2 Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Attacks Free Online FlashCards

What is a threat actor?

A threat actor is an individual or group capable of causing harm.

What commonly motivates organized cybercrime?

Organized crime typically seeks financial gain through activities such as fraud, theft, extortion, or ransomware.

What is an attack surface?

An attack surface is the set of points where an attacker could enter a system, cause an effect, or extract data.

What does social engineering exploit?

Social engineering manipulates people into revealing information, granting access, or taking an unsafe action.

How should you verify an unusual request in a message?

Verify unusual requests through a separate, known contact method; familiar branding or tone does not prove a message is genuine.

How does a computer virus spread?

A virus attaches to a file or program and spreads when the infected host is run.

What is a cybersecurity vulnerability?

A vulnerability is a weakness in a system, its procedures, controls, or implementation that could be exploited or triggered.

How do brute force, password spraying, and credential stuffing differ?

Brute force tries many passwords against an account; password spraying tries a small number of common passwords against many accounts; credential stuffing reuses credentials stolen from other services.

What is an attack vector?

An attack vector is the route or method used to reach a target.

How do spear phishing and whaling differ?

Spear phishing targets a specific person or organization; whaling targets a high-profile person.

What distinguishes a worm from a virus?

A worm self-replicates and spreads between systems, often across networks, without needing to attach to another file.

How does a Trojan persuade a victim to run it?

A Trojan masquerades as legitimate or useful software to persuade someone to install or run it; it does not necessarily self-replicate.