The day the system stopped
It is a Friday morning at Kestrel Pay, a firm that pays wages for 200 small shops.
The main computer system stops. Nobody can log in. Shops cannot pay their staff. By lunchtime, angry messages fill social media.
On Monday the owners find out the cause: one old server was never updated. One small thing. Very big results.
Key words
| Word | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Risk | The chance that something bad will happen. | A server that fails |
| Server | A computer that gives data or a service to other computers. | The computer that runs a website |
| Regulator | An official group that checks that businesses follow the rules. | The group that checks banks |
| Confidentiality | Keeping private data private. | Only the right people see a pay record |
| Integrity | Data stays correct and has not been changed by mistake or on purpose. | A balance that is right |
| Availability | Data and systems are there when people need them. | A website that is working |
| Breach | A failure that lets in people who should not be there, or lets data out. | A stolen customer list |
| Compliance | Following the laws and rules that apply. | Meeting data protection law |
| Reputation | What people think about an organisation. | A shop known as trustworthy |
| Licence to practise | Official permission to run a kind of business that has strict rules. | Permission to offer money services, like a bank |
| Accessibility | Designing so people with extra needs can use it. | Text that a screen reader can read |
| Bias | Treating some people less fairly, often without meaning to. | A tool that works well for only one group |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Quick check: Kestrel Pay
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Quick check: Kestrel Pay
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Security breaches: three things to protect
Security has three goals. Their first letters make the short name CIA.
Confidentiality: only the right people see the data.
Integrity: the data is correct and has not been changed.
Availability: the system and data are there when needed.
A breach harms at least one of these.
Which goal is harmed?
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Which goal is harmed?
5 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.