What term describes the act of shutting down or misusing websites or computer networks?

• A. Hacking
• B. Breach
• C. Security incident
• D. Ransomware

Answer: (A)

Hacking describes the act of shutting down or misusing websites or computer networks. It covers gaining unauthorized access and manipulating systems to disrupt services or cause harm, which fits the scenario of taking networks offline or misusing them. A breach, by contrast, is specifically about unauthorized access to data and its exposure, rather than the broader disruption of services. A security incident is any event that compromises security, which can include many different types of events beyond intentional disruption. Ransomware is a specific type of malware that encrypts files to demand payment; while it can cause outages, it’s not the general term for the act of disrupting or misusing networks.