Directions : Read the following passage and answer the given questions. A data…
2023
Directions : Read the following passage and answer the given questions.
A data breach may be analogously construed as an intramural foray transpiring under the shroud of nocturnal stillness, where an infiltrator, akin to a digital brigand, subtly _________________ with invaluable assets, leaving the homeowner oblivious until the irrevocable damage manifests. In congruence, corporate entities find themselves ensnared in the surreptitious siphoning or compromise of consequential data within the digital milieu. This pervasive quandary casts its ominous pall across a myriad of global enterprises, with an astounding 83% of scrutinized organizations contending with recurrent incursions, as delineated in the comprehensive 2022 Cost of Data Breach analysis proffered by IBM.
Operationally, data breaches epitomize security conundrums culminating in the unauthorized manipulation, disclosure, access, or obliteration of personal data, opportunely exploiting systemic susceptibilities or misconfigurations. Cyber malefactors, be they individual agents or collective entities, deploy an eclectic array of stratagems—ranging from malware incursions to the subterfuge of phishing emails—enabling their ingress into corporate networks. In an epoch characterized by the ceaseless generation and utilization of data across sundry devices, systems, and applications, the peril of clandestine data access is exponentially exacerbated.
The repercussions of data breaches transcend mere pecuniary ramifications, precipitating deleterious effects on an organization's reputational standing and instigating punitive measures from regulatory bodies. International jurisdictions, attuned to the burgeoning threat matrix, have responded by promulgating stringent data protection and privacy statutes, thereby endowing individuals with autonomy over their data and obligating corporate entities to assume augmented responsibilities. Consequently, organizational prioritization of preventative and responsive stratagems becomes imperative, cognizant of the exigency of compliance with dynamically evolving regulatory paradigms amidst the contemporaneous milieu of data proliferation and cyber-security vicissitudes.
Considering the prevalence of data across diverse domains, what are the potential consequences of failing to mitigate the risk of unauthorized access for businesses?
(I) Businesses may suffer reputational damage due to breaches of trust and the perception that they cannot adequately protect sensitive data
(II) Financial losses through theft, fraud, or the compromise of sensitive financial information.
(III) A diminution in customer satisfaction resulting from the dissemination of data pertaining to a company's product.
- A.
Only (I)
- B.
Only (II)
- C.
Both (I) and (II)
- D.
Both (I) and (III)
- E.
All (I), (II) and (III)
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Concept
This is an inference question on a reading-comprehension passage. The rule for such items: a statement is acceptable ONLY if its claim is directly stated in or logically entailed by the passage. A statement that introduces an idea the passage never makes — even a plausible-sounding business idea — must be rejected as outside-the-passage, no matter how reasonable it appears in isolation.
Application
Test each of the three statements against what the passage actually says about the consequences of unmitigated data breaches:
(I) Reputational damage from a breach of trust — the passage states the repercussions precipitate "deleterious effects on an organization's reputational standing." Directly supported.
(II) Financial losses through theft, fraud, or compromise of financial information — the passage notes the repercussions "transcend mere pecuniary ramifications," which presupposes monetary loss as a baseline consequence. Supported.
(III) A drop in customer satisfaction from disseminating data about a company's product — the passage discusses personal data, reputation, and regulatory penalties, but never customer satisfaction nor any "company's product" data. This is an outside-the-passage claim. Rejected.
Only (I) and (II) survive the test, so the consequences supported by the passage are reputational damage together with financial loss.
Cross-check
Re-scan the closing sentences: they name reputation, regulatory/punitive measures, and pecuniary harm — a set that contains (I) and (II) but offers no anchor for (III). Any choice that adds (III) imports an unsupported idea, and any choice that keeps only one of (I)/(II) drops a consequence the passage explicitly raises. The combination of exactly (I) and (II) is therefore the consistent answer.