That Blue Square Thing

Syllabus content:

Unit 6 content – PDF doc to download

Note: this syllabus content is a slightly amended version of the one published freely on the web by AQA. I have made very minor adjustments to remove some content less suitable for students to use and it is presented here simply to allow the children I teach to download a usable copy of the syllabus content. It is copyright AQA and reproduced here simply to make access easier for students. No attempt to claim copyright is being made, although I could have copied the text into my own interpretation...

AQA Computer Science GCSE

Cyber Security

Cyber security is a major issue. It's all about how we protect computer systems and our data from attack and damage.

In a modern world that's increasingly dependent on computer systems and the data they store and process, it's vital that we're able to use those systems whenever we need to. But there are all sorts of reasons why they might be under attack and ways we might lose control of our data.

What is Cyber Security?

Cyber Security Headlines - mostly from 2019 (created 27 March 2019)

You need to know a quite complex definition of cyber security and to describe what the main purposes of security are.

Cyber Security Intro - intro slides from class

There are seven classic cyber security threats that you need to understand about.

Cyber Security Threats - slides from class

Cyber Security Textbook Spread - notes on some details and plenty of activities

Then you need to know about Penetration Testing and how it works.

Penetration Testing - summary slides

Before the 2024 exams, questions used the terms "white box testing" (malicious insider) and "black box testing" (external attack). You might see these used on older exam questions and in resources.

Some detail...

You might want a little more detail on some of the threats:

Password Security - slides from class

NatWest - pharming guide

Threats Table - a writing frame to help structure this if you need it