Cyber Security
Internet and Its Uses
The second half of the syllabus lists the methods used to protect data from the threats above. Each one closes off a particular kind of attack, and a well-secured system uses several together.
Common exam question
Giving a security solution for a named threat
Question: Give security solutions that help protect against a named threat, such as a DDoS attack, pharming or data interception, and sometimes say why one helps (2–3 marks).
Asked in 3 of the 17 papers, a different threat each time. Against a DDoS attack the schemes credit a proxy server, a firewall, or users scanning their computers with anti-malware. Against pharming they include checking the spelling and tone of an email or website, checking the URL behind a link, scanning downloads with anti-malware, downloading only from trusted sources, never giving personal details online, and a firewall checking the website is genuine. Against data interception it is encryption.
A plain "give" question accepts the name alone, such as "firewall" or "proxy server". When you must also say why, the second mark is for the effect: encrypted data is meaningless without the key to decrypt it. If each threat needs a different solution, a repeat is not credited.