Learn in the textbookThe 7 Elements of Information Security
DefinitionIntegrity (完全性) is the property that the content of information stays correct, free of errors, unauthorized changes and missing parts.
ExplanationTampering means someone without authority rewriting the content of information. Even without malice, integrity is lost whenever an input mistake or a program bug leaves data with wrong content. A digital signature is a mark attached to data with a key only the sender holds, and it confirms both who created the data and that the content has not been altered.
AnalogyIf someone quietly changes the quantities in a recipe book, the dish fails even when you follow the steps exactly. The correctness of what is written is itself what needs protecting.
Memory hookIntegrity shares its root with integer (a whole number) and carries the sense of being whole and undivided.