← Years 9–10 Digital Systems

Confidentiality

Only authorised people or systems can read data. Everyone else is kept out, like student marks seen only by the student and teacher. A breach is when someone else sees them.

Part of: 9-10 Digital Technologies Vic Curric - Digital Systems and Security — Module 13, VCE Applied Computing - U1O1 - Data analysis — Module 43, VCE Software Development - U4O2 - Cyber Security: secure software development practices — Module 15, VCE Data Analytics - U4O2 - Cyber Security: Data Security — Module 32, IGCSE Computer Science 0478 — 5.3 Cyber Security — Module 3, ACARA Digital Technologies Years 9–10 — Networked Systems and Access Control — Module 95, ACARA Digital Technologies Years 9–10 — Cyber Security Threats and Vulnerabilities — Module 3, ACARA Digital Technologies Years 9–10 — Privacy Principles and Digital Footprints — Module 46, QCE Digital Solutions Unit 2 — Data and Programming Techniques — Module 47, QCE Digital Solutions Unit 4 — Complex Digital Data Exchange Problems and Solution Requirements — Module 17, WA Computer Science ATAR Year 11 — Cyber Security — Module 3

Understanding Confidentiality in Years 9–10 Digital Systems

What it does: The list of people allowed to read the marks shows confidentiality in action: only authorised people can read the data. Denying access to anyone who is not authorised keeps the data confidential. A breach happens when someone who is not authorised sees the data. The teacher is authorised, so this is not a breach. The friend is not authorised, so reading the files breaks confidentiality, even though the login worked. Changing data affects integrity. Confidentiality is broken as soon as someone unauthorised reads the data, even if nothing changes.

Common mistakes: The check is the wrong way round. Marks would be shown to everyone except the owner. It should be IF viewer = owner THEN so only the owner sees them. The condition is always true, so every user (including Jo) can read the marks. It should check IF user IN allowed THEN so only authorised people see them.

Class: _____________________  ·  Name: _____________________  ·  Date: _________

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 13–24) and word search (Modules 13–40).

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Learning
Duo
Which statement best describes confidentiality?
Only authorised people or systems can read the dataThe data is always available whenever anyone wants it
Matches
canRead(marks) = [everyone]
↓
Letting everyone read the marks breaks confidentiality, because only the student and teacher should be authorised.
Applying
Meanings
Term
Confidentiality
Meaning
Only authorised people or systems can read data. Everyone else is kept out, like student marks seen only by the student and teacher. A breach is when someone else sees them.
Practice
authorised ← ["student", "teacher"]
Testing
Gaps
IF role "teacher" THEN
Check Answer
Spots
3owner ← 'Sam'
4IF viewer ≠ owner THEN

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Quick Questions

1. Which statement best describes confidentiality?
A. Only authorised people or systems can read the data ✓
B. The data is always available whenever anyone wants it
Confidentiality is about keeping data away from anyone who is not authorised to read it.
2. A student's marks are meant to be seen only by the student and their teacher. Which situation keeps confidentiality?
A. Marks are posted on a public class board for everyone
B. Marks are shown only after the student and teacher log in ✓
Only the authorised people (the student and the teacher) can read the marks, so confidentiality is kept.
3. Which is a breach of confidentiality?
A. A teacher opens the marks of their own students
B. A classmate opens another student's marks without permission ✓
A breach happens when someone who is not authorised sees the data. The teacher is authorised, so this is not a breach.
4. A student shares their school login with a friend, who then reads the student's private files. What has happened?
A. Confidentiality has been breached ✓
B. Confidentiality has been kept
The friend is not authorised, so reading the files breaks confidentiality, even though the login worked.
5. True or false: Confidentiality is only broken if data is changed or deleted.
A. False: it is broken when unauthorised people can read the data ✓
B. True: it is only broken when data is altered or deleted
Changing data affects integrity. Confidentiality is broken as soon as someone unauthorised reads the data, even if nothing changes.

Match the Pairs

Confidentiality → Only authorised people or systems can read data, and everyone else is kept out
Breach of confidentiality → Someone who is not authorised sees data they should not be able to read
Student marks should be seen only by the student and their teacher → canRead(marks) = [student, teacher]
A classmate who is not on the allowed list tries to read the marks and is blocked → if user not in allowedReaders: deny
canRead(marks) = [everyone] → Letting everyone read the marks breaks confidentiality, because only the student and teacher should be authorised.
Teacher emails the whole class everyone's marks → Sending private marks to people who are not authorised is a breach of confidentiality.

Key Term

Confidentiality
Only authorised people or systems can read data. Everyone else is kept out, like student marks seen only by the student and teacher. A breach is when someone else sees them.

Fill in the Blanks

1. IF role = "teacher" THEN DISPLAY marks END IF
Hint: Type the comparison operator that checks the role matches the authorised person.
2. IF user IN allowed THEN DISPLAY marks END IF
Hint: Type the variable name that holds the people allowed to read the data.
3. IF user IN allowed THEN DISPLAY marks END IF
Hint: Type the keyword that starts a decision to check whether the user is allowed to read the data.
4. breach ← viewer NOT IN allowed DISPLAY breach
Hint: Type the operator that checks the viewer is missing from the authorised list, which signals a breach.
5. IF breach = TRUE THEN DISPLAY "Confidentiality breach" END IF
Hint: Type the keyword that starts the block of code to run when the condition is true.

Spot the Error

Question 1
A marks ← 85
B viewer ← 'Sam'
C owner ← 'Sam'
D IF viewer ≠ owner THEN
E DISPLAY marks
F ENDIF
Line D — The check is the wrong way round. Marks would be shown to everyone except the owner. It should be IF viewer = owner THEN so only the owner sees them.
Question 2
A marks ← 72
B user ← 'Jo'
C allowed ← ['Sam','Ms Lee']
D IF true THEN
E DISPLAY marks
F ELSE DISPLAY 'Access denied'
Line D — The condition is always true, so every user (including Jo) can read the marks. It should check IF user IN allowed THEN so only authorised people see them.
Question 3
A teacher ← 'Ms Lee'
B student ← 'Sam'
C allowed ← ALL_USERS
D IF user IN allowed THEN
E DISPLAY marks
Line C — The allowed list now includes everybody, so confidentiality is lost. It should list only the teacher and the student: allowed ← [teacher, student].
Question 4
A file ← 'marks.txt'
B key ← 'S3cure!'
C SAVE file AS plain text
D SEND file TO teacher
Line C — The marks file is left as plain text, so anyone who intercepts it can read it. It should be encrypted with the key: ENCRYPT file WITH key.
Question 5
A INPUT user
B INPUT pass
C IF user ≠ '' THEN
D DISPLAY marks
E ENDIF
Line C — This only checks that a name was typed, so anyone can see the marks. The program must check the login with the password: IF login(user, pass) THEN.

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