Ethics, Cyber Security and Emerging Technologies
Ethics, Cyber Security and Emerging Technologies tests responsible online behaviour, common cyber threats and safeguards, the legal framework, and current technologies named in the syllabus.
Core rules
- Cyber ethics covers netiquette, respect for privacy, avoiding plagiarism, refusing software piracy and thinking before posting, because a digital footprint persists.
- Malware types: virus (attaches to files), worm (self-replicates), trojan (disguised as useful), spyware (secretly collects data) and ransomware (encrypts files for payment).
- Social-engineering attacks include phishing emails, fake login pages, smishing and vishing. Pharming redirects users to fraudulent sites.
- Safeguards: strong unique passwords, two-factor authentication, firewalls, updated antivirus, encryption, regular backups and HTTPS. Report cybercrime to the appropriate authority.
- In India, the Information Technology Act, 2000 provides the main legal framework for cybercrime.
- Emerging technologies include artificial intelligence and machine learning, IoT, cloud computing (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS), big data, blockchain, AR/VR, 5G, robotics and quantum computing.
Worked example
A message links to https://tn.gov.in.account-verify.top/login and asks you to confirm a password. The real domain is account-verify.top; tn.gov.in is only a label placed before it to look official. The padlock shows that the connection uses TLS encryption - it does not prove the site is genuine. The correct response is not to click, not to enter credentials, and to reach the official portal by typing its address or using a saved bookmark.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating the padlock or HTTPS as proof of a trustworthy site.
- Believing antivirus alone stops phishing; it mainly targets malware.
- Confusing a virus with a worm: worms spread without attaching to files.
- Defining cloud computing as simply 'the internet'.
- Saying blockchain is the same as Bitcoin; Bitcoin is one application of blockchain.