When the lock is not enough
A key card opens the server room. A cleaner lends their card to a friend. The lock has failed, yet nobody noticed.
What if a second control had been there? A log of who went in would have shown a strange entry at midnight. Today you meet safety-net controls.
Key words
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Compensating control | A safeguard that still protects you if the main control fails. |
| Primary control | The main safeguard you rely on first. |
| Segregation of duties | Sharing a job between people so one person cannot misuse it. |
| Log management | Collecting, storing and checking logs. |
| Auditing | Checking records to see what happened. |
| Phishing | A fake message that tricks you into giving away data. |
| Encryption | Scrambling data so only someone with the right key can read it. |
| Awareness training | Teaching people to spot and avoid cyber threats. |
| Simulated attack | A safe, planned fake attack used to test defences. |
| Standard operating procedure | A written set of steps for a job. Short form: SOP. |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can explain what compensating controls are for and give a physical, a technical and a procedural example.
Starter: what you already know
Have a go
Starter: what you already know
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
The purpose of compensating controls
A compensating control is a safety net. It gives a safeguard if the primary control fails.
No single control is perfect. A door lock can be copied. A password can be stolen. A second, different control covers the gap.
Physical: duties and logs
Segregation of duties shares a sensitive job between people. One person cannot do harm alone.
Log management and auditing keep a record. For example, a key code system stores which person entered a place. If a card is misused, the log shows it.
Technical: encryption
Encryption scrambles data. Suppose a thief beats the lock and steals a laptop. The data is still unreadable without the key.
The lock failed. The encryption compensates.
Check: physical and technical
Have a go
Check: physical and technical
4 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.