Cards are generated from the exam board's own specification for "Threats to data", and every card links back to the page it came from. Specification © Pearson — used with attribution.
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What colour 'hat' describes a hacker who gains unauthorised access to systems?
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Black hat.
What term describes attacking a rival organisation's systems to steal its secrets?
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Industrial espionage.
Is phishing an external or an internal threat to data security?
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External — it comes from outside the organisation, typically via emails, texts or phone calls.
Malware that encrypts a victim's files and demands payment to unlock them is called ?.
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ransomware
Which type of malware disguises itself as legitimate software to trick users into installing it?
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A Trojan.
What is a denial of service (DoS) attack?
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Flooding a system or network with traffic so that legitimate users cannot access it.
What is social engineering in the context of data security?
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Manipulating people into revealing confidential information or performing actions that compromise security.
What is shoulder surfing?
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Watching over someone's shoulder to see confidential information, such as a PIN or password, as it is entered.
What is a man-in-the-middle attack?
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An attack in which the attacker secretly intercepts, and may alter, communication between two parties who believe they are talking directly to each other.
? redirects users from a genuine website to a fake one, often by tampering with DNS.
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Pharming
Is the use of portable storage devices (e.g. USB sticks) an internal or external threat?
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Internal — it originates from users within the organisation.
What distinguishes an internal threat from an external threat to data security?
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An internal threat originates from within the organisation (e.g. its own staff or users); an external threat comes from outside it.
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