AP Cybersecurity topic 2.1
Cyber Foundations
Security protects three things, the CIA triad: confidentiality (only the right people see data), integrity (data is not changed without permission), and availability (systems work when needed). Risk depends on threats, vulnerabilities, and impact. Defense in depth layers many controls so one failure does not expose everything.
Cyber Foundations vocabulary
- CIA triad: Confidentiality, integrity, and availability: the three goals of security.
- Vulnerability: A weakness that could be exploited.
- Threat: Anyone or anything that could exploit a vulnerability.
- Defense in depth: Using several layers of protection.
AP-style practice questions
Try each one, then open the answer. To save your progress, take this quiz in the interactive course.
1. An adversary changes the final grades stored in a school's student information system. Which part of the CIA triad was violated?
- (A) Confidentiality
- (B) Integrity
- (C) Availability
- (D) Authentication
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(B) Integrity Unauthorized changes to data break integrity.
Risk register excerpt, Maplewood Library Risk: Flooding in basement server room Likelihood: Medium Impact: High Decision: Purchase flood insurance for the equipment
2. Which of the following risk management strategies does the library's decision represent?
- (A) Risk avoidance
- (B) Risk acceptance
- (C) Risk transference
- (D) Risk mitigation
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(C) Risk transference Buying insurance moves the financial impact of the risk to another party, which is transference.
3. During which phase of a cyberattack does an adversary gather employee names and email formats from a company's website and social media?
- (A) Reconnaissance
- (B) Exfiltration
- (C) Persistence
- (D) Recovery
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(A) Reconnaissance Collecting information about a target before attacking is reconnaissance.
4. A company uses a firewall, employee training, badge readers, and encrypted laptops. Which of the following best explains why it uses all four?
- (A) Each control is required by every law
- (B) If one layer fails, other layers still protect the organization
- (C) Using more controls lowers the electricity bill
- (D) Adversaries can only bypass one control at a time
Show answer
(B) If one layer fails, other layers still protect the organization Defense in depth layers different controls so no single failure exposes everything.