1 4L3 Access & Availability
Description:
In this GCSE OCR J277 Computer Science lesson (Paper 1, Topic 1.4 Network Security), we explore access attacks and availability attacks. You’ll learn how password-guessing methods work, why weak passwords make accounts easier to break into, and how a denial-of-service (DoS) incident can disrupt a network even when no data is stolen.
We focus on exam-style thinking throughout, including how to distinguish between access vs availability and how to explain impacts clearly for 2–3 mark questions.
What you’ll learn:
How password-guessing methods work (brute-force style)
Why weak passwords increase vulnerability
What denial-of-service (DoS) is and how it affects a network
How DoS affects users (slow / unavailable services)
The difference between attacks on access and attacks on availability
Why availability is a key part of network security
Exam practice:
Describe how a password-guessing method works (2)
Explain how a denial-of-service incident affects users (3)
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