Why attackers target accounts and data

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Why might an attacker want to break into someone's online bank or gaming account?

A The account can be used to steal money or items of value

B Attackers only do it to be nice and test the account

2. Which is an example of identity theft?

A Using someone's name and birthday to open an account as them

B Choosing a username that is similar to a friend's

3. A hacker takes over a student's social media account. What might they do next?

A Nothing, because social accounts are never useful to attackers

B Message the student's friends to trick them into sending money or clicking links

4. Why do attackers sell stolen data, such as email addresses and passwords?

A Stolen data has no value to anyone

B Other criminals will pay for it and use it to make money

5. Which statement about attacker motive is true?

A Attackers often target accounts and data because they can be used or sold for money

B Attackers only target big companies, never everyday people

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1motive = "money"		AWrong idea: attackers ignore ordinary accounts and data because they think they have no value.
2motive = "sell data"		BThe attacker steals data to sell it to other criminals, who then misuse it.
3Attackers steal personal details like a name and birthdate so they can pretend to be the victim.		CThe attacker wants cash, so they target bank or shopping accounts and payment details.
4An attacker takes over a student's social media account to trick their friends or cause trouble.		DWrong idea: attackers only go after rich or famous people, so students are safe.
5if data_is_boring: attacker_ignores = True		Emotive = "account takeover"
6motive = "only famous people"		Fmotive = "identity theft"

Definitions

attacker motive

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

IF target = bankLogin THEN steal(_____) END IF

IF dataStolen THEN ____(data) END IF

stolen ← name + birthdate + address ___________(victim)

IF loginStolen THEN ____(friends, scamLink) END IF

IF motive = disruption THEN ____(data) END IF

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A attacker ← "scammer"

B target ← "bank login"

C motive ← "steal money"

D PRINT "Aim: " + attacker

Question 2

A stolen ← identity details

B use ← "open fake accounts"

C motive ← "identity theft"

D PRINT motive

Question 3

A account ← "social media"

B access ← "stolen

C IF access = "stolen" THEN

D PRINT "Account taken over"

E ENDIF

Question 4

A records ← 1000

B price ← 0.5

C PRINT "Selling stolen data"

D income ← records + price

E PRINT income

Question 5

A attack ← "ransomware"

B effect ← "helps the victim"

C demand ← "pay money"

D PRINT effect + demand

Answer Key

Why attackers target accounts and data

Section A: Quick Questions

A — The account can be used to steal money or items of value

A — Using someone's name and birthday to open an account as them

B — Message the student's friends to trick them into sending money or clicking links

B — Other criminals will pay for it and use it to make money

A — Attackers often target accounts and data because they can be used or sold for money

Section B: Match the Pairs

motive = "money" → The attacker wants cash, so they target bank or shopping accounts and payment details.

motive = "sell data" → The attacker steals data to sell it to other criminals, who then misuse it.

Attackers steal personal details like a name and birthdate so they can pretend to be the victim. → motive = "identity theft"

An attacker takes over a student's social media account to trick their friends or cause trouble. → motive = "account takeover"

if data_is_boring: attacker_ignores = True → Wrong idea: attackers ignore ordinary accounts and data because they think they have no value.

motive = "only famous people" → Wrong idea: attackers only go after rich or famous people, so students are safe.

Section C: Definitions

attacker motive — The reason an attacker targets accounts and data: they can be used or sold for money, identity theft or disruption, such as stealing cash, taking over social accounts or selling data.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

IF target = bankLogin THEN
  steal(money)
END IF

IF dataStolen THEN
  sell(data)
END IF

stolen ← name + birthdate + address
impersonate(victim)

IF loginStolen THEN
  post(friends, scamLink)
END IF

IF motive = disruption THEN
  lock(data)
END IF

Section E: Spot the Error

D — The label says Aim, so the line should print the motive (the reason for the attack), not the attacker. It should be PRINT "Aim: " + motive.

A — Text values must be inside quotes. Without them, identity details looks like two unknown variables. It should be stolen ← "identity details".

B — The text value is missing its closing quote. It should be access ← "stolen".

D — Money from selling data is the number of records multiplied by the price of each one. It should be income ← records * price, not added.

B — Attackers aim to cause disruption and pressure victims for money. The effect of ransomware is locked files, not helping the victim.