Cambridge A Level Information Technology (ICT): IT in society (9626) – Revision Notes

For full explanations and worked examples, use the IT in society study guide. These notes condense topic 12, IT in society (sections 12.1–12.5) of the Cambridge International AS & A Level Information Technology 9626 syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027 (version 3). It is A Level only content, and the syllabus states that Paper 3 (Advanced Theory) questions are based on sections 12–21. Paper 4 (Advanced Practical) candidates apply knowledge and understanding of all subject content.

Test yourself with the practice questions, see the whole course on the Cambridge A Level IT hub, tick outcomes off on the 9626 checklist, and check your gaps with a free diagnostic.

12.1 Digital currencies

Definitions

Term	Recall it as
Digital/electronic currency	Money that exists and moves only electronically (umbrella term)
Virtual currency	Issued and controlled by its developers, used in one online community, largely unregulated
Cryptocurrency	Virtual currency secured by cryptography, recorded on a decentralised ledger
Central bank digital base money	Digital version of a country’s official currency, issued and backed by the central bank
Stored value card	Value loaded in advance, spent down until topped up (prepaid, gift, transport cards)

Centralised vs decentralised

	Centralised	Decentralised
Who checks transactions?	One authority (bank, card issuer)	A network of peers
Who keeps the record?	The authority’s own database	Every node holds a copy of the ledger
Syllabus examples	Debit cards, credit cards, electronic point of sale	Bitcoin, Litecoin, peer-to-peer electronic monetary systems, mobile electronic wallets
Can a payment be reversed?	Often, through the bank	Usually not

• Debit card: money leaves your own account. Credit card: you borrow from the issuer and repay later.
• EPOS: checkout terminal that records the sale, updates stock and passes the card payment for authorisation.
• Mobile electronic wallet: a phone app holding currency (or the keys to it) for direct payments.

Blockchain in steps

1. Transactions are grouped into a block
2. The block stores the hash of the previous block  -> chain
3. Nodes agree the block is valid (consensus)
4. The block is added to every copy of the ledger
5. Edit an old block -> its hash changes -> link breaks -> copy rejected

Key words to use: distributed ledger, hash, nodes, consensus, append-only, transparent.

Impact and risks (one line each)

• Individuals: cheap, fast transfers and access without a bank account; but volatility, lost keys, irreversible payments, scams.
• Businesses: lower fees and new customers; but takings can lose value, unclear tax and regulation, hacking of wallets and exchanges.
• Governments: digital official money cuts cash costs and improves traceability; but pseudonymous currencies aid tax evasion and money laundering, and weaken control of the money supply.
• Global economy: cheaper cross-border payments; but bubbles and crashes can spread internationally.

12.2 Data mining

Definition: using software to search large data sets for previously unknown patterns, relationships and anomalies, to predict and support decisions.

The six stages (learn the order)

No.	Stage	Key action
1	Business understanding	Set the objective and success criteria
2	Data understanding	Collect, describe, explore, check quality
3	Data preparation	Select, clean, combine, format
4	Data modelling	Apply techniques (classification, clustering, association) to build a model
5	Evaluation	Does the model meet the objective? If not, go back
6	Deployment	Use the results in reports or live systems; monitor

Memory hook: Business, Data, Data, Model, Evaluate, Deploy – two “data” stages: first understand, then prepare.

Uses

National security (threat patterns), surveillance (tracking movements), businesses (buying patterns, targeted offers, fraud detection), scientific research (patterns in huge data sets), healthcare (risk factors, predicting need), social and economic trends (informing policy).

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages	Disadvantages
All information in one place: faster, more complete analysis	One data store is one target for hackers
Hidden patterns support better decisions	Ethical and privacy concerns: data used without consent, profiling
Early detection of fraud or disease	Patterns may be coincidence
Can reduce costs over time	Software and skilled staff are expensive

12.3 Social networking services/platforms

Type	Real time?	Typical audience	Key point
Chat room	Yes	Many, often strangers	Topic-based, risk of unknown contacts
Instant messaging	Yes	Known contacts, small groups	Private and quick
Email	No	Named addresses	Formal record, attachments, spam and phishing
Forum	No	Anyone interested	Threaded, searchable, moderated
Blog	No	Readers of one author	Longer posts, comments
Microblog	Near real time	Followers	Very short posts, spread fast

Uses: individuals, businesses, organisations, governments; for education, finance, healthcare, news sources.

