ISSUES RELATED TO THE INTEGRITY OF FILES

Data integrity is a critical aspect to the design, implementation and usage of any system
which stores, processes, or retrieves data. There are a number of ways in which data
may be compromised:
 inaccurate data entry;
 computer virus;
 hardware malfunctions;
 deleting or changing data by accident or maliciously;
 natural disaster such as fire flood, volcanic eruptions or earthquake.

Data integrity refers to the validity of

data ensuring that data is accurately
entered into the system and remains
accurate while processing and as long
as it is needed.

Methods to ensure the integrity of data include:

 restricted access to computer files;
 overwrite protection;
 data encryption;
 virus protection;

RESTRICTED ACCESS

Organizations take several measures to help prevent unauthorized access and use of
computer files. An access control is a security measure that defines who can access a
computer when they can access it and what actions they can take while accessing the
computer.

Many systems implement access controls using a two-phase process called identification
and authentication.
 Identification verifies that an individual is a valid user.
 Authentication verifies that the individual is the person he or she claims to be.
Three methods of identification and authentication include:
 user names and passwords.
 possessed objects
 biometric devices

User name and Password

A username or user ID (identification) is a unique combination of characters such as
letters of the alphabet or numbers that identifies one specific user. A password is a
private combination of characters associated with the username that allows access to
certain computer resources.

Possessed Objects
A possessed object is any item that will allow access to a computer or computer facility.

Examples of possessed objects include:

 Badges (Identification cards)

 Cards – Bank cards – Debit and
Credit)
 Smart Cards
 Keys

Biometric Device – a biometric device authenticates a person’s identity by translating a

personal characteristic such as fingerprint into a digital code that is compared to the
digital code stored in the computer to verify a physical or behavioral characteristic.

OVERWRITE PROTECTION

Overwrite protection means to make the files read-only.

A user may write protect a file to ensure that changes are not made to a file and the
files are read-only. With the read-only access, a person on a network is only permitted
to view the files.

To write-protect a document:

 Open My Documents;
  Right-click on the file to be write-protected.
 Select Properties from the pop-up menu that appears on screen.
 Click on Read-only option in the Attributes section of the Properties dialog box. (A
check mark appears in the box)
 Click Apply.
 Click OK

DATA ENCRYPTION

Encryption is the process of converting (scrambling) readable data into characters that
cannot be understood to prevent unauthorized access.

Files are encrypted using a key provided by the person who wants to encrypt the
data. In order to read encrypted information, it must first be decrypted. This is the
process of decoding the information in order to obtain the original information.

A digital signature is an encrypted code that a person, website or company attaches to

an electronic message to verify that the identity of the sender.

To encrypt your document

 Click on the Microsoft Office Button;
 Select Prepare from the left-hand menu;
 Choose Encrypt Document.
 In the Encrypt Document dialog window type in your password for this document.
(The password appears as a series of asterisks*******. This prevents an onlooker
from seeing your password. You will then need to enter in your password again
for verification)
 Click OK.

VIRUS PROTECTION

A computer virus is a potentially damaging program that attaches itself to other

programs and affects or infects a computer in such a way that it corrupts or destroys the
data without the user’s knowledge or permission.

There are a number of ways in which a computer may acquire a virus. These include:
 an e-mail attachment
 downloads from internet websites that do not have antivirus protection
 floppy disks or flash drives used on infected computers

In addition to viruses, other malicious-logic programs such as Worm and Trojan Horse
exist.
Worm – a worm copies itself repeatedly in memory or over a network, using up system
resources and may shut down the system.

Trojan Horse – a trojan horse hides within or looks like a legitimate program such as a
screen saver. Unlike a virus or worm, a Trojan horse does not replicate itself to other
computers.

To protect a computer from virus attackers, users should install an antivirus program
and update it frequently. An antivirus program protects a computer against viruses by
identifying and removing any computer viruses found in memory on storage media or
on incoming files.

Popular antivirus programs include:

 McAfee Virus Scan
 Norton Antivirus
 AVG Antivirus
 Bit Defender
 Kaspersky
To Safeguard against Computer Viruses
 Do no open unknown e-mails.
 Use antivirus software to scan all disks before copying or opening files.
 Do not visit unsecured websites.
 Do not insert disks and diskettes from unreliable sources.
 Always upgrade the latest versions of antivirus software programs.