What is it
At GCSE, cyber security covers specific categories of threat (malware, social engineering, network attacks) and the specific defences used against each — firewalls, encryption, user access levels, and more.
Why it matters
This builds directly on the KS3 introduction, moving from 'what is a threat' to 'how do real systems defend against it' — the kind of practical reasoning that matters whether or not you continue with Computer Science after GCSE.
Exam tip
For 'identify and explain' questions, structure your answer as: name the threat → explain how it works → name a specific defence. Skipping the middle step is the most common way marks are lost.
Related topics
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