Types of cyber threats in Cybersecurity - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Understanding Phishing Attacks

Which of the following best describes a phishing attack?

A A software that encrypts files and demands payment for decryption.

B An attempt to trick users into revealing personal information by pretending to be a trustworthy entity.

C A program that secretly records keystrokes to steal passwords.

D An attack that floods a network with excessive traffic to cause disruption.

💡 Hint

Think about scams that use fake emails or websites to steal information.

Phishing attacks use fake messages or websites to trick people into giving away sensitive data like passwords or credit card numbers.

📋 Factual

intermediate

Identifying Ransomware Characteristics

What is the primary effect of ransomware on a victim's computer?

A It encrypts files and demands payment to restore access.

B It steals data silently without the user's knowledge.

C It sends spam emails to the victim's contacts.

D It monitors network traffic for sensitive information.

💡 Hint

Consider what happens when you cannot open your own files and see a payment demand.

Ransomware locks or encrypts files and demands money to unlock them, disrupting access to important data.

🔍 Analysis

advanced

Analyzing Denial of Service (DoS) Attacks

Which of the following scenarios best illustrates a Denial of Service (DoS) attack?

A A virus deletes files from a computer without warning.

B An attacker installs spyware to monitor user activity over time.

C A phishing email tricks a user into revealing their password.

D A hacker sends a huge amount of traffic to a website, making it unavailable to users.

💡 Hint

Think about attacks that overwhelm a service to stop it from working.

DoS attacks flood a target with excessive traffic to overload it, causing legitimate users to lose access.

❓ Comparison

advanced

Comparing Malware Types

Which statement correctly distinguishes a virus from a worm?

A A virus requires user action to spread, while a worm spreads automatically without user help.

B A worm attaches itself to files, but a virus operates independently.

C A virus encrypts files for ransom, while a worm steals passwords.

D A worm only affects networks, while a virus only affects individual files.

💡 Hint

Consider how each type spreads from one computer to another.

Viruses need a user to run or open infected files to spread, whereas worms can spread on their own through networks.

❓ Reasoning

expert

Evaluating Social Engineering Risks

A company employee receives a call from someone claiming to be IT support asking for their login password to fix an urgent issue. What type of cyber threat does this represent?

A Phishing attack

B Ransomware attack

C Pretexting attack

D Man-in-the-middle attack

💡 Hint

Think about attacks that use made-up stories to trick people into giving information.

Pretexting involves creating a false scenario to persuade someone to reveal confidential information.