A zero-day attack is one that exploits:
- A.A vulnerability for which no patch yet exists
- B.A password that is exactly zero characters long
- C.A computer that has been switched off
- D.A network with zero bandwidth
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A. The name counts the days the software maker has had to fix the flaw, and that number is zero: the attacker knows of a weakness that the vendor has not discovered or not yet repaired, so no update protects the user and even a fully patched system is exposed. Such flaws are valuable and are traded quietly, which is why the attacks are often aimed at high value targets. Option B is wrong because an empty password is simply a case of weak authentication, defeated by a basic password policy. Option C is wrong because an attack needs a running system to act on; a machine that is switched off is out of reach over the network. Option D is wrong because bandwidth measures the capacity of a link and has nothing to do with software flaws. Defence rests on quick patching, layered controls and behaviour based detection.
Read the full article: Cyber Security and Threats: Malware, Attacks and PYQs
Practice Questions
View allWhich of the following is a type of cyber attack that involves tricking users into revealing sensitive information?
- A.Phishing attack
- B.SQL injection attack
- C.DoS attack
- D.None of the above
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Phishing sends a message that looks as if it came from a bank, an employer or a government office, and asks the reader to confirm a password, a card number or a one-time password on a page that belongs to the attacker; the target of the attack is the person…
Read the full explanation →What is the purpose of a firewall in cyber security?
- A.To allow unrestricted access to a network
- B.To block unauthorised access to a network
- C.To create a backup of a network's data
- D.None of the above
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A firewall sits between a trusted internal network and the untrusted world outside, inspects the traffic crossing it and permits only what its rules allow, dropping the rest; it may be a hardware appliance, a software program or both together.
Read the full explanation →What is the term for a cyber security attack that targets multiple interconnected devices simultaneously to create a large-scale attack network?
- A.DDoS attack
- B.Botnet attack
- C.Zero-day attack
- D.Spear phishing attack
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A botnet is built by infecting many connected devices, each of which becomes a zombie obeying a single controller; the network so assembled is then rented out or used for spam, fraud or a flood of traffic.
Read the full explanation →The feature(s) of cyber security is/are:
- A.Compliance
- B.Defence against internal threats
- C.Threat prevention
- D.All of the above
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The correct answer is D, all of the above, because cyber security is not one activity but a programme that covers all three.
Read the full explanation →In the CIA triad of information security, the letter I stands for:
- A.Identification
- B.Integrity
- C.Internet
- D.Isolation
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The triad names the three goals of information security: confidentiality, that only authorised people can read the data; integrity, that the data is complete and unaltered from the moment it was created or sent; and availability, that the system works when an authorised user needs it.
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