Network Security Threats

• Social Engineering


  Tricking people into giving sensitive data such as PINs or passwords.
• Blagging


  The act of inventing a story or scenario to gain a targeted victim's interest. This may encourage them to give away confidential information, or even send money.
• Malware


  Software that is designed to cause harm or damage to a computer. This includes viruses that might damage files, adware that causes pop-ups, and spyware that collects and shares login details.
• Ransomware


  Malware which encrypts a user's files, then demands a ransom payment to decrypt them.
• DDoS


  An attack designed to render online services inaccessible by many computers simultaneously flooding a target with network traffic.
• Brute Force Attack


  A program that repeatedly tries different combinations of characters for a password until the correct password is found.
• Virus


  Any computer program designed to replicate itself and damage other computer systems and software.
• Hacking


  Gaining unauthorised access to a computer system.
• Adware


  Software that causes pop-ups or windows that will not close.
• Spyware


  A program secretly installed on a computer to automatically collect information about the user over a period of time.