These questions cover the whole module safety, security and effects. All businesses, people and files are invented. Write each answer fully, then open the working.
Questions run from easier to harder. Use the routing section at the end to decide which lesson to revisit.
Questions
1. Name two items that count as personal data in a fictional school’s enrolment spreadsheet.
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Any two that identify a person, for example a pupil’s full name and home address, or a parent’s phone number. A class code on its own would not identify anyone.
2. Orchid Florist (fictional) stores customer addresses on one office computer that all staff share, with no login. State one risk and one control.
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Risk: any staff member or visitor at the computer could read or copy customers’ addresses. Control: give each staff member a separate login and password so access is limited and can be checked.
3. State the difference between a backup and recovery in one sentence each.
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A backup is a copy of data made in advance and stored separately. Recovery is using that copy to restore the data after loss or damage.
4. Why is a backup stored in the same room as the computer a weak plan?
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One event such as a fire, flood or theft could destroy both the computer and the backup, so no safe copy would remain. An off-site copy is needed.
5. A firm makes a full backup of 100 GB on Sunday and an incremental backup of 5 GB on each of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The system fails on Thursday. How much data must be restored, and from which backups?
Show answer
The full backup and all three incrementals, restored in order. 100 + (5 × 3) = 100 + 15 = 115 GB. Check: three nights at 5 GB is 15 GB, and 100 + 15 = 115.
6. A four-digit PIN and a six-digit PIN both use digits 0 to 9. Work out how many combinations each has and compare them.
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Four digits: 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 = 10 000. Six digits: 106 = 1 000 000. The six-digit PIN has 100 times as many combinations (1 000 000 ÷ 10 000 = 100), so it is harder to guess by trying them all.
7. An office considers a password alone or a password plus a code sent to the manager’s phone. Which is stronger, and what is one drawback of it?
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The password plus code is stronger, because an attacker needs two different kinds of proof, something known and something held. A drawback is that if the phone is lost or has no signal, the manager cannot log in without a recovery method.
8. A notice for a fictional youth club uses pale yellow text on white, and shows “Cancelled” sessions only in red. Give two accessibility changes and the reason for each.
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(a) Change the pale yellow text to a dark colour with strong contrast, because pale text on white is hard to read, especially for readers with low vision. (b) Add the word “Cancelled” in text next to the red marking, because a reader with colour blindness may not see the red.
9. In a fictional town, a bus company introduces a phone app for tickets and removes most paper ticket offices. Describe two effects on different groups, without giving an opinion.
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Commuters with smartphones can buy tickets quickly without queuing. Older residents who do not use smartphones may find it harder to buy a ticket, and ticket office staff may have fewer roles. Each effect names a group and a result without saying the change is right or wrong.
10. A learner says: “Biometric login is perfect, so no backup login is needed.” Explain what is wrong with this.
Show answer
No control is perfect. A fingerprint reader can fail to match a genuine user, for example with a damaged finger, so a second method or recovery process is still required.
If you got these wrong
- Questions 1 and 2: you named a general danger or missed what counts as personal data. Revisit identifying a data-protection risk.
- Questions 3 to 5: you mixed up copy and restore or the way increments add up. Revisit backup and recovery.
- Questions 6, 7 and 10: your comparison lacked a reason or a limit. Revisit authentication controls.
- Question 8: you described looks, not the reader’s need. Revisit accessibility requirements.
- Question 9: you drifted into opinion or named a group with no result. Revisit societal effects.
Use the mistake log to record each slip and retest it after a few days, and the practical task and evidence checker to review any file you produce for a brief. If one theme keeps returning, online one-to-one ICT tuition gives you a teacher to go through your written answers with.