Integrity (computing)

In computing, integrity refers to the validity of stored data, or the medium on which that data is stored. When an application writes data, it does so in a standard manner. When it reads that data again, it does so in a similar way as to how it was written. When the data has been altered, either through other software, electronic damage, or physical damage to the disk, the software is unable to read the data, and the data or disk is said to lack integrity.