Take this Exam: A-Level Computer Science: Security, Data and Consequences | Zestly

Question 1

A system performs three checks: (1) ensuring a date field contains a valid calendar date, (2) verifying a user's identity via a password, and (3) checking if a user has permission to delete a file. Which of the following correctly labels these processes?

Accepted Answer

(1) Validation, (2) Authentication, (3) Authorisation.

Answer

(1) Authorisation, (2) Validation, (3) Authentication.

Answer

(1) Validation, (2) Authorisation, (3) Authentication.

Answer

(1) Authentication, (2) Validation, (3) Authorisation.

Question 2

An organisation suffers a data loss event and discovers that its backup files cannot be restored. What does this reveal about the organisation's backup policy?

Accepted Answer

The policy failed to include a requirement for regular, documented testing of the restoration process.

Answer

The organisation should have used cloud-based storage instead of local hardware to prevent physical corruption of the backup files.

Answer

The organisation should have performed backups more frequently to ensure that at least one copy was functional.

Answer

The backup policy was flawed because it relied on automated systems that were not monitored by human staff.

Question 3

A retail company collects customer names, addresses, and purchase history. It keeps this data indefinitely, even for customers who have not shopped there for twenty years, and collects unnecessary information like shoe size for every purchase. Which data protection principles are being broken?

Accepted Answer

Data minimisation and storage limitation.

Answer

Integrity and confidentiality.

Answer

Lawfulness and transparency.

Answer

Accountability and accuracy.

Question 4

An automated hiring system, trained on historical data from the last decade, begins to reject candidates from certain backgrounds. What does this demonstrate about the system?

Answer

The system has developed a conscious bias due to the complexity of the underlying neural network.

Answer

The system is malfunctioning because it was not programmed with explicit rules to treat all candidates equally.

Answer

The system has learned and perpetuated the biases present in the historical data used for its training.

Answer

The system is inherently objective because it relies on mathematical algorithms rather than human intuition.

Question 5

An organisation claims its new digital service is 'environmentally neutral'. Which of the following is a reasonable critique of this claim?

Answer

Digital services are inherently green because they reduce the need for paper, so the claim is entirely accurate.

Answer

The claim ignores the energy consumption of the data centres and the environmental cost of manufacturing the hardware required to run the service.

Answer

The organisation is correct because the software itself does not consume physical resources once it is deployed.

Answer

Nothing can be done to reduce the environmental impact of computing, so the organisation's claim is as good as any other.