AP Cybersecurity Unit 2 flashcards: Securing Spaces

Question 1

Pretexting

Accepted Answer

Making up a believable reason to contact a target, like posing as an inspector who needs a schedule. The story makes the request seem normal.

Question 2

Authority

Accepted Answer

A social engineering tactic where the attacker poses as someone with power over you, like a boss, or claims to pass on that person's orders.

Question 3

Consensus

Accepted Answer

A tactic that creates social pressure by saying everyone else has already done what the attacker wants: "Everyone on your team already signed up."

Question 4

Scarcity

Accepted Answer

A tactic that makes something seem limited, like "only the first 20 people get a gift card," so you act before thinking.

Question 5

Familiarity

Accepted Answer

A tactic where the attacker pretends to be, or to know, someone close to you so you'll trust the request.

Question 6

Script kiddie

Accepted Answer

A low-skilled attacker who uses tools made by others without understanding how they work. Often driven by greed or wanting recognition.

Question 7

Hacktivist

Accepted Answer

An attacker driven by a social, political or personal cause who believes the goal justifies illegal hacking, like defacing a company's website.

Question 8

Insider

Accepted Answer

A threat from someone who already has legitimate credentials and access. Insiders may act out of greed or revenge or be recruited by outsiders.

Question 9

Cyberterrorist

Accepted Answer

An attacker driven by politics or beliefs who tries to disrupt whole communities or nations, such as by attacking a power grid or water plant.

Question 10

Transnational criminal organization

Accepted Answer

An organized crime group that seeks money, mainly by deploying ransomware and stealing intellectual property to sell.

Question 11

Phases of a cyberattack

Accepted Answer

Reconnaissance, initial access, persistence, lateral movement, taking action and evading detection. Not every attack uses all six.

Question 12

Open source intelligence (OSINT)

Accepted Answer

Freely available information, like websites and social media, that attackers gather during reconnaissance.

Question 13

Persistence

Accepted Answer

The attack phase where the adversary keeps access without breaking in again, often using a RAT or rootkit and a command and control (C2) channel.

Question 14

Lateral movement

Accepted Answer

The attack phase where the adversary moves to other computers and accounts with higher privileges to reach more data and services.

Question 15

Risk

Accepted Answer

What happens when a threat can exploit a vulnerability to compromise an asset. You assess it by its likelihood and its severity.

Question 16

Asset

Accepted Answer

Anything valuable to an organization: money, intellectual property, data, digital infrastructure, physical property or reputation.

Question 17

Likelihood

Accepted Answer

How probable an attack on a vulnerability is. It rises with the target's value, how easy the exploit is, and how motivated and skilled attackers are.

Question 18

Quantitative vs. qualitative risk

Accepted Answer

Quantitative risk uses numbers, like a 1–10 score or a $10,000 yearly loss. Qualitative risk uses labels, like low, medium, high and severe.

Question 19

Risk avoidance

Accepted Answer

Stopping the activity that creates the risk. It isn't possible when that activity is central to the organization's mission.

Question 20

Risk transference

Accepted Answer

Shifting the burden of a risk to someone else, such as an insurance company, a government or consumers.

Question 21

Residual risk

Accepted Answer

The risk left over after avoiding, transferring and mitigating. An organization accepts it, because perfect security is impossible.

Question 22

Cost-effective control

Accepted Answer

A control that costs less to install and maintain than the loss you'd expect from the attack it stops.

Question 23

CIA triad

Accepted Answer

Confidentiality (only authorized people see data), integrity (data stay accurate) and availability (data and services work when needed).

Question 24

Control types

Accepted Answer

Physical controls protect spaces (locks, fences). Technical controls protect digital systems (firewalls, encryption). Managerial controls are policies and procedures.

Question 25

Control functions

Accepted Answer

Preventive controls stop attacks (locks), detective controls spot them (cameras, IDS) and corrective controls fix damage (patching).

Question 26

Defense in depth

Accepted Answer

Layering several kinds of controls (human, physical, network, device, application, data) so one bypassed control isn't the end.

Question 27

Piggybacking

Accepted Answer

Using social engineering to get an authorized person to let you into a restricted area, like asking them to hold the door while you carry boxes.

Question 28

Tailgating

Accepted Answer

Slipping into a restricted area right behind an authorized person who doesn't notice you.

Question 29

Shoulder surfing

Accepted Answer

Watching someone, sometimes with a camera, as they type or view sensitive information so you can use it later.

Question 30

Dumpster diving

Accepted Answer

Searching a target's trash for useful information, like printed records, notes or account details.

Question 31

Card cloning

Accepted Answer

Copying an authorized user's access card so the attacker can get into everything that user can.

Question 32

Keylogger

Accepted Answer

Software or a small hardware device that records keystrokes and sends them to an attacker, who can pull out usernames and passwords.

Question 33

Security awareness training

Accepted Answer

Teaching employees to spot phishing, not to badge others into restricted areas and to prevent device theft.

Question 34

Workstation security policy

Accepted Answer

Rules for protecting desks and devices: lock your screen, clear sensitive papers, use a privacy screen and plug into a surge protector or UPS.

Question 35

Uninterruptible power supply (UPS)

Accepted Answer

A battery backup that keeps a device running during a power outage. Generators can power a whole building or critical devices.

Question 36

Access control vestibule

Accepted Answer

A small entry space with two doors where only one person can pass at a time. It stops piggybacking and tailgating.

Question 37

Bollard

Accepted Answer

A short, sturdy post that blocks vehicles from driving into a building or entrance. Fences, gates and bollards deter attackers.

Question 38

Motion sensor placement

Accepted Answer

Put motion sensors where no one should normally be, like a server room. In busy areas they cause so many false alarms people stop trusting them.

Question 39

Stationary vs. patrolling guard

Accepted Answer

Stationary guards protect one spot, best where traffic funnels in. Patrolling guards are hard to plan around and suit perimeters.

Question 40

Door-open time in badge logs

Accepted Answer

Badge readers can record how long a door stays open. A door held open longer than normal can point to piggybacking or tailgating.

AP® Cybersecurity Unit 2 flashcardsSecuring Spaces

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