Identifying and preventing vulnerabilities

Overview

Penetration testing, anti-malware software, firewalls, user access levels, strong passwords, encryption and physical security, and what each prevention method limits.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is penetration testing?

   Model answer

   Penetration testing is an authorised, simulated attack on a system to find its weaknesses. The testers report each vulnerability so it can be fixed before criminals find it.

2. 2

   What can penetration testing help to prevent?

   Model answer

   Penetration testing helps prevent attacks that exploit weaknesses nobody knew about, such as SQL injection or weak passwords. The organisation can close each weakness before it is used.

3. 3

   How does anti-malware software protect a computer?

   Model answer

   Anti-malware software scans files and compares them with a database of known malware signatures. Any match is quarantined or deleted before it can cause harm.

4. 4

   Explain why anti-malware software must be updated regularly.

   Model answer

   New malware appears constantly, and the software only recognises threats in its signature database. An out-of-date database leaves the computer open to the newest malware.

5. 5

   Which threats does anti-malware software limit?

   Model answer

   Anti-malware software limits viruses, worms, trojans, spyware and ransomware. Anti-malware software can also block infected downloads before they are opened.

6. 6

   Explain how a firewall protects a network.

   Model answer

   A firewall sits between a network and the internet and checks every packet against a set of rules. Packets from untrusted sources or to blocked ports are rejected.

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