Data-transfer security — encryption and certificates
Privacy means only the intended sender and recipient can reach the data; confidentiality means it stays secret from anyone not authorised. Encryption scrambles the data with a key before it is sent, so intercepted data cannot be understood. A digital certificate, issued by a trusted certificate authority, verifies the identity of the website or organisation you are transferring to — and must record the company name, not just a person's name.
Six other authentication methods
Zero login identifies the user from device factors (location, typing pattern), nothing entered. A biometric method reads a unique physical characteristic: fingerprint, face, iris. A magnetic stripe is swiped; a smart card has an embedded microchip, inserted or tapped. A physical token is a device you hold, giving a one-time code; an electronic token is an app code, changing regularly. Two-factor auth combines two of: what the user knows, owns, is.
Anti-malware — update, scan, quarantine
Anti-malware (and anti-virus) scans against known malware signatures, plus behaviour patterns for new threats, then removes or quarantines what it finds. Quarantining isolates the file so it cannot run or spread, without deleting it. Three named uses: keep it up to date; scan removable storage media used to transfer data; scan data or software on download. Anti-spyware counters key-loggers — the named defence against password interception.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Weak password: the reason, not the result
"The account will be hacked" is the CONSEQUENCE, not the reason. The mark scheme wants a property of the password itself: too short, letters only with no numbers or symbols, an easy-to-guess word or pattern, or the user's own personal data (name, birthdate, pet). Give your OWN example too — repeating the sample password printed in the question stem earns nothing.
Candidates explained weak passwords by their consequence rather than the property of the password (w22 P11 Q3, w22 P12 Q4, w23 P11 Q7a).
User ID identifies, password proves
A user ID says WHICH user wants access; it gives system access, is unique to that user, and is not usually kept secret. A password is the secret credential that PROVES the user is who the ID claims, and it protects the data — it is not necessarily unique across users. Blended answers ("a user ID is a password that logs you in") lose the difference mark.
User ID vs password needed the two distinct roles, not one blended description (w23 P13 Q4a, s22 P11 Q12c).
A hacked password ≠ a cracked one
A password is hacked when someone gains unauthorised access to the account it protects — this can happen even to a strong password that was never reused, e.g. via a breach at the provider. A password is cracked when the password itself is worked out by systematically trying combinations; if the user reused it, it can then be tried on their OTHER accounts.
A password can be hacked even if not reused; if cracked it can be reused on other accounts with the same password (w23 P11 Q7c).
Encryption ≠ stopping hacking
Encryption protects the content of intercepted data: it scrambles the data with a key so it cannot be understood without that key. It does NOT prevent unauthorised access — a hacker can still get into the network or account, and encryption only makes what they intercept unreadable. "Encrypting our data stops the network being hacked" scores nothing.
Candidates claimed encryption stops hacking, when it only makes intercepted data unreadable (w22 P13 Q15b).
A touchscreen does not beat key-logging
Key-logging spyware records the characters a user types, and typing on an on-screen keyboard is still typing — so a password entered on a touchscreen is not safe from it. A biometric method such as a fingerprint scan involves no keystrokes at all, so there is nothing for a key-logger to capture. That is the reason to state, not simply "biometrics are safer".
Candidates had to explain entering a password without a keyboard, because key-logging still works on a touchscreen (w22 P11 Q4b, w23 P13 Q4b).
Regular password changes have a downside
Changing a password regularly limits how long a stolen one stays useful, but examiners expect the trade-off as well. A user faced with a new password every few weeks is more likely to forget it and be locked out of their own account, or to write it down somewhere insecure — which creates a fresh security risk. A one-sided answer misses the second half of the mark.
Changing passwords regularly means the user may forget and be locked out (s23 P12 Q6a).
Audio-conferencing carries no picture
Audio-conferencing carries voice ONLY, using a microphone and a speaker or headset — no camera. Video-conferencing carries a live picture as well as sound, so it also needs a webcam. Describing audio-conferencing as though participants can see each other loses the mark; when the question names audio-conferencing, compare it directly with video.
Audio conferencing uses voice; it had to be compared with video (s23 P13 Q9).
Name the conference type, never a brand
Write the generic syllabus name — video-conferencing, audio-conferencing or web-conferencing. A commercial product name earns no credit anywhere on this paper, and examiners report the generic terms themselves being poorly known.
Answer conferencing from taught content
Advantages are the taught ones — saves travel cost and time, can be held anywhere — not personal experience of using a meeting app. An advantage must also COMPARE ("cheaper than travelling to meet"), and a discuss answer must never be split into two columns by a vertical line.
Compare biometrics on speed and accuracy
Against a manual or video identity check, a biometric system wins on speed and accuracy — name both. For an explain question, finish the comparison with a because: "more secure because a key-logger cannot record a fingerprint scan", not a bare "more secure".
Give all THREE setup elements
For "what is needed to set up", answer in three parts: hardware (webcam, microphone, speaker/headset), software (the conferencing application) and network connection (a stable internet link fast enough for the audio and video). Naming only one or two caps the marks.
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