Cybersecurity Awareness Jeopardy

This urgent tone, pressuring a reader to act immediately or face a consequence, is a common tactic in fraudulent emails meant to short-circuit careful thinking.

What is a sense of urgency?

This mismatch, where the visible text of a link differs from the web address it actually points to, is a classic sign of a fraudulent email.

What is a mismatched link?

This deceptive technique disguises a sender's email address to look like it comes from a trusted source, such as a coworker or a bank.

What is email spoofing?

This narrowly targeted form of phishing is customized with personal details about a specific victim, such as their name, employer, or job title.

What is spear phishing?

This form of phishing targets senior executives specifically, often impersonating a CEO to pressure staff into a wire transfer or a data release.

What is whaling?

This practice, using a different password for every account, limits the damage if just one of those accounts is ever compromised.

What is a unique password?

This security add-on requires a second proof of identity, such as a code sent to a phone, in addition to a password.

What is multi-factor authentication?

This software tool securely stores and automatically fills in unique, complex passwords so a user does not have to memorize each one.

What is a password manager?

This type of attack systematically tries enormous numbers of character combinations until it guesses the correct password.

What is a brute-force attack?

This passwordless authentication method uses a device-stored cryptographic key pair, unlocked by a fingerprint or device PIN, to verify identity.

What is a passkey?

This umbrella term covers any software intentionally designed to damage, disrupt, or gain unauthorized access to a computer system.

What is malware?

This type of malicious program encrypts a victim's files and demands payment in exchange for the key needed to unlock them.

What is ransomware?

This self-replicating type of malware spreads across networks and systems on its own, without needing a host file or user action to propagate.

What is a worm?

This type of malware disguises itself as legitimate or desirable software to trick a user into installing it, named for a wooden gift from Greek mythology.

What is a Trojan horse?

This type of malware secretly records a victim's keystrokes to capture sensitive information like passwords and card numbers.

What is a keylogger?

This padlock icon, displayed in a browser's address bar, indicates that the connection to a website is encrypted.

What is the padlock icon?

This protocol, seen at the start of a web address in place of plain HTTP, indicates that traffic between a browser and a site is encrypted.

What is HTTPS?

This type of Wi-Fi network, common in cafes and airports and often requiring no password, is especially risky for accessing sensitive accounts.

What is public Wi-Fi?

This encrypted tunnel routes a device's internet traffic through a remote server, shielding it from snooping on an untrusted network.

What is a VPN?

This attack secretly intercepts communication between two parties on a network, letting an attacker eavesdrop on or alter the data exchanged.

What is a man-in-the-middle attack?

This umbrella term describes manipulating people, rather than exploiting software, into giving up confidential information or access.

What is social engineering?

This tactic involves an unauthorized person slipping through a secured door right behind an employee who badges in, without badging in themselves.

What is tailgating?

This tactic uses a fabricated scenario or false identity, such as posing as IT support, to persuade a target to hand over information.

What is pretexting?

This phishing variant is carried out over the phone rather than by email, often impersonating a bank or a government agency.

What is vishing?

This phishing variant is carried out by text message, often containing a malicious link disguised as a delivery or account alert.

What is smishing?

This department is typically an employee's first point of contact for reporting a suspicious email or a suspected security problem.

What is the IT help desk?

This built-in email client feature lets an employee flag a suspicious message directly to security teams with a single click.

What is a report phishing button?

This formal record documents what happened, when, and how during a security incident, and supports later analysis.

What is an incident report?

This team, often on call around the clock, is responsible for containing and remediating a confirmed security breach.

What is an incident response team?

This step, taken immediately after a device is suspected of being compromised, cuts it off from the network to stop malware from spreading further.

What is isolating the device from the network?