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Threat Recognition and AI Security Risks Flashcards
CompTIA Security+ SY0-801 (V8) Flashcards
Study our Threat Recognition and AI Security Risks flashcards for the CompTIA Security+ SY0-801 (V8) exam with 68+ flashcards. View as flashcards, a searchable table, or as a fun matching game.
| Front | Back |
| Adware | Software that displays advertisements; unwanted or malicious variants can create security and privacy risks. () |
| APT | Advanced persistent threat; sophisticated and well-resourced adversary pursuing objectives over an extended period. |
| Attack surface | Collection of points where attackers can enter a system or affect its operation or extract data. |
| Brute force | Repeatedly testing candidate passwords to discover valid credentials. |
| Buffer overflow | Writing beyond an allocated buffer's bounds; may cause crashes or unauthorized code execution. |
| CVE | Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures; provides standardized identifiers and records for publicly disclosed cybersecurity vulnerabilities. |
| CVSS | Common Vulnerability Scoring System; expresses vulnerability severity using scores from 0.0 to 10.0. |
| DDoS | Distributed denial of service; multiple sources overwhelm a target's resources to disrupt availability. |
| Deepfake | AI-generated or manipulated audio or visual media made to appear authentic. |
| Directory traversal | Manipulating file paths to access files outside an application's intended directory. |
| DNS cache poisoning | Inserting false DNS records into a resolver's cache to redirect subsequent lookups. |
| File hash indicator | Digital fingerprint used to identify known malicious files; changing file contents usually changes the hash. |
| Fileless malware | Malware that executes primarily in memory or through legitimate tools rather than relying on a conventional malicious executable file. |
| Hacktivist | Attacker motivated primarily by political or ideological goals. |
| Hardcoded secrets | Passwords or other sensitive values embedded directly in source code or binaries. |
| Impossible travel | Account activity from locations too far apart for the elapsed time; a possible sign of compromised credentials. |
| Injection | Supplying untrusted input that an application interprets as commands or code. |
| Insider threat | Risk that someone uses authorized access or organizational knowledge to cause intentional or accidental harm. |
| IoC | Indicator of compromise; observable evidence suggesting a system or account may have been compromised. |
| Keylogger | Tool that records keystrokes and can expose typed credentials. |
| Living off the land | Abusing legitimate system tools and processes to conduct malicious activity. |
| LLM | Large language model; can expose attack surfaces through prompts and connected data or tools. () |
| Log manipulation | Unauthorized alteration or deletion of logs to conceal activity or mislead investigators. |
| Logic bomb | Malicious code activated when a specified condition or event occurs. |
| Malware | Malicious software or firmware intended to compromise systems or information. |
| MFA bypass | Defeating multifactor authentication protections to gain unauthorized access. |
| Misconfiguration | Insecure settings that expose systems or grant unintended access. |
| Model manipulation | Deliberately influencing an AI model into behaving in ways its developers didn’t intend. |
| On-path attack | Intercepting communications between parties to observe or alter their traffic. |
| Organized crime | Coordinated criminal group typically pursuing financial gain. |
| Password spraying | Trying one or a few common passwords against many accounts. |
| Phishing | Deceptive messages or websites that impersonate trusted entities to steal information or induce harmful actions. |
| Privilege escalation | Gaining higher-level permissions on a system or network. |
| Protocol downgrade | Forcing communication to use a weaker protocol version or security mode. |
| Quishing | Phishing that uses QR codes to direct victims to malicious destinations. |
| Ransomware | Malware that denies access to data or systems and demands payment to restore access. |
| Replay attack | Reusing captured valid messages or authentication data to perform unauthorized actions. |
| Rootkit | Malicious tools that conceal their presence or other attacker activity by altering system behavior. |
| Shadow IT | Technology used for organizational work without IT approval or oversight. |
| Shoulder surfing | Observing someone's screen or actions to obtain sensitive information. |
| Skimming | Illegally capturing payment-card data using devices attached to or installed inside legitimate readers. |
| Smishing | Phishing delivered through SMS text messages. |
| Sniffing | Capturing network traffic to inspect transmitted information. |
| Social engineering | Manipulating people into disclosing sensitive information or performing actions that compromise security. |
| Spear phishing | Phishing tailored to a specific person or organization. |
| Spoofing | Falsifying identity or source information so communications appear to come from a trusted entity. |
| Spyware | Software that secretly collects information about users or their activities. |
| State-sponsored actor | Government-backed attacker pursuing national interests such as espionage or disruption. |
| Supply chain attack | Attack reaching a target through compromised suppliers or their products and services. |
| Tailgating | Unauthorized entry into a restricted area by following an authorized person. |
| Threat | Potential cause of harm to an organization's systems or information. |
| Threat feed | Regularly updated stream of threat information such as malicious domains and file hashes. |
| Threat vector | Path or method an attacker uses to reach and compromise a target. |
| TOCTOU race condition | Time-of-check to time-of-use flaw; a resource changes after validation but before use. |
| Trojan | Malicious program disguised as legitimate or harmless software. |
| Unintentional threat actor | Person who causes security harm through mistakes or negligence rather than malicious intent. |
| Unpatched system | System missing available security updates and remaining exposed to vulnerabilities those updates address. |
| Unskilled attacker | Attacker with limited expertise who relies on tools or exploits developed by others. |
| Unsupported product | Hardware or software that no longer receives vendor support or security fixes. |
| User enumeration | Determining which usernames or accounts exist by analyzing application responses or behavior. |
| Virus | Malware that replicates by inserting itself into host programs or files. |
| Vishing | Phishing conducted through voice communication. |
| Vulnerability | Security weakness that a threat can exploit or trigger. |
| Vulnerability prioritization | Ranking vulnerabilities for remediation using severity alongside exploitation risk and organizational context. |
| Watering hole attack | Compromising websites frequented by an intended target group to attack visitors. |
| Whaling | Targeted phishing aimed at executives or other high-profile individuals. |
| Worm | Self-contained malware that replicates and spreads without needing a host program. |
| Zero-day vulnerability | Previously unknown security flaw that attackers may exploit before a fix is available. |
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About the Flashcards
Flashcards for the CompTIA Security+ exam help students review cybersecurity threats, vulnerabilities, and attack techniques. The deck covers threat actors and their motivations, attack surfaces and vectors, vulnerability identification with CVE, severity scoring with CVSS, and remediation prioritization. It also reviews malware types, social engineering methods, and common security weaknesses.
Build familiarity with network, application, and authentication attacks, including DDoS, injection, password spraying, and MFA bypass. Review indicators of compromise, threat feeds, file hashes, and suspicious account activity, alongside concepts such as supply chain attacks, living off the land, and AI model manipulation. These cards support terminology review and help distinguish related security concepts.
Topics covered in this flashcard deck:
- Threat actors and attack vectors
- Vulnerabilities, CVE, and CVSS
- Malware and social engineering
- Network, application, and authentication attacks
- Threat intelligence and compromise indicators
- AI attack surfaces and manipulation