Which term describes an attack performed by a computer program rather than manual steps?

• A. Blackout Attack
• B. Automated Attack
• C. Distributed Attack
• D. Central Processing Attack

Answer: (B)

Automated attacks are carried out by computer programs or scripts, not by a person performing each step manually. Using software to scan, exploit, or brute-force across targets makes the attack repeatable, faster, and scalable, enabling actions to run with little or no human intervention. This distinction—attack steps executed by a program rather than by a person—is what defines an automated attack.

The other terms don’t fit this concept. A blackout attack isn’t a standard security term for automated exploitation. A distributed attack describes an attack coming from many sources (like a DDoS) rather than the method by which the attack is carried out. A central processing attack isn’t a recognized term in this context. Therefore, automated attack best captures the idea of a technique performed by software rather than manual steps.