Data are raw symbols; information is data given meaning; knowledge is information linked into a wider understanding.

* The Z-D-I-W ladder: each rung adds syntax, then semantics, then context — turning raw symbols into actionable knowledge. *

It's a ladder where each rung adds something to the one below:

Why it matters for security: we don't really protect bits for their own sake — we protect them because, interpreted, they become information and knowledge that has value (and can be misused). This is also why information security is broader than IT security: the same information can live on a disk, on paper, or in someone's head.

Tip: Remember the chain Z-D-I-W: Zeichen → Daten → Information → Wissen = add syntax, then semantics, then Vernetzung (networking).

Go deeper:

• DIKW pyramid (Wikipedia) — the canonical data-information-knowledge-wisdom hierarchy this card is built on, with its history and critiques.

A zettabyte is 1000⁷ bytes (10²¹) — the scale humanity's total digital data now lives at.

* Every step multiplies by 1000; a zettabyte (ZB) sits at 10^21 bytes — the seventh rung up from the byte. *

Each step up multiplies by 1000 (using the decimal SI convention):

Byte → KB → MB → GB → TB → PB → EB → ZB → YB → RB → QB

• Kilobyte (KB) = 1000¹
• Megabyte (MB) = 1000²
• Gigabyte (GB) = 1000³
• Terabyte (TB) = 1000⁴
• Petabyte (PB) = 1000⁵
• Exabyte (EB) = 1000⁶
• Zettabyte (ZB) = 1000⁷
• Yottabyte, Ronnabyte, Quettabyte = 1000⁸ ⁹ ¹⁰

Gotcha: marketing/SI units are powers of 1000; the binary units your OS often reports (KiB, MiB, GiB) are powers of 1024. A "1 TB" disk shows up as ~0.91 TiB for exactly this reason.

Go deeper:

• Zettabyte (Wikipedia) — defines the 10^21-byte unit and the decimal-vs-binary (ZiB) distinction behind the card's gotcha.
• SI metric prefixes (Wikipedia) — the official prefix table including ronna (10^27) and quetta (10^30), adopted in 2022.