Integrity Verification
What is Integrity Verification?
Integrity verification is, in short, the assurance that data is unadulterated from its original form. When data has not been tampered with or changed from its inception through transmission to storage, it has maintained its integrity. The proof or assurance that integrity has been maintained is verification of that integrity.
Why is integrity verification important?
Integrity verification is central to a smoothly running company. Without knowing if a company’s data has been changed in any way, there’s also no way of knowing what impact the data may have.
If a company can rely on its data, it can identify and address potential problems not related to data corruption. Reliable data allows an enterprise to focus on its mission.
How has integrity verification evolved with emerging technologies?
Integrity verification’s effectiveness relies on the challenges faced when implemented. That is, as technologies are introduced, integrity verification is dependent on the new technology’s qualities; these qualities include computational overheads, disk I/O, time complexity, lack of bandwidth, and the computational power of the device.
What methods are used to verify data?
Third-Party Auditing
Perhaps the most popular method of data verification is Third-Party Auditing. However, this method requires a Third-Party Agent (itself needing to be a trusted, unbiased element) to execute the process.
Blockchain
Blockchain, in contrast, provides inherent data storage space in the application process to ensure that the existing transaction data will not be modified or deleted. In the application of blockchain technology for transaction verification, the authenticity and credibility of information data can be analyzed without any third-party authentication.
Encryption and Cryptanalysis
Encryption and Cryptanalysis can check the integrity of the data. Data verified by these methods is known to be vulnerable to snooping access patterns and thereby leak user data.
Proofs of Storage and Data Retrieval
Proofs of Storage and Data Retrieval can be complicated due to the prevalence of mobile devices with limited processing capacity, and since POR requires frequent execution, putting this method to practice is difficult.
Digital Forensics
Digital Forensics, unlike other methods, is typically a reactive investigative technique and is often combined with data integrity to find evidence of crime.
Security Metrics and Service Level Agreements
In development, Security Metrics and Service Level Agreements are storage services that can be trusted by users thanks to the service satisfying the metrics of a security framework.
What are the current standards and requirements for modern integrity verification?
On May 12, 2021, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) received Executive Order (EO) 14028. Titled Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity, it directed NIST to recommend minimum standards for software testing. Under the standards, NIST advised using the following eleven techniques:
· Threat modeling to look for design-level security issues
· Automated testing for consistency and to minimize human effort
· Static code scanning to look for top bugs
· Heuristic tools to look for possible hardcoded secrets
· Use of built-in checks and protections to maximize confidence and security
· “Black box” test cases are invalid inputs and testing what software should not do
· Code-based structural test cases are based on specifics of the code
· Historical test cases comparative analysis to show presence (and absence) of a bug
· Fuzzing is a mostly automated randomized test technique that can catch bugs early
· Web app scanners catch vulnerabilities in web service provided by software
· Address included code (libraries, packages, services) provide assurance that included code is at least as secure as code developed locally
The report noted that it did not address the totality, or quality, of software validation. That is, it recommended minimum standards.
HPE and integrity verification
Since your business depends on data, your business is only as secure as your data. The key to keeping data safe is simplicity. However, as technology evolves so does the data behind it, growing more complex to meet the needs of your business. HPE GreenLake for Security enables you to adopt a zero-trust framework. Security technologies embedded in an IT operating model ensure security and compliance. With zero-trust architecture, an enterprise can employ nimble and potent responses to attacks, thereby protecting your business, your customers, and your shareholders.
Having zero-trust framework means you’re not limited to perimeter cybersecurity. Perimeterless security protects each file, email, and network node and branch. Every personal device and third-party app, even if accessed remotely, is protected with HPE GreenLake for Security zero-trust framework.