Cybersecurity Fundamentals

An asset is something valuable to protect. A threat could cause harm by exploiting a vulnerability; risk combines likelihood and impact in a particular context.

A small clinic identifies patient records as a high-impact asset and maps the risk of a stolen staff laptop.

For a personal email account, list one asset, one threat, one vulnerability, and one mitigation.

Messages and account recovery access are assets; phishing is a threat; a reused password is a vulnerability; a unique password and multi-factor authentication reduce the risk.

A network protocol defines how devices exchange data. Attackers may exploit exposed services, weak configurations, malicious links, or human trust.

A fake delivery notification asks a user to sign into a look-alike site; checking the domain and opening the carrier's official app avoids the credential trap.

List three warning signs in an unexpected login message and one safe way to check the request.

Urgent language, a mismatched sender/domain, and a shortened or unexpected link are warning signs. Navigate independently to the official service rather than using the link.

Authentication establishes an identity; authorization decides what that identity may do. Multi-factor authentication combines different factor types.

A project collaborator receives permission to edit one repository instead of owner access to the entire organization.

A shared team folder exposes payroll data to every contractor. Propose a safer access model.

Separate sensitive data into a restricted group, grant access only to approved roles, use individual accounts and multi-factor authentication, and review membership regularly.

Encryption transforms readable data into ciphertext using a key. In public-key cryptography, related public and private keys support secure exchange or signatures.

A browser checks a certificate and uses TLS to protect an online session from casual interception on the network.

Distinguish encryption in transit from encryption at rest and give one example of each.

TLS protects traffic between browser and server in transit. Full-disk encryption protects data stored on a laptop when it is powered off or lost.

Incident response is a prepared process for identifying, containing, eradicating, and recovering from a security event while preserving useful evidence.

After finding a suspicious forwarding rule, an employee reports it, removes unauthorized access, resets credentials, and asks security staff to review sign-in records.

Outline the first safe actions after clicking a suspicious attachment on a work device.

Disconnect from the network if instructed by policy, stop entering credentials, notify the security team promptly, preserve details, and use approved recovery steps rather than deleting evidence.