Ethical Hacking Basics Flashcards

Grade 11 · Technology · Flashcards

Key vocabulary for penetration testing, common attack vectors, and responsible security research.

Flashcards

Ethical Hacking: Authorized offensive security testing to find vulnerabilities before malicious actors.
Penetration Test: A simulated cyberattack conducted with the owner's permission to assess security posture.
Rules of Engagement: A written agreement defining the scope, methods, and limits of a penetration test.
Reconnaissance: Passive information gathering (WHOIS, Shodan, Google dorking) before active testing.
Nmap: Network scanner used to discover hosts, open ports, and running services.
Metasploit: Open-source framework for developing and executing exploit code against target systems.
SQL Injection: Inserting SQL syntax into input fields to manipulate a backend database.
XSS: Cross-Site Scripting — injecting scripts into web pages executed by other users' browsers.
Buffer Overflow: Writing past a buffer's boundary to corrupt adjacent memory or redirect execution.
Phishing: Fraudulent communication (email, SMS, voice) tricking users into revealing credentials.
Social Engineering: Exploiting human psychology rather than technical vulnerabilities to compromise security.
Man-in-the-Middle: Attack where an adversary secretly intercepts communications between two parties.
Responsible Disclosure: Privately notifying a vendor of a flaw and giving time to patch before going public.
Bug Bounty: Program rewarding researchers financially for responsibly reporting valid security vulnerabilities.