Cybersecurity Basics
This term describes the practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks.
What is cybersecurity?
This type of attack involves an attacker sending fraudulent communications that appear to come from a reputable source.
What is phishing?
This is an update to software that fixes a security vulnerability.
What is a patch?
Phishing attacks using QR codes to direct victims to malicious sites.
What is “Quishing”?
An attacker injects malicious JavaScript into a trusted website, causing every visitor’s browser to execute the script and send session cookies to the attacker.
What is Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)?
This type of software is designed to detect and remove malicious software from a computer.
What is antivirus software?
This type of malware encrypts a victim's files and demands payment to restore access.
What is ransomware?
This principle involves granting users only the access they need to perform their job functions.
What is the principle of least privilege?
This 2017 ransomware attack affected over 200,000 computers across 150 countries, exploiting a vulnerability in Windows. It made users wanna _____.
What is WannaCry?
A web application builds SQL queries by directly concatenating user input, allowing an attacker to manipulate the query and dump the entire database.
What is SQL Injection?
This is the process of converting information or data into a code to prevent unauthorized access.
What is encryption?
This term refers to a network of private computers infected with malicious software and controlled as a group without the owners' knowledge.
What is a botnet?
This is a security measure that requires users to provide two forms of identification before accessing an account.
What is two-factor authentication?
This attack on Iran destroyed many of the centrifuges it used in its nuclear weapons program.
What is Stuxnet?
A user receives an email that passes SPF/DKIM checks and appears to come from a legitimate vendor, but the embedded link uses a lookalike domain (e.g., “micr0soft-support[.]com”) to harvest credentials.
What is Spear Phishing (Domain Spoofing / Homograph Attack)?
This term refers to the practice of ensuring that data is accurate and reliable.
What is data integrity?
This type of malware disguises itself as legitimate software to trick users into installing it.
What is a Trojan horse?
This type of test involves simulating cyberattacks on a system to identify vulnerabilities.
What is penetration testing?
A major ransomware attack disrupted the operations of this well-known energy company in 2021.
What is Colonial Pipeline?
A victim clicks a link that silently triggers a request to a website where they are already authenticated, performing actions (like changing account settings) without their consent.
What is cross site forgery (CSRF)?
This type of attack involves overwhelming a system with traffic to make it unavailable to users.
What is a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack?
This term describes a vulnerability that is unknown to those who should be interested in mitigating it.
What is a zero-day exploit?
The largest U.S. healthcare data breach in February 2024 that involved a ransom payment and affected 190 million people.
What is the Change Healthcare breach (UnitedHealth Group, ~$22M ransom)?
2 resorts in this city were hit by ransomware in 2022. 1 resort paid the ransom and 1 did not and suffered through the consequences.
What is Las Vegas?
An attacker compromises a user account, then establishes persistence by configuring a trusted external identity provider so authentication tokens continue to be accepted—even after password resets—similar to techniques seen in the MGM Resorts cyberattack involving Okta.
What is Persistence via Federation Abuse (Inbound Federation Exploitation)?