Cisco Cyber Security Practice Exam

How do integrity checks contribute to cybersecurity?

1. By protecting data during transmission

2. By ensuring data remains unchanged

3. By controlling user access

4. By monitoring network traffic

The correct answer is: By ensuring data remains unchanged

Integrity checks play a crucial role in cybersecurity by ensuring that data remains unchanged throughout its lifecycle. This process involves using hashing algorithms or checksums to create a unique digital fingerprint for the original data. Whenever the data is accessed or transmitted, the system can re-calculate the fingerprint and compare it to the original one. If there’s a discrepancy, it indicates that the data has been altered or tampered with, thereby signaling a potential security breach. This capability is essential for preventing unauthorized modifications to sensitive information, ensuring that users can trust the data's authenticity. Integrity checks are vital for various security applications, including file transfers, database management, and even software deployments, where it is crucial to confirm that what is delivered is indeed what was intended. The other options focus on different aspects of cybersecurity that are not directly related to integrity checks. For instance, protecting data during transmission primarily relates to encryption, while controlling user access involves authorization and authentication mechanisms. Monitoring network traffic is more aligned with intrusion detection and prevention systems, focusing on identifying malicious activities rather than verifying data integrity.