← ACARA Digital Technologies Years 9–10

Impact of a cyber attack on an individual

The harm a cyber attack causes a person, such as stolen money, identity theft, a locked-out account, lost private photos or messages, reputation damage and emotional distress.

Part of: ACARA Digital Technologies Years 9–10 — Cyber Security Threats and Vulnerabilities — Module 18, QCE Digital Solutions Unit 2 — Data-Driven Problems and Solution Requirements — Module 116, WA Computer Science ATAR Year 11 — Cyber Security — Module 61

Understanding Impact of a cyber attack on an individual in ACARA Digital Technologies Years 9–10

What it does: The code shows the account balance shrinking when money is taken, which is the financial loss a victim suffers. Once the password is swapped for the attacker's one, the real owner is locked out and may lose photos and messages stored there. Attacks can cause real harm to people, such as lost money, stolen identity, lost memories and emotional distress. Identity theft is when someone uses your personal details to pretend to be you, often to get money or credit. Posts made by an attacker look like they came from you, so friends and others may judge you unfairly. Attackers can change your login details so you lose access to your own account, emails and files.

Common mistakes: A single = assigns a value. Using == compares two values, and stolen does not exist yet, so the program fails. It should be stolen = 120. An if statement must end with a colon. It should be if failed_logins >= 5:.

Class: _____________________  ·  Name: _____________________  ·  Date: _________

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 743–781) and word search (Modules 743–809).

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Learning
Duo
A hacker uses a stolen bank login to move money out of someone's account. What kind of harm is this?
Financial lossHardware upgrade
Matches
A cyber attack only harms big companies, so individuals have nothing to lose.
↓
Individuals are also harmed by cyber attacks. They can lose money, photos, messages and accounts, and can have their identity stolen.
Applying
Meanings
Term
individual impact
Meaning
The harm a cyber attack causes a person, such as stolen money, identity theft, a locked-out account, lost private photos or messages, reputation damage and emotional distress.
Practice
attack ← "account hacked"
Testing
Gaps
balance = balance stolen
Check Answer
Spots
1balance = 500
2stolen == 120

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Quick Questions

1. A hacker uses a stolen bank login to move money out of someone's account. What kind of harm is this?
A. Hardware upgrade
B. Financial loss ✓
Stolen money is a financial loss. It is one of the main ways a cyber attack can harm an individual.
2. True or false: A cyber attack can only harm a person's computer, never the person themselves.
A. False ✓
B. True
Attacks can cause real harm to people, such as lost money, stolen identity, lost memories and emotional distress.
3. An attacker opens a loan using your name, date of birth and address. What is this called?
A. Identity theft ✓
B. Denial of service
Identity theft is when someone uses your personal details to pretend to be you, often to get money or credit.
4. Ransomware locks a student's phone and deletes access to years of private photos. Which impact is this?
A. A faster internet connection
B. Loss of private photos and messages ✓
When photos and messages are locked or stolen, the person loses memories and privacy that may never come back.
5. Someone takes over your social media account and posts mean messages as you. Which harm is most likely?
A. Damaged reputation ✓
B. Lower battery use
Posts made by an attacker look like they came from you, so friends and others may judge you unfairly.

Match the Pairs

individual impact → The harm a cyber attack causes a person, such as stolen money, identity theft, a locked-out account or emotional distress
identity theft → An attacker uses stolen personal details, such as your name and birthdate, to pretend to be you, open accounts or take out loans
Financial loss: an attacker who gets into a bank account can steal money from the victim → balance = balance - stolen_amount
Locked-out account: an attacker changes the password so the real owner can no longer log in → account.password = attacker_password
A cyber attack only harms big companies, so individuals have nothing to lose. → Individuals are also harmed by cyber attacks. They can lose money, photos, messages and accounts, and can have their identity stolen.
If a hacker leaks your private messages, the only harm is a bit of lost data. → Leaked private messages can also cause emotional distress and damage a person's reputation, not just data loss.

Key Term

individual impact
The harm a cyber attack causes a person, such as stolen money, identity theft, a locked-out account, lost private photos or messages, reputation damage and emotional distress.

Fill in the Blanks

1. balance = 500 stolen = 120 balance = balance - stolen
Hint: Type the arithmetic operator that reduces the account balance when money is stolen.
2. changed = True if changed: locked = True
Hint: Type the Boolean value that shows the victim is locked out of their account.
3. stolen = ["name", "birthdate", "address"] print(len(stolen))
Hint: Type the built-in function that counts how many personal details were stolen.
4. photos = ["beach.jpg", "party.jpg"] photos.clear()
Hint: Type the list method that removes every item, showing all private photos being lost.
5. for post in fakes: reputation = reputation - 5
Hint: Type the keyword that repeats a step for each fake post, showing reputation damage building up.

Spot the Error

Question 1
A balance = 500
B stolen == 120
C balance = balance - stolen
D print(balance)
Line B — A single = assigns a value. Using == compares two values, and stolen does not exist yet, so the program fails. It should be stolen = 120.
Question 2
A failed_logins = 5
B locked_out = False
C if failed_logins >= 5
D locked_out = True
Line C — An if statement must end with a colon. It should be if failed_logins >= 5:
Question 3
A photos = ['beach', 'party']
B backed_up = False
C if not backed_up:
D print('Photos at risk'
Line D — The print call is missing its closing bracket. It should be print('Photos at risk').
Question 4
A money_lost = 250
B if money_lost < 0:
C print('Financial loss')
Line B — Stolen money is a positive amount, so money_lost < 0 is never true and the loss is never reported. It should be money_lost > 0.
Question 5
A name = 'Sam'
B id_stolen = True
C if id_stolen:
D print(name 'is at risk')
Line D — The arguments in print() must be separated by a comma. It should be print(name, 'is at risk').

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