Strand1_Reliability_and_integrity

**Definition**
Reliability refers to the operation of hardware, the design of software, the accuracy of data or the correspondence of data with the real world. Data may be unreliable if it is entered incorrectly or if it becomes outdated. For example, a medical record that becomes dissociated from the patient it refers to become unreliable. The reliability of machines, software and data determines our confidence in their value.

Integrity refers to the correspondence of data with itself, at its creation. Data lacks integrity when it has been changed accidentally or tampered with. For example, a hacker might change driver license data resulting in arrests of innocent people. **Integrity is used almost exclusively in regard to databases.**

**News Articles**
How reliable is Google? []