How Alteration Threats Can Violate Information Integrity

How Alteration Threats Can Violate Information Integrity

In today’s digital age, information is a valuable asset for individuals, businesses, and organizations. However, along with the convenience and speed that technology brings, there are also numerous threats to information security. One such threat is alteration, where unauthorized modifications are made to digital information. Alteration can violate information integrity, which refers to the accuracy, completeness, and trustworthiness of information. In this article, we’ll dive deeper into the impact of alteration threats on information integrity.

What are Alteration Threats?

Alteration threats involve unauthorized modification of digital information. These modifications can be made by hackers, insiders, or malware. There are several ways that alterations can occur, such as:

• Editing: where changes are made to digital files, increasing or decreasing their size or changing their content.
• Deletion: where data is intentionally removed, either partially or completely.
• Insertion: where additional data is added to pre-existing digital files, often in the form of malicious code.
• Substitution: where a genuine file is replaced with a fake one, containing malicious code or incorrect information.

The Impact of Alteration Threats on Information Integrity

Alteration threats can have a significant impact on information integrity. Information integrity is critical in maintaining the accuracy and trustworthiness of data. Altering information can lead to:

• Loss of Credibility: intentional changes to information can lead to the loss of credibility of that information
• Legal Consequences: altered information can lead to legal consequences, particularly if such information is used in legal proceedings
• Misrepresentation: alteration of information can cast an untrue picture of events, or lead to making decisions that are not factual
• Financial loss: when alteration is carried out with malicious intent, it can lead to financial loss
• Compromised Confidentiality: alteration of information can lead to confidentiality breaches with sensitive data leaking

How to Protect Against Alteration Threats

As with any security risk, prevention is better than cure. Here are some ways to protect against alteration threats:

• Implementing access controls to limit users who can make modifications to data
• Implementing automated backup systems to ensure that data can be restored in case of an alteration attack
• Ensuring systems are always updated to the latest release
• Regular employee training on security awareness, to ensure that they understand the risks involved with alterations and ways they can be carried out
• Deploying anti-malware and anti-virus software to thwart malware-based alteration attacks

Conclusion

In conclusion, alteration threats are a serious threat to information integrity, and they must be dealt with proactively. Alteration can lead to legal consequences, financial loss, and loss of credibility. There are various precautions that businesses can take to mitigate the risk of alteration. The goal is to ensure that the data is complete, accurate, trustworthy, and secure at all times.