Malware - Word Drop

Malware, short for ______ software, is any program written to harm a computer, its data or its user. Once it is on a device it can steal personal and financial data, delete files or ______ them so their contents are damaged, or lock files so they cannot be opened. Some malware also lets an attacker take ______ of the device from another location.

Malware often gets onto a device without the user realising. It may arrive as an email ______ that the user opens, as a link in a phishing message, or in software downloaded from an untrusted website. It can also spread across the same ______ from one infected computer to the next, or travel on an infected USB drive.

Attackers use malware for a range of purposes. They may steal data to commit ______ or to sell on, or demand a payment before locked files are released, in order to ______ money. Some attacks delete data to ______ an organisation, for example by stopping its systems working, while others use the infected computers to attack other systems.

The threat to the victim is serious. Files may be deleted, locked or stolen, and a device may slow down or ______ so that an organisation cannot work and loses money. Personal data can also be used to pretend to be someone else, which is ______ theft, and losing customers' trust damages the organisation's ______.