I wrote this article several years ago, and given the rise in information security malpractices, I thought it wise to refurbish it with a few updates. The 21st Century has seen data become one of the most valuable assets for any organisation. Businesses use data to make decisions, manage customers, process transactions, monitor operations, and even predict future trends. But here is a question many organisations forget to ask: Can you trust your data? Or how far are you sure that what you received is what was sent, because having data is not enough. The real value is having data that is accurate, consistent, and reliable.
This is where data integrity comes in. Integrity is one of the guidelines for information security in an organisation. Integrity is the accuracy, consistency, and trustworthiness of the data during its entire life cycle. Data must be unaltered during transit and not changed by unauthorised entities. File permissions and user access control can prevent unauthorised access. Version control can be used to prevent accidental changes by authorised users. Backups must be available to restore any corrupted data, and checksum hashing can be used to verify the integrity of the data during transfer, meaning that as data is moved from one location to another, either via USB or internet, from one user to another, it is important that it is being kept on track. Sensitive information can be hijacked and content changed by malicious codes, especially Man in the Middle (MIM), Viruses, etc.
From the moment data is created, stored, transferred, processed, and eventually archived, it should remain unchanged unless an authorised person or system makes a legitimate modification. Simply understand that Data integrity ensures that the information you are using is the same information that was created.
Imagine a company sending a financial report to another branch. If someone secretly modifies the numbers during transfer, the file may still open perfectly. The problem? The information inside is no longer trustworthy. The file exists, but the truth has been altered. Now, a checksum is used to verify the integrity of these files, or strings of characters, after they have been transferred from one device to another across your local network or the Internet.
How do you do this? Now, Checksums are calculated with hash functions. Some of the common checksums are MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, and SHA-512. After a file is downloaded, you can verify its integrity by verifying the hash values from the source with the ones you generated using any hash calculator. By comparing the hash values, you can ensure that the file has not been tampered with or corrupted during the transfer.
Before I show you how to verify this, let’s first take a look at why data integrity matters today. A few years ago, data integrity was mostly discussed around file transfers, storage, and preventing accidental corruption. Today, the challenge is much bigger. African Businesses are dealing with:
- Cloud databases
- Artificial intelligence systems
- Remote work environments
- Mobile applications
- Internet of Things (IoT) devices
- Digital payment systems
- Customer information platforms
A small change in data can have serious consequences. For example, A company using incorrect sales data may make the wrong business decisions. A hospital using inaccurate patient information may create risks in patients’ lives due to poor medical reports. I’ve seen this first-hand. A financial institution with manipulated transaction records can lose customer trust. In the digital economy, data is not just information. Data is the foundation upon which businesses operate. Now that you know this, the next big question is
How Can Data Be Compromised? Data can be altered intentionally or accidentally. Some common causes include:
1. Cyberattacks
Attackers may modify information through techniques such as Malware, Ransomware, Man-in-the-Middle attacks, Unauthorised access. A Man-in-the-Middle attack happens when an attacker secretly intercepts communication between two parties and modifies the information being exchanged. For example, a file sent from one system to another could be intercepted and changed before reaching its destination.
2. Human Errors
Not every data problem comes from hackers. Sometimes employees accidentally delete important records, Change information incorrectly, overwrite files, or upload the wrong documents. This is why version control and backup systems are important.
3. System Failures
Hardware failures, software bugs, and storage problems can also corrupt data. A damaged storage device can make information incomplete or unusable.
How to verify data integrity is simple. One of the most common methods used to verify data integrity is through hashing. A hash is like a digital fingerprint created from a file or piece of information. Every file has a unique hash value. If the file changes, even slightly, the hash value changes. Common hashing algorithms include: MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, and SHA-512. Today, SHA-256 and stronger algorithms are commonly preferred because older methods like MD5 and SHA-1 have known weaknesses.
Imagine you download software from the internet. The original developer provides a SHA-256 checksum. After downloading the file, you generate your own SHA-256 hash. If both values match: The file is most likely unchanged. If the values are different: Something happened. The file may have been corrupted, modified, or replaced
How to calculate a file hash? The process is simple:
1) Download HashCalc from www.slavasoft.com and install it on your PC. HashCalc is a Fast calculator to compute hash, checksum, and HMAC values for files, text and hex strings. Note that you can HashCalc, Windows PowerShell commands, Linux checksum utilities, Online hash verification tools such as hash-file.online or onlinehashtools.com but for our case we have downloaded a hashcalc from slavasoft
2) Run the application
3) Click on the dropdown arrow of the Hex string and choose File
4) Click on the … next to the data title bar to import your file
5) Once imported, check the boxes corresponding to your intended checksum and click calculate
6) Now compare the hash with the source.
Depending on the checksum you chose, some hashes will be longer. If your data has been tampered with, you will notice a different hash from what it was before being sent. The hash changes if the document was edited, even by just adding a letter or a space. It’s important to keep the Download a hashing tool or use built-in operating system tools.
Beyond Hashing, here’s how businesses protect data integrity
Modern organisations combine several security practices:
Access Control: Not everyone should have permission to modify sensitive information. Users should only access what they need.
Backup and Recovery: Backups ensure that corrupted or damaged data can be restored. However, modern businesses must also protect backups because ransomware attackers now target backup systems.
Version Control: Version control tracks changes and allows organisations to restore previous versions of files.
Digital Signatures: Digital signatures help verify that information came from a legitimate source and has not been altered.
The African Digital Transformation Reality is that as more African businesses move online, adopt cloud services, digital payments, smart systems, and automation, protecting data integrity becomes increasingly important. A business can survive with slow technology, A business can survive with limited technology. But a business cannot survive making decisions based on unreliable data. The future belongs to organisations that do not only collect data but protect its accuracy and trustworthiness. Because in the digital world Bad data creates bad decisions and bad decisions can be expensive.
