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ACCA Applied Knowledge · Business and Technology · Regulation and financial crime

Which of the following best describes 'phishing' as a form of cybercrime?

Phishing means sending deceptive messages, typically emails, that look as though they come from a trusted organisation so that recipients reveal confidential information such as passwords or bank details. It differs from denial-of-service, keylogging and brute-force attacks, which use different technical methods.

  1. ASending deceptive emails that appear to come from a trusted source to trick recipients into revealing confidential informationCorrect
  2. BFlooding a website with traffic so that legitimate users cannot access it
  3. CInstalling software that records every keystroke made on a computer
  4. DGaining access to a network by guessing passwords through repeated automated attempts

Explanation

Phishing relies on deceptive messages, usually email, that impersonate a trusted party to obtain passwords or financial details. Flooding a site with traffic is a denial-of-service attack, keystroke recording is keylogging, and automated password guessing is brute-force attack.

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