Communication, Internet & Security

In this topic we'll look at how data is transferred between systems and errors in the transmission are detected and corrected. This is then leveraged into constructing the internet. Finally, the connection between devices and services create security issues that are investigated.

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Communication and the Internet

Data transmission

show understanding of what is meant by transmission of data
distinguish between serial and parallel data transmission
distinguish between simplex, duplex and half-duplex data transmission
show understanding of the reasons for choosing serial or parallel data transmission
show understanding of the need to check for errors
explain how parity bits are used for error detection
show understanding of the use of serial and parallel data transmission, in Universal Serial Bus (USB) and Integrated Circuit (IC)
From Data Storage Topic: identify and describe methods of error detection and correction, such as parity checks, check digits, checksums and Automatic Repeat reQuests (ARQ)

Internet principles of operation

show understanding of the role of the browser
show understanding of the role of an Internet Service Provider (ISP)
show understanding of what is meant by hypertext transfer protocol (http & https) & HTML
distinguish between HTML structure and presentation
show understanding of the concepts of MAC address, Internet Protocol (IP) address, Uniform Resource Locator (URL) and cookies

Security (not just the internet)

show understanding of the security aspects of using the Internet and understand what methods are available to help minimise the risks
show understanding of the Internet risks associated with malware, including viruses, spyware and hacking
explain how anti-virus and other protection software helps to protect the user from security risks
show understanding of the need to keep data safe from accidental damage, including corruption and human errors
show understanding of the need to keep data safe from malicious actions, including unauthorised viewing, deleting, copying and corruption
show understanding of how data are kept safe when stored and transmitted, including:
- use of passwords, both entered at a keyboard and biometric
- use of firewalls, both software and hardware, including proxy servers
- use of security protocols such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS)
- use of symmetric encryption (plain text, cypher text and use of a key) showing understanding that increasing the length of a key increases the strength of the encryption
show understanding of the need to keep online systems safe from attacks including denial of service attacks, phishing, pharming
describe how the knowledge from above can be applied to real-life scenarios including, for example, online banking, shopping