Para 3.22.63 — MSO (Audit)
Original Rule Text
3.22.63 Application processes may perform further validation of transactions by checking data for duplication and consistency with other information held by other parts of the system. The process should check the integrity of data which it maintains by using, for instance, check sums derived from the data. The aim of such controls is to detect external amendments to data due to system failure or use of system amendment facilities such as editors.
What This Means
Application processes may perform additional validation by checking data for duplication and consistency with information held elsewhere in the system. The process should verify data integrity using techniques like check sums derived from the data. These controls aim to detect any external amendments to data caused by system failure or unauthorised use of system utilities such as editors, which could corrupt the database without going through normal application controls.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Key Points
- 1Application processes should check data for duplication and cross-system consistency
- 2Check sums and data integrity verification techniques should be used
- 3Controls must detect external amendments made outside the application
- 4System failures and unauthorised use of editors can corrupt data
- 5Cross-validation with data held in other parts of the system adds an extra layer of assurance
Practical Example
A government financial accounting system processes budget allocation transactions. When a new allocation is entered for a department, the processing module checks it against the total budget sanctioned for that ministry held in a separate master file — if the allocation exceeds the sanctioned amount, it flags an inconsistency. The system also maintains check sums on its database tables; when the daily integrity check runs, it recalculates check sums and compares them against stored values. If a system administrator had directly edited the database using a utility tool (bypassing the application), the check sum mismatch would immediately reveal the unauthorised change.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are check sums and how do they detect data tampering?▼
Why would someone use system utilities to change data externally?▼
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.