White paper Best Practices “Data Integrity” 2013
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Definition data integrity
Data integrity is the accuracy and consistency of stored data, indicated by an absence of any alteration in data between two
updates of a data record. Data integrity is imposed within a system at its design stage through the use of standard rules and
procedures, and is maintained through the use of error checking and validation routines.
Validation & Qualification
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Conduct periodic audits of the organization’s validated computer systems.
Validation of configuration settings: Do not allow to reprocess without saving the results.
Make sure all organization’s systems are validated and / or qualified.
Include critical system test as part of the organization’s validation and/or qualification program: volume tests, stress
tests, performance tests, boundary tests, compatibility tests.
A validated system per applicable guideline will not automatically deliver 100% accurate printouts.
Execute and document test protocols for stimulating worst case situations.
Security of Data Management
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How is guest login managed for systems and applications?
Manage the version control of used software and applications.
Assign correct level of access to users of the computerized systems.
Prevent unauthorized use of by installing automatically logoff.
Never publicly post passwords.
Limit access control for systems.
Make sure access is terminated of terminated staff and/or staff that changed in their role and responsibilities.
Audit trail activated on electronic records.
Understand where settings are originated.
Make sure physical and /or system security is implemented.
Systems must be build in such a way that user’s can complete the required actions (e.g. review of audit trail) based on
their role and responsibilities.
Data Management
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Choose the correct tool to follow-up on an identified GAP.
Raw data misplaced or not retained because staff was not aware they should keep it.
Remove or reduce duplication of data.
Always archive the organization’s source electronic records (raw data). Archiving copies of the source data is not
acceptable.
Printouts are never “raw data”.
Source electronic records or data must be reviewed. This includes the review of applicable meta data and audit trails.
Review of audit trails must be build-in into the daily operations where electronic records are part of the process.
Spreadsheets data files are also considered as electronic data / record.
Data Infrastructure
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Reduce interface connections between different systems.
Make sure the back-up system is working as required.
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White paper Best Practices “Data Integrity” 2013
Visit our website for more detailed information.
Awareness & Training
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Make sure staff is trained on the software and applications. Documented evidence of completed training must be
available for inspections.
Create procedures that would hold individuals accountable for actions taken under their electronic records.
Data integrity defintions:
Data Integrity Check ECC:
Data integrity check error-correcting code
Peachtree data integrity:
Peachtree is an accounting application for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) made by Sage Software. Peachtree
enables comptrollers and managers to automate and manage numerous accounting tasks, like:
Quicbooks data integrity check:
The QuickBooks financial-tracking software has tools in place to make sure you never lose your data. A QuickBooks integrity
check scans your files, looking for corrupt entries or entries that don't conform to QuickBooks standards. These entries can
throw off your data, resulting in bookkeeping nightmares. In the worst case, they can cause your entire QuickBooks file to
become unusable, so it's essential to run frequent integrity checks
Data block integirty check:
Data block check codes for improved data integrity - Data Block Guard
The data block guard is a function to add Check Codes for identification of all data stored when a write instruction is generated
by server. It can also confirm/guarantee data integrity at multiple checkpoints along the data transmission route.
Sql server data integirty checks:
The SQL Server Maintenance Solution comprises scripts for running backups, integrity checks, and index and statistics
maintenance on all editions of Microsoft SQL Server 2005, SQL Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 R2, and SQL Server 2012. The
solution is based on stored procedures, the sqlcmd utility, and SQL Server Agent jobs
Hashing codes data integrity:
A hash value is a numeric value of a fixed length that uniquely identifies data. Hash values represent large amounts of data as
much smaller numeric values, so they are used with digital signatures. You can sign a hash value more efficiently than signing
the larger value. Hash values are also useful for verifying the integrity of data sent through insecure channels. The hash value of
received data can be compared to the hash value of data as it was sent to determine whether the data was altered.
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