Computer Essential Questions

1. How vulnerable are databases and how can they be secured?

Your response should be at least 150 words in length.

2. What can a consumer do to minimize vulnerability to database security breaches? Discuss at least three measures and give examples.

Your response should be at least 150 words in length.

3. In database jargon, cardinality refers to the number of associations that can exist between two record types. Identify the three types of relationships that deal with cardinality and explain each one.

1. How vulnerable are databases and how can they be secured?

Databases hold large amounts of important and private information, so they are often a target for attackers. They can be vulnerable in many ways. Weak passwords, old software, and poor access controls make it easy for hackers to get in. Employees can also cause problems by mistake, such as clicking on a phishing email or losing a laptop with data on it. Databases connected to the internet face even more risk, because attackers can try to break in from anywhere in the world using tools like SQL injection, which tricks a database into giving out data it should not share.

To secure a database, a company can use several steps together. Strong passwords and multi-factor authentication make it harder for outsiders to log in. Encryption protects data even if someone steals it, because the data will be unreadable without the right key. Firewalls and regular software updates close common entry points for attackers. Access controls should also be used, so that only staff who need certain data can see it. Regular backups and monitoring help a company notice a breach early and recover quickly if one happens.

2. What can a consumer do to minimize vulnerability to database security breaches? Discuss at least three measures and give examples.

Consumers also have a role to play in protecting their own data, even though the company holds the database. Here are three measures they can take.

First, use strong and different passwords for each account. For example, a person should not use “password123” for their bank and their email. A password manager can help create and store strong, unique passwords for every site.

Second, turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) wherever it is offered. For example, when logging into an online banking app, the bank may send a one-time code to the person’s phone. This means that even if someone steals the password, they still cannot get in without the phone.

Third, be careful about sharing personal information online and watch out for phishing emails or fake websites. For example, a consumer should check that a website address is correct and secure (https) before entering card details, and should not click links in suspicious emails claiming to be from a bank.

Other good habits include checking bank and account statements regularly for unusual activity, and keeping devices and antivirus software up to date, since old software can have security holes that attackers use to steal data.

3. Cardinality — the three types of relationships

Cardinality describes how many records in one table can be linked to how many records in another table. There are three main types:

• One-to-one (1:1): One record in the first table is linked to only one record in the second table, and the other way around too. For example, one employee has one employee ID card, and that ID card belongs to only one employee.
• One-to-many (1:M): One record in the first table can be linked to many records in the second table, but each record in the second table links back to only one record in the first table. For example, one customer can place many orders, but each order belongs to only one customer.
• Many-to-many (M:N): Many records in the first table can be linked to many records in the second table. For example, one student can enroll in many courses, and one course can have many students. In a database, this type of relationship usually needs a linking (junction) table to work properly, because most database systems cannot store many-to-many relationships directly.