Indicative content
How malware could affect the charity's computers
- A virus could damage or delete the charity's files, such as its records of donations.
- Spyware could record keystrokes and send staff passwords or personal data to a hacker.
- A Trojan horse could hide malicious code inside a useful-looking program that a volunteer downloads, so it is installed without the user knowing.
- Malware could spread from one laptop to another through files shared on the charity's network, so more laptops become infected and more files are lost.
How anti-malware software finds and deals with malware
- It scans files and compares their code with a database of known malware patterns (signatures) to identify a match.
- It can apply rules (heuristics) to decide whether a program is behaving suspiciously.
- A suspicious file can be run in a sandbox to see whether its behaviour is malicious.
- When malware is found, the file is quarantined so that it cannot run, and it can be deleted.
- Downloads and email attachments can be scanned before a member of staff opens them.
What else the charity must do for the anti-malware software to be effective
- The database of malware definitions must be kept up to date, or new malware will not be recognised.
- Staff and volunteers should be trained not to open unexpected attachments or download from unreliable sites.
- Backups are still needed, because anti-malware cannot repair files that malware has already damaged.
- Scheduled scans must be allowed to run on all 15 laptops, so that malware is found even if no one opens the file.
Levels
- Level 0 (0 marks): No rewardable content.
- Level 1 (1–2 marks): Basic, independent points are made, showing elements of understanding of key concepts/principles of computer science. (AO1) The discussion will contain basic information with little linkage between points made or application to the context. (AO2)
- Level 2 (3–4 marks): Demonstrates adequate understanding of key concepts/principles of computer science. (AO1) The discussion shows some linkages and lines of reasoning with some structure and application to the context. (AO2)
- Level 3 (5–6 marks): Demonstrates comprehensive understanding of key concepts/principles of computer science to support the discussion being presented. (AO1) The discussion is well developed, with sustained lines of reasoning that are coherent and logically structured, and which clearly apply to the context. (AO2)
Level 3 responses must cover both how malware could affect the computers and how anti-malware software finds or deals with it; a brief deal-with point and an unexplained update point, with no identification method and no effect on the charity's files, are Level 1.
Do not accept anti-malware software described as a firewall, or 'scans files'/'finds viruses' on its own as a method of identifying malware.