IB Computer Science Topic A2.4.2: Common Network Vulnerabilities Key Definitions

Cross-site scripting (XSS) is an attack in which a script is placed into content a website stores and serves, so it runs in the browser of every other user who views that content.

Distributed denial of service (DDoS) is an attack that makes a service unavailable by flooding it with traffic from many compromised devices at once, so legitimate requests cannot be served.

Malware is software written to damage a system, disrupt its operation, or gain unauthorised access to it, including ransomware, spyware, rootkits, trojans, worms and keyloggers.

Man-in-the-middle (MitM) attack is an attack in which traffic between two parties passes through the attacker, who can read it and alter it while both ends believe they are communicating directly.

Phishing is an attack that imitates a trusted sender in a message so the reader hands over credentials or sensitive information, exploiting the person rather than a software flaw.

SQL injection is an attack in which text entered into an input field is read by the database as part of the query, letting the attacker read, change or delete data on the server.

Zero-day exploit is an attack on a vulnerability the vendor does not yet know about, so no patch and no detection signature for it exists when the attack is used.