AQA 7517 4.9.3.2: Internet security
The free BugBot lesson that teach this point, a robot to try it on, and the past-paper questions that test it.
What it covers
At GCSE (F11) you met malware, encryption and firewalls as ideas: a firewall "blocks unauthorised traffic", encryption "scrambles data". At A level you need to explain the mechanisms. There are three kinds of firewall that work in different ways, two kinds of encryption with different key arrangements, and a way of using keys backwards to prove who sent a message. Finally, the three classic kinds of malware are told apart by exactly how they spread.
- Firewalls
- Encryption
- Digital signatures
- Worms, trojans and viruses
Or do it in the simulator, with tasks that mark themselves
Lessons that teach it
- A12.7 Internet security Networks and the web
Firewalls, packet filtering, proxies and stateful inspection; encryption, certificates and signatures; worms, trojans and viruses.
Try it on a robot
The task from A12.7 Internet security, running here. Change the program and press Run.
The specification is AQA's own document; this page says which of our lessons teach point 4.9.3.2 and is not endorsed by the board.