Describing an organisation's current security strategies

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Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. A case study says a company uses a firewall to block unwanted traffic. Which description is complete?

A A technical strategy that prevents unauthorised network access by filtering traffic

B A firewall is used by the company

2. A school stores servers in a locked room with swipe-card entry. How should this strategy be classified?

A Physical strategy that prevents unauthorised access to hardware

B Technical strategy that responds to malware

3. A retailer reviews access logs each week to spot unusual logins. What does this strategy do?

A Prevents all unauthorised access from happening

B Detects unauthorised access after it has started

4. Which strategy is a procedural strategy?

A Staff must follow a written process to verify requests for payment changes

B Antivirus software scans files for malware

5. A case study states that staff are trained to spot phishing emails. Which threat does this strategy best address?

A Denial of service attack

B Social engineering

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1Firewall blocks unknown inbound traffic		APhysical strategy that detects theft or tampering with hardware by recording who enters, and deters intruders.
2CCTV cameras at the server room door		BBackups do not stop deletion or attacks. They help the organisation respond and recover data after an event, so they are a response strategy.
3A procedural strategy that responds to a suspected compromise by telling staff what to do after an incident		CTechnical strategy that prevents unauthorised network access by filtering traffic before it reaches the network.
4A technical strategy that detects malware threats by monitoring files and alerting the user		DStaff must report phishing emails to IT within 1 hour
5The organisation uses a firewall. This is a physical strategy that responds to ransomware.		EA firewall is a technical strategy, not physical, and it mainly prevents unauthorised network access rather than responding to ransomware.
6Nightly backups are a preventive strategy because they stop data from being deleted.		FAntivirus scans devices and raises an alert

Definitions

describe a security strategy

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

Strategy: Firewall (technical) Threat: Unauthorised network access Control: _______

Strategy: Access log review (technical) Threat: Insider misuse of data Control: ______

Strategy: Locked server room (________) Threat: Theft of hardware Control: Prevent

Strategy: Phishing training (procedural) Threat: __________________ Control: Prevent

Strategy: Incident response plan (procedural) Threat: Ongoing malware infection Control: _______

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A Strategy: Locked server room

B Type: Technical

C Threat: Unauthorised access

D Role: Prevent

Question 2

A Strategy: Locked server room

B Type: Physical

C Threat: Phishing emails

D Role: Prevent

Question 3

A Strategy: Access logs

B Type: Technical

C Threat: Insider misuse

D Role: Prevent

Question 4

A Strategy: Staff training

B Type: Technical

C Threat: Phishing emails

D Role: Prevent

Question 5

A Strategy: Disaster recovery

B Type: Procedural

C Threat: Ransomware

D Role: Prevent

Answer Key

Describing an organisation's current security strategies

Section A: Quick Questions

A — A technical strategy that prevents unauthorised network access by filtering traffic

A — Physical strategy that prevents unauthorised access to hardware

B — Detects unauthorised access after it has started

A — Staff must follow a written process to verify requests for payment changes

B — Social engineering

Section B: Match the Pairs

Firewall blocks unknown inbound traffic → Technical strategy that prevents unauthorised network access by filtering traffic before it reaches the network.

CCTV cameras at the server room door → Physical strategy that detects theft or tampering with hardware by recording who enters, and deters intruders.

A procedural strategy that responds to a suspected compromise by telling staff what to do after an incident → Staff must report phishing emails to IT within 1 hour

A technical strategy that detects malware threats by monitoring files and alerting the user → Antivirus scans devices and raises an alert

The organisation uses a firewall. This is a physical strategy that responds to ransomware. → A firewall is a technical strategy, not physical, and it mainly prevents unauthorised network access rather than responding to ransomware.

Nightly backups are a preventive strategy because they stop data from being deleted. → Backups do not stop deletion or attacks. They help the organisation respond and recover data after an event, so they are a response strategy.

Section C: Definitions

describe a security strategy — State what the strategy is, name the threat it addresses, and say whether it prevents, detects or responds. Strategies can be technical, physical or procedural.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

Strategy: Firewall (technical)
Threat: Unauthorised network access
Control: Prevent

Strategy: Access log review (technical)
Threat: Insider misuse of data
Control: Detect

Strategy: Locked server room (physical)
Threat: Theft of hardware
Control: Prevent

Strategy: Phishing training (procedural)
Threat: Social engineering
Control: Prevent

Strategy: Incident response plan (procedural)
Threat: Ongoing malware infection
Control: Respond

Section E: Spot the Error

A — A locked server room is a physical strategy. The other lines describe a technical strategy that prevents unauthorised access, so line 1 should be 'Strategy: Firewall'.

C — A locked server room does not stop phishing emails. It addresses theft of or tampering with hardware, so line 3 should be 'Threat: Theft of hardware'.

D — Access logs record what users did and help find misuse after it happens. They detect rather than prevent, so line 4 should be 'Role: Detect'.

B — Staff training changes how people behave, so it is a procedural strategy, not a technical one. Line 2 should be 'Type: Procedural'.

D — A disaster recovery plan restores data and systems after an incident has happened. It responds rather than prevents, so line 4 should be 'Role: Respond'.