AP® Cybersecurity

Flashcards

195 cards with the terms and ideas you need to know cold. The ones you find hard come back sooner.

Multiple choice practice

308 exam-style questions, timed like the real exam, with every answer explained.

Practice exam

The whole multiple choice section: 60 questions in 1 hour 20 minutes, weighted by unit like the real exam. A fresh mix every time.

Must-know sheet

The facts, rules and terms to know cold on exam day, on one page. Filter it by unit, or print it.

Free-response practice

18 free-response questions like the ones on the exam. Score your answer with the rubric and a model answer, or sign in for free AI scoring.

Score calculator

Estimate your 1 to 5 score from your multiple choice and free-response points, and see what you'd need for a 3, 4 or 5.

Introduction to Security

5 topics · 32 videos

• Many attacks start by tricking a person, not by breaking into a computer
• Urgency and intimidation in a message are warning signs
• Long, unique passwords plus multifactor authentication make account takeovers much harder
• On public Wi-Fi, check the network name and rely on encryption like HTTPS or a VPN
• AI makes attacks more convincing, but it also helps defenders sort through huge amounts of data

Securing Spaces

4 topics · 24 videos

• Risk depends on how likely an attack is and how much damage it would do
• You can avoid, transfer, mitigate or accept a risk
• Controls protect confidentiality, integrity or availability
• Layered defenses (defense in depth) mean one failure doesn't expose everything
• Physical access lets an attacker bypass many technical controls

Securing Networks

5 topics · 28 videos

• Attackers on a network can eavesdrop, impersonate devices or knock services offline
• Strong wireless settings and switch policies keep strangers off the network
• Segmentation keeps a breach inside one part of the network
• Firewalls check rules in order, and the first matching rule wins
• Every detection method trades off speed, cost and false alarms

Securing Devices

4 topics · 25 videos

• Unpatched software, weak logins and open ports are common device weak spots
• Systems store password hashes, and salt keeps identical passwords from matching
• A second authentication factor makes a stolen password far less useful
• Updates, anti-malware and host-based firewalls each stop a different kind of attack
• Authentication logs reveal online password attacks, but offline attacks leave no trace

Securing Applications and Data

6 topics · 38 videos

• Apps that trust user input open the door to injection attacks
• Give every user exactly the access they need and no more
• Symmetric encryption shares one key, while asymmetric encryption uses a public and private key pair
• Longer keys are stronger, but only compare key lengths within the same algorithm
• A changed hash proves a file was altered, and log patterns reveal app attacks