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NSSCO Computer Studies (6134) study materials
NSSCO Computer Studies (6134) study resources

NSSCO Computer Studies (6134): ICT in Society: Applications, Ethics, Security and Emerging Technologies

NSSCO Computer Studies (6134) · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

ICT in Society: Applications, Ethics, Security and Emerging Technologies

ICT in Society explores how computer systems are used, who is affected, and how risks are managed. The exam tests applications, ethical and legal issues, security threats and controls, and emerging technologies, often through scenario questions.

Applications and inclusion

  • ICT supports e-commerce, e-government, telemedicine, online banking, remote work and learning.
  • Benefits include speed, reach and automation; drawbacks include setup cost, job displacement, over-reliance and the digital divide between those with and without reliable access, skills or devices.

Ethics, law and security

  • Ethical issues include privacy, consent, accuracy, ownership of data and bias in automated decisions. Legal controls may cover data protection, computer misuse and intellectual property.
  • Malware includes viruses, worms, trojans and ransomware. Phishing tricks users into revealing credentials; social engineering exploits trust.
  • Controls include strong authentication, including multi-factor; access rights; encryption; firewalls; patching; backups; and staff training. Encryption protects confidentiality; hashing checks integrity; backups support recovery.

Emerging technologies

  • Cloud computing provides on-demand storage and processing; IoT connects sensors and devices; AI supports prediction and automation; blockchain provides a shared, tamper-evident ledger.

Worked example

An email urges immediate payment to a changed bank account and uses a lookalike domain. Reasoning: urgency, a payment change and a mismatched domain are classic phishing indicators. The safe response is not to use the link; verify through a known contact channel and report the message.

Traps

Do not say cloud data is automatically safe or needs no local backup. Do not confuse authentication, proving identity, with authorisation, deciding what you may access. Ethical hacking is authorised testing, not malicious intrusion. A backup is not an archive, and encryption alone does not stop deletion or ransomware.