Data Security

Threats to computer systems and data

Malware- Are applications that were designed to negatively affect your devices. For example,
overuse of memory will eventually slow down computers, some malware may even cause
hardware to crash. There are other types of malware such as viruses, worms, and trojan horses.

Computer crimes- Any malicious act that has legal ramifications and is punishable by law.
Hacking-The gaining of unauthorized access to data in a system or computer.
Identity theft- Identity theft occurs when someone uses another person's personal identifying
information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission,
to commit fraud or other crimes.

Software restrictions

Software restrictions can be barriers to data corruption, restrict access to software that may
contain sensitive data, or software that can cause damage.

1. Passwords- Password is a combination of characters that must be entered before you can
access, view and edit. Passwords can be like patterns, pins, or characters.
2. Encryption- A data using an encryption code so it cannot be understood just by reading it.
The data must be decrypted/ decoded using a key. The key provides the algorithm that
was used to encrypt the data.
3. Firewall- A software that defends the weak points in a computer network to prevent
hackers from gaining entry. Used to prevent unauthorized persons to access into or out of
a computer network.
4. Virus protection- A virus is a piece of software intended to cause harm to a computer to
gain access to confidential data. Viruses can be: Corrupt data, slow down a computer, or
damage software.
5. Antivirus software- Protect against viruses. It locates known viruses on a computer or
looks for the software that acts like a virus. Antivirus software will delete any virus it
finds.
A worm is a piece of software that attaches to computer memory. Whereas a virus
attaches to a program. Worms are usually spread by e-mail. They eventually cripple a
computer by using up all it resources.
A Trojan horse does not replicate itself like a virus. It looks and behaves like a genuine
program but once it is running, it allows hackers to gain access to the computer system by
accessing and saving passwords.
 Physical restrictions
1. Archiving- Archiving is similar to backing up, except it is more commonly used for old
data. You may want to archive old data so you can refer back to it. Businesses are obliged
to keep financial records for a number of years. The data may take up a lot of space on a
hard drive or server, so it is archived in another location.
2. Biometric systems- Biometric systems as a type of input device. For example, a
fingerprint scanner, face recognition, voice recognition, etc.
3. Backup and recovery procedures- Back up data regularly. Store a second cpy of data files
and programs away from the computer; you could use secondary storage devices. If your
computer gets damaged, if a virus corrupts your data, or if you accidentally delete or
modify data that you were not supposed to, your backup copy will allow you to restore
that data.