Copying a patient's records to a flash drive is an example of

• A. Espionage
• B. Data leakage
• C. A backup
• D. Data integrity issue

Answer: (B)

This item tests the risk of exposing patient information through portable media. Copying a patient's records to a flash drive moves protected data outside the secure systems, creating data leakage. A flash drive is easily lost or stolen and may not be encrypted or access-controlled, so the information on it could be read by unauthorized people, violating privacy protections and regulatory requirements.

A proper backup is a deliberate, controlled copy stored securely for recovery, typically encrypted and protected; using a personal flash drive is not a reliable backup method and introduces risk. Data integrity issues involve the accuracy or consistency of data, not the exposure of data. Espionage implies intentional wrongdoing; the scenario primarily demonstrates a leakage risk to patient confidentiality.