CIPT (Certified Information Privacy Technologist) Practice

What role does "data integrity" play in data management?

1. It emphasizes data accessibility

2. It ensures the correctness and reliability of data

3. It minimizes data storage costs

4. It focuses on data encryption techniques

The correct answer is: It ensures the correctness and reliability of data

Data integrity is fundamental in data management as it ensures the correctness and reliability of data. This encompasses maintaining the accuracy, consistency, and trustworthiness of data over its lifecycle. Data integrity is crucial for organizations as it directly impacts decision-making processes, compliance with regulations, and overall operational efficiency. For instance, in databases, integrity constraints can be applied to enforce certain rules and relationships between data entries, thereby preventing errors and maintaining high standards of data quality. This not only helps in safeguarding sensitive information but also in ensuring that the information is valid and can be relied upon for reporting and analysis. In contrast, while data accessibility, minimizing storage costs, and data encryption techniques are important aspects of data management, they do not specifically address the core concern of data integrity. Data may be accessible or stored efficiently, and encryption can protect data during transmission, but these aspects do not guarantee that the data itself is accurate or consistent. Thus, ensuring data integrity is vital for fostering trust in data utilized for decision-making and operational processes.