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Data Security and Integrity

Threats to computer systems

  • 3 things to know
  • AS Unit 1

Overview

Four environmental threats to a computer installation, hardware failure and social engineering.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Name four environmental threats to a computer installation.

Key term

Why is a power cut a threat to data as well as to availability?

Key term

Define malware.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Name four environmental threats to a computer installation.

    Model answer

    Fire, flooding, lightning strikes and overheating caused by a failure of cooling.

  2. 2

    Why is a power cut a threat to data as well as to availability?

    Model answer

    Work in memory is lost and a file being written when the power fails is left half updated, so the stored data can be corrupt when the machine restarts.

  3. 3

    What is hardware failure, and which component failure most often threatens data?

    Model answer

    It is a physical fault in equipment, and a failed storage drive is the most damaging because the data it holds may be unreadable.

  4. 4

    Why is theft of a computer a data threat and not simply a loss of equipment?

    Model answer

    The data on it goes with the machine, so unless it was encrypted the thief obtains files that may be far more valuable than the hardware.

  5. 5

    Define malware.

    Model answer

    Malware is any software written to damage, disrupt or gain unauthorised access to a computer system or the data it holds.

  6. 6

    Distinguish a virus from a worm.

    Model answer

    A virus attaches itself to a file or program and spreads when that host is copied or run; a worm is self-contained and copies itself across a network without a user doing anything.

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