Impact checklist (syllabus examples):

• Individuals: meeting new people, keeping in contact, common interest groups, exchanging ideas; intellectual isolation, physical and mental health of different age groups, ideological polarisation, stereotyping, cognitive issues.
• Businesses: advertising, product information, product safety information, customer feedback.
• Organisations: disseminate information, weather warnings.
• Governments: useful information, updated regulations, advice and discussion, government news, citizen feedback; censorship, false/distorted information.

12.4 The impact of IT

The twelve areas the syllabus lists: sport, manufacturing, healthcare, education, banking, e-business and finance, news, entertainment and media, family and home, government, politics, individuals and organisations. For each, have one positive and one negative ready, with a named technology.

Monitoring and surveillance:

• Individuals: safety vs loss of privacy.
• Organisations: data protection and productivity vs trust and morale.
• Security and policing: CCTV, number plate and facial recognition detect crime vs mass surveillance and misidentification.

12.5 Technology enhanced learning

Method	One-line recall	Main drawback
Computer-based training	Self-paced software with built-in tests	Little human help
Online tutorials	Step-by-step web lessons on one skill	Narrow; quality varies
Networked courses	Course delivered over a network; shared materials, work submitted	Needs a reliable network
MOOC	Open online course for very large numbers	Little individual support
Video-conferencing	Live remote lessons with sound and video	Needs stable connection, fixed times

Impact on: student and teacher motivation (interactive, instant feedback vs isolation, training load), achievement (repetition, tracking vs distraction), autonomy (choose time, place, pace vs self-discipline needed). Access gaps link to the digital divide.

Must-know distinctions

• Virtual currency vs cryptocurrency: all cryptocurrencies are virtual, but a game token is virtual without being cryptographic.
• Cryptocurrency vs central bank digital money: decentralised and volatile vs centrally issued and as stable as cash.
• Data understanding vs data preparation: checking quality vs fixing it.
• Instant messaging vs chat room: known contacts vs open rooms of many users.
• MOOC vs networked course: open to anyone at scale vs a closed group on one network.

Quick self-test

1. Name the stage of data mining in which the model’s results are checked against the objective.
2. Give one centralised and one decentralised digital currency system from the syllabus.
3. What does each block in a blockchain store that links it to the one before?
4. State one risk of cryptocurrency to a government.
5. A survey file has 3,200 records. 15% are removed during cleaning. How many remain, and in which stage?
6. State two syllabus examples of social media.
7. Give one negative impact of social networking on individuals named in the syllabus.
8. State one way IT has changed sport.
9. Which method of technology enhanced learning allows live questions from remote learners?
10. Give one disadvantage of having all information in one place.

Answers

1. Evaluation (stage 5).
2. Centralised: debit card, credit card or EPOS. Decentralised: Bitcoin, Litecoin, peer-to-peer systems or mobile electronic wallets.
3. The hash of the previous block.
4. Any one: tax evasion, money laundering, loss of control over the money supply.
5. 15% of 3,200 = 480 removed, so 2,720 remain; data preparation (stage 3).
6. Any two: forums, blogs, microblogs.
7. Any one: intellectual isolation, ideological polarisation, stereotyping, cognitive issues, effects on physical or mental health.
8. For example, sensors track player performance, or video replays support referees.
9. Video-conferencing.
10. A single data store is a single target: one breach exposes everything.

Where marks are usually lost

• Using “digital currency” and “cryptocurrency” as if they mean the same thing.
• Describing a blockchain as stored “on the internet” instead of as copies on many nodes.
• Saying a blockchain “cannot be changed” without explaining hashes and consensus.
• Listing the six data mining stages out of order, or merging stages 2 and 3.
• Giving a data mining use with no purpose: say what pattern is found and why it helps.
• Treating email, IM and chat rooms as interchangeable when a question asks you to compare.
• Writing only advantages in a “Discuss” or “Evaluate” answer.
• Naming an area such as “healthcare” without a specific technology and effect.
• Confusing the impact of technology enhanced learning on students with its impact on teachers.

Official syllabus

Cambridge International AS & A Level Information Technology 9626 syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, version 3 (published July 2025), Cambridge International, part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Topic 12, IT in society, sections 12.1–12.5.