Ace Your Exam: Reading About Digital Security
Welcome to your final reading practice! Today’s topic, Digital Age Security, is full of technical concepts. Don’t worry if you don’t know words like “phishing” or “malware” beforehand. In exam passages, such terms are almost always defined or explained by the context. Your task is to use the surrounding sentences to figure out their meaning.
A great strategy for this type of passage is to categorize information. The text discusses threats at different levels (individual, corporate, state). As you read, try to mentally sort the examples into these categories. This will help you build a clear map of the argument. You have 20 minutes for the passage and questions. Go!
Reading Passage
Keywords & Phrases
- Ushered in: (phrasal verb) To usher in something means to mark the beginning of it. We said the digital revolution “ushered in an era of unprecedented connectivity,” meaning it started this new period.
- Vigilance: (noun) This is the action or state of keeping careful watch for possible danger or difficulties. We used it to say that security requires “individual vigilance.”
- Vectors of attack: (phrase) In this context, a “vector” is a method or path used by an attacker to gain access to a system. Phishing is described as a common “vector of attack.”
- Masquerade as: (phrasal verb) To masquerade as someone or something means to pretend to be them. We used it to describe how phishing emails “masquerade as legitimate communications” to deceive people.
- Nefarious: (adjective) This is a strong word that means wicked, criminal, or evil. We used it to describe ransomware as “particularly nefarious” to emphasize how harmful it is.
- Proprietary: (adjective) This describes something that is owned and controlled by a private individual or company, and its use is restricted. “Proprietary research” is secret information that gives a company a competitive advantage.
- Attribution: (noun) In this context, attribution is the act of identifying who is responsible for a particular action, like a cyberattack. The passage notes that “attribution is notoriously difficult” in cyberwarfare.
- Impunity: (noun) This means exemption from punishment or freedom from the injurious consequences of an action. We said criminals can act with “impunity” because of a lack of international enforcement.
- Concerted: (adjective) A concerted effort is one that is planned and coordinated by a group of people working together. The author calls for a “concerted global effort” to address digital security.
- Frontier: (noun) A frontier is the extreme limit of settled land beyond which lies wilderness. Metaphorically, as used in the passage (“a new and unpredictable frontier of risk”), it means a new, unexplored, and potentially dangerous area of activity.
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