GCSE Computer Science: Malware, Encryption and Computer Law

Exam questions on security and legislation usually describe a situation and ask two things: what is happening, and what should have been done about it, or which law it breaks. This material trains that pattern. It is based on the DfE GCSE subject content for computer science, which requires forms of attack based on technical weaknesses and behaviour, ways to protect software systems, and the ethical and legal impacts of digital technology, and on the specifications that name the legislation, for example OCR's, which lists the Data Protection Act 2018, the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

The quiz has thirteen scenario questions. Seven are about threats: malware that spreads across a school network overnight with no one clicking anything, a free game that opens a back door, files locked with a demand for payment, a keylogger on a shop's till, a ticket website swamped by requests, a log-in box that accepts a line of SQL instead of a password, and a document captured on café Wi-Fi. Each asks for the right name, the right defence, or both. One question uses a Caesar cipher to show what an encryption key is. The last five are about the law: which of the three offences in the Computer Misuse Act fits a pupil reading a teacher's files, a person releasing a virus and a hacker breaking in to commit fraud, what a customer can ask a gym for under data protection law, and why sharing a paid-for program online is a breach of copyright. The questions describe what each law allows or forbids; they do not ask for penalties or section numbers.

Explanations give the reason for each answer and show why the near-miss options are wrong: why a worm is not a virus, why access alone is already an offence. The flashcards list the malware types, the attacks, encryption, the three offences and the purpose of each Act.

The written work sets eight longer tasks, each with a model answer and marking points: comparing viruses, worms and trojans with a defence for each, explaining SQL injection and two ways to stop it, describing a denial of service attack, encrypting a word with a Caesar cipher and explaining its weakness, the three offences of the Computer Misuse Act with examples, what data protection law requires of a company, how copyright applies to software, and a set of measures for staff working on laptops in public places.

An oral practice with an examiner is included: one situation at a time, a short follow-up when needed and brief feedback at the end. The material suits Year 10 and Year 11 students preparing for the systems paper and complements the category's material on phishing, backups and ethical impacts.

• Identify viruses, worms, trojans, spyware and ransomware from a description, and choose defences
• Explain denial of service attacks, SQL injection and data interception, and how each is prevented
• Explain the principle of encryption and apply a Caesar cipher
• Describe the three main offences of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and match them to situations
• Explain what the Data Protection Act 2018 requires of organisations and the rights it gives people
• Explain how the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 protects software

Practice material written by Zestly, based on the DfE GCSE subject content for computer science (forms of attack, ways to protect software systems, legal impacts of digital technology) and the security and legislation sections of the OCR (J277, 1.4 and 1.6) and AQA (8525, 3.6) GCSE Computer Science specifications. The three Acts are named as listed in the OCR J277 specification.