Learn Finnish: Onko hakkerilla pääsy tietokantaan? - Does the hacker have access to the database?

The noun pääsy (access) is derived from the verb päästä (to reach, to arrive, to get to). Just like the verb requires the illative case to express getting into somewhere, the noun pääsy also governs the illative to show what you have access to.

This lesson is about permission verbs like "antaa". How would we change this sentence to ask "Did you let the hacker access the database?"

You would use the structure taught in this lesson (antaa + genitive subject + 1st infinitive): Annoitko hakkerin päästä tietokantaan? Here, hakkerin takes the genitive case and the verb päästä (to access/reach) is in the 1st infinitive.

Why is the word for database "tietokanta"?

It is a very literal compound word made of tieto (knowledge, information, data) and kanta (base, foundation, stance). When put together, it translates perfectly to "database".

Why doesn't the word "pääsy" need to be in the partitive case here?

In a standard "have" construction (minulla on...), the thing possessed is usually in the nominative case if it represents a complete, singular entity. Even though pääsy (access) is abstract, it is treated here as a singular defined capability, making the nominative perfectly natural.