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Cybersecurity: fun facts and quiz
The essentials in 6 ideas, with fun facts, an illustrated story and a quiz to see how much you know.
The essentials
Strong Passwords
Long passwords are much harder to crack than short, clever ones. A string of random words beats “P@ssw0rd”, and each account should have its own.
Key fact
A password manager can remember unique passwords for you.
Phishing
Phishing messages pretend to come from someone you trust, to trick you into clicking a link or sharing a password. Urgency is a classic warning sign.
Key fact
Real banks won’t ask for your password by email or text.
Two-Factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication asks for something extra besides your password, like a code from an app. A stolen password alone is then not enough.
Key fact
Authenticator apps are safer than codes sent by text message.
Encryption
Encryption scrambles data so that only someone with the right key can read it. It protects your messages, payments and passwords as they travel.
Key fact
The padlock in your browser means the connection is encrypted.
Malware
Malware is software built to cause harm. Viruses spread through files, ransomware locks your data and demands payment, and spyware quietly watches you.
Key fact
Keeping software updated closes many holes that malware uses.
Public Wi-Fi
On public Wi-Fi, others on the network may try to snoop. Sites using HTTPS keep your data encrypted, and a VPN adds a protected tunnel.
Key fact
HTTPS encrypts the data between you and the website.
Fun facts
The “correct horse battery staple” idea for passwords comes from a 2011 xkcd comic.
“Phishing” is spelled with “ph” after early hacker slang like “phreaking”, hacking phone lines.
A physical security key can’t be phished: it only works on the real site it was set up for.
Mary, Queen of Scots, was executed in 1587 partly because codebreakers cracked her secret letters.
The ILOVEYOU worm of 2000 spread by email, disguised as a love letter.
Attackers sometimes set up fake hotspots with names like “Free Airport WiFi” to catch passwords.
Story: The Worm That Broke the Internet
The Worm That Broke the Internet
2 November 1988. Robert Morris, a student at Cornell, releases a small program to count how many computers are on the young internet.
A mistake makes it copy itself again and again onto the same machines. Within a day, about 1 in 10 computers online slow to a crawl.
Morris became the first person convicted under America’s new computer crime law. He later became a professor at MIT.
True or false?
Tap your answer to see if you got it, and why.
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Question 1 of 10
Using the same password everywhere is safe if it’s strong.
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False. If one site leaks it, every account with it is at risk.
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Question 2 of 10
A message that pressures you to act fast is a common phishing sign.
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True. Scammers rush you so you don’t stop to check.
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Question 3 of 10
With two-factor on, a stolen password alone often isn’t enough to log in.
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True. The thief would also need your second factor.
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Question 4 of 10
Encryption turns readable data into scrambled data using a key.
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True. With the key, it can be turned back.
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Question 5 of 10
Spyware can secretly watch what you do.
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True. It hides and reports back to whoever planted it.
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Question 6 of 10
HTTPS encrypts data between your browser and the website.
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True. That’s what the S, for secure, stands for.
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Question 7 of 10
Longer passwords are generally harder to crack.
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True. Every extra character multiplies the guesses needed.
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Question 8 of 10
If an email shows a company’s logo, it must be genuine.
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False. Logos are easy to copy.
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Question 9 of 10
Two-factor authentication means having two passwords.
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False. The second factor is something else, like a code or a security key.
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Question 10 of 10
Hashing and encryption are the same thing.
Show the answer
False. Encryption can be reversed with the key. A hash is designed to be one-way.
Keep going in the app
KnowSoda learns what you know and brings back what you’re about to forget. Cybersecurity has 6 more ideas at the Advanced and Expert levels.
Sources
- UK National Cyber Security Centre — Top tips for staying secure online
- CISA — Secure Our World (passwords, MFA, phishing, updates)
- Europol — WannaCry ransomware attack (2017)
- Mozilla — How HTTPS works
- UK National Cyber Security Centre — Guidance on passwords, ransomware and phishing
- Verizon — Data Breach Investigations Report
