A _______ attack comes in the form of deceptive emails or text messages that may ask you to install software or divulge personal information.

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — MPPSC's official key granted grace, accepting BOTH B (Virus Signing) AND C (Phishing). C, Phishing, is the term whose standard, well-documented definition matches the question exactly: a social-engineering attack delivered via deceptive email or text message that impersonates a trustworthy sender to trick the victim into installing malicious software or revealing personal/financial information. 'Virus Signing' (B) is not a standard, independently-defined cybersecurity term with a published meaning matching this description; MPPSC's key nonetheless credited it as part of the grace decision. This card records the official grace outcome for scoring accuracy while flagging that Phishing is the option whose definition is independently verifiable against the question text.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Spamming is unsolicited bulk messaging (typically promotional); it does not require impersonating a trusted sender to extract credentials or install software, which is the behaviour this question describes.  (d) Scanning (e.g., port or vulnerability scanning) is a technical reconnaissance method attackers use to probe systems for weaknesses — it is not delivered as a deceptive email or text message.

Concept: Phishing is a social-engineering attack: the attacker impersonates a trustworthy party (a bank, employer, or service provider) via email, SMS, or message to trick the victim into clicking a malicious link, installing malware, or handing over credentials or personal data directly. It relies on deception and urgency rather than a technical exploit of the target system.

State PCS 2024 Q42 — Science & Technology PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2024 Q42 — Science & Technology PYQ with Answer