Cybersecurity Overview – Chapter I

35 question-and-answer flashcards covering definitions, examples, attacker profiles, personal and organizational data, CIA triad, breach impacts, and cyberwarfare concepts from Chapter I of the Cybersecurity Overview lecture.

What is cybersecurity?

The practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks aimed at accessing, changing, or destroying information, extorting money, or interrupting normal business processes.

Why is cybersecurity no longer just an IT department’s responsibility?

Because widespread connectivity and data-driven services expose everyone to risk; every employee’s actions can create or mitigate vulnerabilities.

Name three factors that have increased the importance of cybersecurity.

1) Pervasive high-speed connectivity (e.g., fibre broadband, smartphones) 2) Cloud-hosted data and services 3) Growing system vulnerabilities and sophisticated attacks.

Give two real-world examples of large-scale ransomware incidents.

Wannacry (global, 2017) and the attack that crippled the UK National Health Service (NHS).

How many user records were exposed in Facebook’s Amazon S3 breach?

Over 540 million user records.

Which credit agency’s 2017 breach affected 147 million customers and cost roughly $439 million in recovery?

Equifax.

What is the significance of Yahoo’s 2013 breach?

It compromised all three billion customer accounts, illustrating massive reputational and financial damage from breaches.

What key vulnerability was found at a German nuclear plant in 2016?

Malware infected the monitoring system, allowing remote access to the plant’s network.

List two high-level categories of assets cybersecurity aims to protect.

1) Integrity of critical information systems (e.g., power plants, financial systems) 2) Data—personal, organizational, and big-data analytics.

Why has the growth of data analytics created career opportunities in cybersecurity?

Organizations rely on vast data sets for business value, increasing demand for professionals who can secure that data against misuse and breaches.

Define ‘Personal Data’.

Any data that can identify an individual, such as NRIC numbers, medical records, financial information, and online credentials.

When is it appropriate to provide your NRIC (national ID) number?

When accurate identification is legally required, e.g., healthcare, real-estate transactions, mobile phone contracts, employment, or pre-school entry.

Give three situations where you should NOT provide your NRIC number.

Buying movie tickets, entering contests/lucky draws, or renting a bicycle.

Differentiate between offline and online identity.

Offline identity is who you are in physical settings (home, school, work); online identity is your presence in cyberspace, usually via a username that should reveal minimal personal info.

List three categories of personal data often targeted by criminals.

1) Medical records, 2) Education records, 3) Employment and financial records.

Where might your medical records be stored?

At your doctor’s office and with your insurance company.

Why do criminals steal identities? Name two motives.

For long-term profits such as filing fake tax returns, opening credit cards, obtaining loans, or gaining medical benefits.

What are three traditional types of organizational data?

Personnel data, intellectual property, and financial data.

Define the ‘Internet of Things (IoT)’ in an organizational context.

A large network of physical devices (sensors, machinery, etc.) connected to collect and share data.

What is ‘Big Data’?

Massive data sets generated from sources like the IoT, requiring advanced analytics for insight.

Explain the ‘CIA triad’.

Core security principles: Confidentiality (privacy), Integrity (accuracy/trustworthiness), and Availability (accessible information).

Give four potential consequences of a security breach to an organization.

Ruined reputation, revenue loss, theft of intellectual property, and operational vandalism.

What data was stolen in the LastPass breach, and what mitigation was required?

Email addresses, password reminders, and authentication hashes; users needed email verification or MFA and strong, regularly changed master passwords.

Why was the Vtech breach particularly concerning?

It exposed children’s data (names, photos, chat logs), enabling identity theft and possible takeover of parents’ online accounts.

What flaw enabled the 2017 Equifax breach?

An unpatched vulnerability in web-application software (Apache Struts).

Define ‘script kiddie’.

An amateur attacker with little skill who uses pre-made tools or scripts found online.

Contrast white-hat, gray-hat, and black-hat hackers.

White-hats hack with permission to improve security; gray-hats hack without permission but often without malicious intent; black-hats exploit vulnerabilities for illegal gain.

Who are ‘organized hackers’?

Groups such as cyber-criminal syndicates, hacktivists, terrorists, and state-sponsored teams working toward common malicious goals.

Give two examples of internal security threats.

Employees mishandling confidential data or plugging infected USB drives into corporate systems.

What is a common external threat technique?

Exploiting network/device vulnerabilities or using social engineering to gain access.

Define cyberwarfare.

Conflict conducted in cyberspace to damage, disrupt, or manipulate another nation’s information systems and infrastructure.

Name the malware widely cited as the first true cyberweapon and its target.

Stuxnet, designed to damage Iran’s nuclear enrichment facility.

List three strategic purposes of cyberwarfare.

Sabotaging critical infrastructure, blackmailing government personnel, and eroding public confidence in a nation’s leadership.

Why can’t every cyberattack be prevented?

Attackers continually discover new vulnerabilities; perfect protection is infeasible, so focus is on risk management and rapid response.

According to the lecture, who is the ‘first line of defence’ in cybersecurity?

You—the individual user or employee responsible for safe practices.