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Worksheet

F11.3 Social engineering

Cyber security · GCSE · OCR J277 1.4.1, AQA 8525 3.6.2, Edexcel 1CP2 5.3.1 · about 15 min

BugBotLab
NameClassDate

What this lesson is about

Phishing, pharming, shouldering and blagging, and a filter that flags them.

Questions 5 marks in all

  1. [1 mark]What is social engineering?

    1. ATricking people into giving away access or information
    2. BAttacking a firewall
    3. CWriting malware
    4. DEncrypting data

  2. [1 mark]What is phishing?

    1. AFake messages that trick you into revealing details
    2. BGuessing passwords
    3. CFlooding a server
    4. DWatching over a shoulder

  3. [1 mark]What is shouldering?

    1. AWatching someone type a password or PIN
    2. BSending fake emails
    3. CRedirecting a website
    4. DInstalling spyware

  4. [1 mark]Which is a warning sign of a phishing email?

    1. AAn urgent threat and a request for your password
    2. BA message from a saved contact
    3. CA plain text with no links
    4. DA correctly spelled company name

  5. [1 mark]Someone rings claiming to be from IT and asks for your password. What is this?

    1. ABlagging (pretexting)
    2. BPhishing
    3. CA brute force attack
    4. DA firewall

The task: a phishing filter

Write score_message(message), which returns how many of the warning_signs appear in the message (ignoring capital letters). For each message in inbox, print <subject>: <score> and then, on the same line, PHISHING if the score is 2 or more. At the end print flagged <n> of <total>.

# the two lines every program starts with: the commands, then the robot
from bugbot import *
connect()

warning_signs = ["urgent", "password", "click here", "you have won", "verify", "gift card"]
inbox = [
    ("Lunch tomorrow?", "Are you free for lunch tomorrow?"),
    ("Account alert", "URGENT: verify your password by click here now"),
    ("You have won", "You have won a gift card, click here to claim"),
    ("Homework", "Here is the homework for Friday"),
]

Plan your program here, then type it in and press Run.

QR code
Do it on the robot
www.bugbotlab.com/learn/f11-3-social-engineering/
The simulator checks it and tells you when it passes. Nothing to install, no account.

Challenges

  1. Add a check for a web address that does not end in bugbotlab.com.
  2. Why is "Dear Customer" a warning sign, when "Dear Alex" is not?
  3. Someone rings claiming to be from IT and asks for your password. What do you do, and why?