GCSE Computer Science, Networks and security. Usually met in years 9 to 11.
Learn the threats to computer systems, such as malware and social engineering, and the ways to protect against them.
What you practise
Kinds of malware
Phishing, brute force and SQL injection
Firewalls, encryption and penetration testing
Starts with malware and phishing and builds to attacks on servers and how they are tested. Practice moves up a level when a round goes well and down when it does not.
Sample questions
Each sample comes with the method and the reason every wrong option is wrong. Real practice rounds are ten questions at your level.
Sample question, level 2 of 5
What does ‘encryption’ mean?
Flooding a server with requests so real users cannot reach it
Scrambling data with a key so only someone with the right key can read it
Tricking people, rather than computers, into giving access or information
Proving who you are in two different ways, such as a password and a code sent to a phone
Testing a system by attacking it with permission, to find weaknesses before criminals do
Show the answer and method
Answer: B, Scrambling data with a key so only someone with the right key can read it
The method: Encryption means scrambling data with a key so only someone with the right key can read it.
Why the other options are wrong:
A, Flooding a server with requests so real users cannot reach it: That describes denial of service attack.
C, Tricking people, rather than computers, into giving access or information: That describes social engineering.
D, Proving who you are in two different ways, such as a password and a code sent to a phone: That describes two-factor authentication.
E, Testing a system by attacking it with permission, to find weaknesses before criminals do: That describes penetration testing.
Sample question, level 4 of 5
Which term means: flooding a server with requests so real users cannot reach it?
Password
Trojan
Worm
Denial of service attack
SQL injection
Show the answer and method
Answer: D, Denial of service attack
The method: Denial of service attack means flooding a server with requests so real users cannot reach it.
Why the other options are wrong:
A, Password: Password means a secret string of characters used to prove who a user is.
B, Trojan: Trojan means malware disguised as useful software.
C, Worm: Worm means malware that copies itself across a network without needing a file to attach to.
E, SQL injection: SQL injection means typing database code into a website form to read or change data in the database.
