Cybersecurity Key Concepts Quiz

10 Questions

What is the purpose of a 'honeypot'?

To trap attackers by detecting or deflecting their efforts

Which term describes the act of creating connections between the human nervous system and digital devices?

Wet wiring

What does 'Moore's Law' state regarding computing?

The processing power of computers doubles every two years

What is the main characteristic of a 'closed system'?

It contains applications, systems, and devices that can only communicate with each other

What does 'stacked risk' refer to in the context of cybersecurity?

The phenomenon of allowing separate potential risks to accumulate and affect the same digital landscape

What is the main purpose of a proxy server?

To provide intermediate services between a requested transaction and its destination

In cybersecurity, what does the term 'spoofing' refer to?

Impersonating the true source of electronic information

What is the primary goal of Data Loss Prevention (DLP) software?

To block specific types of information from leaving an electronic device

What distinguishes spear phishing from regular phishing?

Spear phishing targets a specific individual or organization

What characterizes polymorphic malware?

Malware that can change its attributes to evade detection

Study Notes

Cybersecurity Fundamentals

Cybersecurity is the protection of digital devices and their communication channels to keep them stable, dependable, and reasonably safe from danger or threat.
A digital device is any electronic appliance that can create, modify, archive, retrieve, or transmit information in an electronic format.

Security Concepts

Defense in depth is the use of multiple layers of security techniques to help reduce the chance of a successful attack.
A virus is a form of malicious software that spreads by infecting (attaching itself) to other files and usually seeks opportunities to continue that pattern.
Cloud refers to any technology service that uses software and equipment not physically managed or developed by the person or organization (customer) using it.

Malware and Threats

Malware is malicious software designed to harm or exploit computer systems.
A botnet is a robotic network of compromised devices controlled remotely to conduct malicious activities.
Exfiltrate means to move something with a degree of secrecy sufficient not to be noticed.
Denial of Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are designed to stop or disrupt people's use of organizations' systems.

Security Measures

Firewall is hardware or software used to monitor and protect inbound and outbound data.
Ethical hacking is the process by which supportive (white-hat) penetration testing experts assist in finding security weaknesses and vulnerabilities.
Encryption is the act of encoding messages so that if they are intercepted by an unauthorized party, they cannot be read unless the encoding mechanism can be deciphered.

Network Security

Network segmentation involves splitting a single collection of devices, wiring, and applications into smaller sections to improve security.
Attack surface refers to the sum of the different points where an unauthorized user can try to enter data into or extract data from an environment.

Other Security Concepts

Ransomware is a form of malicious software that prevents or restricts usage of one or more digital devices or applications until a sum of money is paid.
Anti-malware is a computer program designed to look for specific files and behaviors (signatures) that indicate the presence or attempted installation of malicious software.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) involves blocking specific types of information from leaving an electronic device.
Proxy server is a program used to provide intermediate services between a requested transaction and its destination.
Identity and access control regulate how each person and computer service is confirmed to be who they claim to be (authentication) and how their permissions are monitored.