The pay list on the printer
A worker prints the pay list for the whole shop. She goes to get a coffee.
A customer picks up the page. It shows every name and every salary (pay).
What happens next? Who is angry? Who is happy? Who could lose money? This lesson is about information that must stay private, and what happens when it does not.
Key words
| Word | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Confidential | Secret. Only the right people may see it. | a staff salary |
| Competitor | Another company that sells the same thing as you. | another shop |
| Intellectual property | Ideas and designs that a company owns. | a game design |
| Client | A person or company that pays you for work. | a school you build a site for |
| Biometric data | Facts about your body used to prove who you are. | a fingerprint |
| Passphrase | A password made of several words. | blue-bus-eats-seven-pies |
| Stakeholder | A person or group with an interest in the company. | an owner or a supplier |
| Fine | Money you must pay as a punishment. | a fine for breaking the rules |
| Privacy | Your right to keep your own details to yourself. | your home address |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Quick check: should it be secret?
Have a go
Quick check: should it be secret?
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Three groups of secrets
| Group | What is in it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| People (HR) | Pay, benefits and personal details of staff. Benefits are extras, such as sick pay | Salary, home address, bonus |
| Business | Facts that help a competitor | Client details, stakeholder details, contracts, sales numbers, designs |
| Access | Things that let you into a system | Username, password, PIN, access code, MFA details, fingerprint |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Access information
Access information opens the door to everything else. A username says who you are. A password proves it. A PIN is a short number code. A passphrase is a longer password made of words.
Authentication (proving who you are) can use two proofs. This is multi-factor authentication (MFA), for example a password and a code sent to your phone. The MFA details, such as your phone number, are secret too. Biometric data, such as a fingerprint, is also access information.
Do not share access information
data-callouts.tip.label
A real company never asks you for your password by email, phone or message. If someone asks, say no. It is not rude. It is the rule.
Worked example: the cost of one leak
| What happened | Cost in pounds |
|---|---|
| A fine from the regulator (the group that checks the rules) | 20,000 |
| Refunds to 100 angry customers, 50 pounds each (100 times 50) | 5,000 |
| A client cancels a contract worth 30,000 a year | 30,000 |
| Total of the three (20,000 plus 5,000 plus 30,000) | 55,000 |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.