Internet and Its Uses · 3 question types
Past paper frequency (2018 to 2024)
This topic accounts for approximately 8% of your exam marks.
Threats (phishing, pharming, malware, DDoS, brute-force) and the matching protection methods appear in almost every paper.
manipulates people into giving away confidential information or access, by exploiting human trust rather than technical weaknesses.
Instead of attacking the computer, the attacker attacks the person. They might phone an employee while pretending to be IT support and ask for a password, leave an infected USB stick where a curious person will plug it in, or create a sense of fear or urgency that pressures the victim into acting without thinking. Phishing is one common form of social engineering. The defence is awareness and following security procedures, because no firewall can stop a user who is tricked into handing over their own details.