Information Technology: Controls, Data and Emerging Risks
IT questions test your understanding of how systems support business processes and how they are controlled. Learn the components of an information system: hardware, software, data, people, procedures and networks. Understand the transaction processing cycle and the difference between batch and real-time processing. Know the main types of business information systems, from transaction processing to management information and decision support systems.
Controls are heavily examined. Distinguish general controls (access control, backup, disaster recovery, change management, physical security) from application controls (input, processing and output controls). Understand the audit trail, data validation checks, and the risks of computer-assisted audit techniques. Emerging topics include cloud computing, cybersecurity threats such as phishing and ransomware, and data protection principles.
Traps include confusing general with application controls, treating a backup as a disaster recovery plan, and assuming encryption alone secures data. Questions on spreadsheets test whether you can identify formula errors and weak model design.
Worked example: input validation
A payroll system rejects a basic salary entry of Ksh -5,000. The control is a range or limit check, an input control. Rule of thumb: input controls stop bad data entering; processing controls catch errors during calculation; output controls verify what leaves the system.