Keeping data safe Flashcards
Threats to data
- accidental damage or loss
- natural disaster
- malicious actions
Natural disaster
floods, fires, hurricanes, tsunamis
Accidental damage
Unintended corruption, deletion or damage to data that is usually caused by human error
Malicious actions
Deliberate unauthorised actions intendedto cause damage by viewing, deleting, copying or corrupting data
Types of accidental damage
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
Types of malicious actions
hacking
malware
theft
6 examples of physical security
- Issuing all staff with ID badges
- Having all visitors to a building sign in on arrival
- Having all visitors escorted around the building 4. Keeping sensitive areas locked
- Security guards
- Biometric security e.g. fingerprint
Backups
Made regularly so that data lost or corrupted can be restored
Archiving
Used for data that is no longer needed for immediate processing, but needs to be kept
9 ways to reduce risk of malicious actions
- Install anti-virus/anti-malware/anti-hacking software
- Encrypting data so that only authorized parties can understand the information
- Using strong passwords
- Don’t download software from unknown sources
- Be careful when opening email attachments and don’t click suspicious links
- Make sure you are protected by a firewall
- Keep all software, including operating systems, up to date
- monitoring of staff computer activity
- verification can be used to get confirmation from a user e.g. deleting a file
5 ways of reducing risk of accidental damage or loss
- Locking workstations when unattended
- Saving work on a regular basis in case of unexpected shutdown
- Keep storage devices in a safe place
- Set data to read only to prevent accidental editing
- Password protecting individual files
Secure passwords
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
Audit trails
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