Cyber-Terrorism Quiz 5
Once loaded onto a targeted computer or network, a virus or malicious code can be triggered in which of the following manner?
All the above
There is perhaps no other area of computer crime that creates more fear, misperceptions, and attention than computer viruses and malicious programs. Which of the following have contributed to create the development viruses and malicious programs?
All the above
Viruses operate in which of the following primary environments?
All the above
Which of the following is among the several types of Trojan horses operating today?
All the above
A Trojan horse can be installed onto a computer system in a variety of ways. Which of the following is not one of the ways normally used to install a Trojan horse?
Denial of service attack
Which of the following is not one of the mechanisms used to spread viruses and other types of malicious code today?
Face to face contact
A virus or malicious code program is written solely for criminal purposes. Viruses and malicious code programs are designed and exclusively used to evade law enforcement investigations and generate money through illegal means.
False
Adware and Spyware are technically considered malicious codes. Adware programs are applications that send information via the Internet to the publishers or programmers for marketing purposes without obvious notification to users. Adware can send a variety of information about the user's computer hardware, software, browsing habits, and other personal information to the host marketer or programmer. Adware serves as an information gatherer, maintaining, monitoring, and sending user and/or computer information in the background.
False
An important term to understand when it comes to describing viruses and their potential impact is the term "extent of controllability". The "controllability" of a virus measures the extent to which a virus is spreading among computer users and systems. Controllability includes the number of infected independent sites and computers, the geographic distribution of infection, the ability of current technology to combat the threat, and the complexity of the virus.
False
Boot viruses are most commonly associated with common business software and infect documents, spreadsheets, databases, and presentation files. Boot viruses take advantage of macrolanguages built into common systems of business software.
False
Computer worms have limited impact as they do not have the ability to propagate themselves from one computer to another without some type of user assistance. Absent some extraordinary action by a computer user, a worm is not able to move from one computer system to another.
False
Network viruses attack either the boot sector of the system, the master boot record, or change the system pointer to an active boot sector.
False
Recent studies have shown that the motives for malicious software creation have not changed much through the years. Today, as in the past, hackers create and use malicious software primarily for the motives of curiosity, damage, and revenge.
False
The first personal computers, early versions of disk operating systems, and the first computer networks were all designed with security in mind. As a result, law enforcement, virus security experts, and network managers have been able to effectively deal with, and stay one step ahead of, the ever growing list of viruses and malicious codes.
False
Which of the following is not one of the potential harmful ends to which viruses and malicious codes can be used?
Installing security patches and resolving disruption issues
Which of the following is not considered a form of malicious code?
Internet hoaxes
As time passed several factors worked to aid the spread of viruses. Which of the following was not among those factors?
The establishment of computer retail stores
Botnets can be used in a variety of different ways to commit malicious attacks on computer networks. Which of the following is not one of the ways botnets are normally used?
To conduct reviews and provide feedback on newly created malicious software
A Trojan horse is commonly an unauthorized program contained within a legitimate program that performs functions unknown to the user. The hidden payload within a Trojan horse can open a backdoor for the virus writer, destroy files or disks, or simply display a message of some type.
True
A denial of service (DoS) attack uses multiple systems to attack one or more victim systems or websites with the intent of denying service to legitimate users wishing to log on or utilize the attacked server. The attack causes the target site's server to run out of memory, making it unresponsive to the queries of legitimate customers.
True
Another defining characteristic of viruses and malicious codes is the level of vulnerability or exposure a computer or system may have. Vulnerabilities include the ability of an attacker to execute commands on a victim's computer or network, the ability to access data on a remote system, the ability to take control of a system and assume another's identity, and the ability of the attacker to deny service to legitimate traffic on a given system or systems.
True
Blended threats combine the characteristics of viruses, worms, Trojan Horses, and malicious code, with server and Internet vulnerabilities to initiate, transmit, and spread an attack. Blended threats exploit one or more vulnerabilities as they infect a system and may perform additional network attacks such as DoS against other systems. The essence of a blended attack is the multiple payloads and multiple targets that are part of the virus' programming.
True
Bots can act as a force multiplier for computer attackers by leveraging the power of thousands of systems, while at the same time allowing attackers to conceal their identities behind common computer users who may be unaware that their machines are involved in cybercrime incidents.
True
File viruses use a particular operating system to propagate and they can infect virtually any type of executable file. These viruses can overwrite the contents of a target executable file with the virus code, destroying the original contents of the file. This results in system failures and other problems because the infected file simply stops working.
True
Like a virus, a computer worm is also a piece of software that copies itself elsewhere. However, unlike a virus, a worm does not attach itself to, or modify, other files. The worm is a stand-alone piece of code, and although it may need to use another program to spread, a worm does not change that program in any way.
True
Most virus writers and attackers are opportunistic and like other criminals choose to attack systems at their weakest and most vulnerable points.
True
One of the several perspectives through which viruses and malicious code can be understood is by the potential damage they can cause. Damage can include computer operations being disrupted, clogging or disrupting e-mail or network operations, deleting or modifying files, accessing and sharing confidential information, performance interference and degrading, compromised security, and damage to the computer's software and hardware.
True
The destructiveness of a virus can range from being virtually harmless to extraordinarily dangerous and malicious. Some viruses have no real effect on the operation of the computer or the data and information stored on the computer. Other viruses can seriously disrupt the operation of the computer by rewriting commands, altering normal system operation, changing boot routines, or executing other malicious commands.
True
Viruses can be categorized based on the environment they operate in, the operating system they are targeted at, the type of encryption and operating algorithms they use, and their destructive capabilities.
True
Viruses can be encrypted, which is a method of scrambling their codes to avoid detection. Through encryption, a virus can hide itself from virus scanners making the virus more difficult to detect.
True
