Which of the following is MOST likely to result in data loss?
A.
Accounting transferring confidential staff details via SFTP to the payroll department.
B.
Back office staff accessing and updating details on the mainframe via SSH.
C.
Encrypted backup tapes left unattended at reception for offsite storage.
D.
Developers copying data from production to the test environments via a USB stick.
Unattended backup tapes are less likely to result in data loss than developers moving data on a USB stick?
I don’t think so.
The unattended backup tapes are encrypted, that in itself means that data loss is less likely
Compared to the other answers yes, this does make the most sense. There are no details as to how the test environment is configured, for all you know its sitting on the DMZ accessible to the world.
That’s one hell of a leap to start speculating about the environment the developers might be transferring data to. The point of a scenario question is that you can only make a decision based on the information provided to you.
I think leaving a back up tape, encrypted or not, at a reception desk is the most likely scenario here to result in data loss. Even if the data is encrypted, if someone snags it and walks out the door it’s still lost. It doesn’t make one lick of difference whether they can access it or not, the data is now gone and likely not coming back. I hope you’ve got the data that was on that tape stored somewhere else.
I agree with Rondalli that it is a bogus question. If developers are only copying data, there is a risk that all the data might not copy but original data would NOT be lost. However, I do understand the nature of the question and must conform to this way of thinking if I want to pass the exam.
I agree with Rondali. Unless someone can explain why the transferring data with a USB stick could cause data loss. If the data was copied properly to the stick and was then properly uploaded/copied to the test environment, there should be no data loss. The only way there could be in this scenario is if someone then uses that data maliciously or provides it to someone without authority. The fact that the data was “copied” indicates that the original data is still in place – thus the data is not “lost”. However, it may have been “compromised” by making it available to non-authorized individuals on the test system. ‘Lost’ and ‘compromised’ are two different aspects. Please explain the answer.