Data integrity is a fundamental component of information
security. “Data integrity” refers to the accuracy and consistency of data
stored in a database, data warehouse, data mart or other construct.
The term Data Integrity can be used to describe a state,
a process or a function – and is often used as a proxy for “data quality”. Data
with “integrity” is said to have a complete or whole structure. Data values are
standardized according to a data model and/or data type.
All characteristics of the data must be correct – including
business rules, relations, dates, definitions and lineage – for data to be
complete. Data integrity is imposed within a database when it is designed and
is authenticated through the ongoing use of error checking and validation
routines.
As a simple example, to maintain data integrity numeric columns/cells
should not accept alphabetic data.
As a process, data integrity verifies that data has remained
unaltered in transit from creation to reception. As a state or condition, Data Integrity is a measure of the validity and fidelity of a data object. As a function
related to security, a data integrity service maintains information exactly as
it was inputted, and is auditable to affirm its reliability.
Data undergoes any number of operations in support of
decision-making, such as capture, storage, retrieval, update and transfer. Data
integrity can also be a performance measure during these operations based on
the detected error rate.
Data must be kept free from corruption, modification or
unauthorized disclosure to drive any number of mission-critical business
processes with accuracy. Inaccuracies can occur either accidentally.
Database
security professionals employ any number of practices to assure data integrity,
including:
- Data encryption, which locks data by cipher.
- Data backup, which stores a copy of data in an alternate location.
- Access controls.
- Input validation, to prevent incorrect data entry.
- Data validation, to certify uncorrupted transmission.
Business rules specify conditions and relationships that
must always be true, or must always be false. When a data integrity constraint
is applied to a database table, all data in the table must conform to the
corresponding rule.
Source:www.veracode.com
