Northwind Outfitters is rolling out several emerging-tech projects at once. For each situation below, choose the response that best reflects a defensive, security-minded decision. You'll see an explanation after each answer.

• Follow the embedded instruction, since the customer wrote it
  This is exactly the prompt injection risk from this course -- treating message content as new instructions instead of untrusted data.
• Treat all customer message content as untrusted data, not as new instructions, and require human approval for refunds
  Correct! Separating "data to read" from "instructions to follow" is the core defense against prompt injection.
• Automatically delete any message containing the word "refund"
  This blocks legitimate requests too and does not address the actual injection risk.
• Have HelperBot stop responding to all customers until this is fixed
  An overreaction that does not scale and is not a real mitigation for the underlying issue.

• Skip changing the factory-default password to save setup time
  Default credentials are one of the most commonly exploited IoT weaknesses -- never skip this step.
• Connect the sensors directly to the same network as the customer database
  This removes the benefit of network isolation and increases the impact of a compromised sensor.
• Change default credentials and place the sensors on an isolated network segment
  Correct! These two steps address the two biggest, most common IoT weaknesses.
• Disable automatic firmware updates so the sensors "just work" without interruption
  Disabling updates leaves known vulnerabilities unpatched indefinitely.

• True -- blockchains guarantee that all recorded data is accurate
  A blockchain can make it hard to secretly alter recorded data, but it cannot verify that the data was correct when it was first entered.
• False -- a blockchain can protect recorded data from tampering, but it cannot guarantee the data was accurate to begin with
  Correct! This is exactly the "blockchain does not automatically provide confidentiality, integrity, or trust" point from this course.

• It's fine -- private keys can always be reset like a password if something goes wrong
  Unlike most passwords, blockchain private keys typically cannot be reset -- losing or leaking one can mean permanent loss of control.
• The key should be protected carefully from the start -- key custody failures are often permanent and unrecoverable
  Correct! There is usually no "forgot my key" recovery option, which makes key custody one of the highest-stakes parts of blockchain security.