Data loss
Causes of data loss[edit]
- malicious activities
- natural disasters
- systems failure
Consequences of data loss[edit]
The list below is an example to get spur your thinking:
- loss of your email
- loss of medical records,
- cancellation of a hotel reservation without the knowledge of the traveller.
- loss of your grades
- loss of all your pictures
Preventing data loss[edit]
- failover systems
- redundancy
- removable media
- offsite/online storage
Real-world practical advice[edit]
I'm happy to report that data loss is rarer today than it was 10 years ago. However, without careful planning, we can be assured a data loss will occur. Whenever you design a system, you should include fault-tolerance, redundancy, offline/ online storage, and failover into your design.
Do you understand this material?[edit]
A small business has a computer kiosk inside the store which allows customers to sign up for a email newsletter. If a customer signs up for a newsletter inside the store, they will get a 10% discount on their first purchase at the store. The owner hopes this 10% discount will be an incentive for customers to sign up for the email newsletter. The business will then regularly email the customers special offers and savings. The business owner expects to benefit from this system by having increased sales. The customers expect to benefit from this system by having access to special offers, to save money, and to see what is new and trendy at their store.
Question 1: What would the consequences be if the system experienced data loss? Question 2: How could the owner safeguard against data loss (please be very specific with your ideas)
Do you have an advanced understanding of this material?[edit]
A school of 900 students has a secure web-based application which manages attendance data. The school administrators carefully track attendance for the students so it can identify when students have been absent for a customizable threshold. For example, the school might set a threshold of 5 absences within 30 days, which then automatically notifies the student, parent, and teacher there is a problem with attendance. The threshold might be 3 times within 10 days, or something like that. The system keeps track of attendance and tardies. The system has customizable attendance codes. For example, "absence for school trip", "excused absence", "medical absence" are all allowed absence codes.
School administrators expect to benefit by having data about attendance so they can support students and parents to be in school. School administrators also expect to benefit by giving parents and students information about attendance (so parents can support their children to be in school). Finally, school administrators expect to benefit by using attendance data to apply for government funding (as they can prove how many students were in class on a specific day).
Parents expect to benefit by knowing when their children are in school or miss school. This way parents can support their children to be in school. Being in school is a shared value between the school and the parent.
Students expect to benefit by understanding how many days of school of they have missed. The school expects students to have a strong "ownership of learning" and manage their attendance.
Question 1: What would the consequences be if the system experienced data loss? Question 2: How could the school safeguard against data loss (please be very specific with your ideas)
Standards[edit]
- Identify a range of causes of data loss.
- Outline the consequences of data loss in a specified situation.
- Describe a range of methods that can be used to prevent data loss.