Threats To Data

Threats To Data

1. Opportunist Threat

   • If people find a computer unattended and it has been left logged on. It is easy to use the computer to access sensitive personal and company information. Someone could easily log into your email or Amazon account and do damage.
   • They could also, potentially steal your customer database.

2. Computer Viruses

   • These small programs can be received via email or on a memory stick. They can "self replicate" which means they can make copies of themselves and cause networks to fail

3. Malware

   • Malware can be Internet worms, trojan horses, and spyware. They often run without you even knowing.

4. Phishing

   • Phishing comes via email and often pretend to be from a bank. They might tell you that you need to verify your security information via a website
   • You go to the website, it looks like a proper bank website. You enter your bank details and hey-presto, the criminals have enough information to get to your money.

5. Accidental Damage

   • Accidental damage is just that - accidental. If you drop a laptop, the screen might crack but even worse, the hard disk may become damaged which means you can't get to your data
   • You might spill a drink on your computer which damages it beyond repair. Again you will lose your data and it is the data that is important to you.
   • There are companies that specialise in data recovery (at a price) and they might be able to recover data from your hard disk. However, there are no guarantees. The very best thing you can do to protect your data is to back up your work regularly