Locks on the data, not only the door
A firm locks its building. But a laptop is stolen from a car, and the file on it is fully readable. Another firm stops every attacker at the door, but every member of staff can see every record.
Doors and walls help. Data needs its own protection too.
Key words
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Personal data | Information about a living person who can be identified. |
| Network | Computers and devices joined together so they can share data. |
| Security control | Something that lowers the chance or the harm of an attack. |
| Encryption | Scrambling data so only people with the key can read it. |
| Segregation | Keeping things apart so a problem does not spread. |
| Access control | Rules that decide who may see or change data. |
| Change monitoring | Watching for changes and checking they are allowed. |
| Pseudonymisation | Swapping names for codes. A separate key links them back. |
| Anonymisation | Changing data so nobody can be named from it. |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can explain five controls that protect data, and say what each one stops.
Starter: last lesson
Have a go
Starter: last lesson
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Five controls
Anonymisation or pseudonymisation removes or swaps names. Encryption scrambles data on a disk and on a network. Segregation keeps things apart, such as real data and practice data. Access control gives each person only the access they need. Change monitoring records who changed what, and when.
Five controls and what each stops
| Control | How it works | It helps stop |
|---|---|---|
| Anonymisation or pseudonymisation | Remove names or swap them for codes | People being named if data leaks |
| Encryption | Scramble data | A thief reading a stolen file |
| Segregation | Keep networks, data and jobs apart | A problem spreading |
| Access control | Roles and the least access | Staff seeing too much |
| Change monitoring | Logs and alerts | Damage nobody notices |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Try it: a simple access control
access = {"admin": "everything", "analyst": "survey only", "visitor": "nothing"}
for role in ["admin", "analyst", "visitor"]:
print(role, "may see", access[role])
Check: controls
Have a go
Check: controls
4 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.