Information extortion occurs when an attacker or trusted insider steals data and demands compensation for its return. What is this crime called?

Information extortion occurs when an attacker or trusted insider steals data and demands compensation for its return. What is this crime called?

• A. Information extortion
• B. Ransomware
• C. Phishing
• D. Social engineering

Answer: (A)

This question tests understanding of cybercrime terminology around data theft and ransom. When an attacker steals data and then demands payment in exchange for returning it, the act is known as information extortion. The focus here is on exfiltrating data and using the threatened release or return as the leverage to coerce payment. This differs from ransomware, which centers on encrypting or locking data so the victim must pay to regain access. Phishing and social engineering describe methods used to deceive people into revealing credentials or access, but they don’t by themselves define the crime of stealing data for a ransom.

This question tests understanding of cybercrime terminology around data theft and ransom. When an attacker steals data and then demands payment in exchange for returning it, the act is known as information extortion. The focus here is on exfiltrating data and using the threatened release or return as the leverage to coerce payment.

This differs from ransomware, which centers on encrypting or locking data so the victim must pay to regain access. Phishing and social engineering describe methods used to deceive people into revealing credentials or access, but they don’t by themselves define the crime of stealing data for a ransom.