Keeping data safe

Question 1

Threats to data

Answer 1

1. accidental damage or loss
2. natural disaster
3. malicious actions

Question 2

Natural disaster

Answer 2

floods, fires, hurricanes, tsunamis

Question 3

Accidental damage

Answer 3

Unintended corruption, deletion or damage to data that is usually caused by human error

Question 4

Malicious actions

Answer 4

Deliberate unauthorised actions intendedto cause damage by viewing, deleting, copying or corrupting data

Question 5

Types of accidental damage

Answer 5

human error- data entry, accidental deletion
physical damage- dropping device and damage hard drive
power failure - electrical components damaged
hardware failure - hard disk crash
software crashing - in middle of operation and data lost

Question 6

Types of malicious actions

Answer 6

hacking
malware
theft

Question 7

6 examples of physical security

Answer 7

1. Issuing all staff with ID badges
2. Having all visitors to a building sign in on arrival
3. Having all visitors escorted around the building 4. Keeping sensitive areas locked
4. Security guards
5. Biometric security e.g. fingerprint

Question 8

Backups

Answer 8

Made regularly so that data lost or corrupted can be restored

Question 9

Archiving

Answer 9

Used for data that is no longer needed for immediate processing, but needs to be kept

Question 10

9 ways to reduce risk of malicious actions

Answer 10

1. Install anti-virus/anti-malware/anti-hacking software
2. Encrypting data so that only authorized parties can understand the information
3. Using strong passwords
4. Don’t download software from unknown sources
5. Be careful when opening email attachments and don’t click suspicious links
6. Make sure you are protected by a firewall
7. Keep all software, including operating systems, up to date
8. monitoring of staff computer activity
9. verification can be used to get confirmation from a user e.g. deleting a file

Question 11

5 ways of reducing risk of accidental damage or loss

Answer 11

1. Locking workstations when unattended
2. Saving work on a regular basis in case of unexpected shutdown
3. Keep storage devices in a safe place
4. Set data to read only to prevent accidental editing
5. Password protecting individual files

Question 12

Secure passwords

Answer 12

Use a minimum number of ___ characters
Use a mixture of numbers, lowercase and uppercase characters
Include special characters such as &, !, #, %
Do not include your name, DOB or personal details

Question 13

Audit trails

Answer 13

maintains a record of all activity that has taken place on a computer system
Every time a user accessed the system, the time and date are logged along with their actions
It can assist in detecting security violations