Which of the following concepts is integral to maintaining data integrity?

Maintaining data integrity is fundamentally about ensuring that data remains accurate, consistent, and trustworthy over its lifecycle. Access control measures play a crucial role in this process. By implementing strict access controls, organizations can regulate who has the ability to modify data. This ensures that only authorized users—who have been given the necessary privileges—can make changes to the data, reducing the risk of unauthorized alterations or corruption.

When access control measures are in place, the integrity of the data is protected from potential threats, such as insider attacks or accidental errors made by users who do not fully understand the implications of their actions. This control helps maintain an environment where data can be reliably created, modified, and accessed, thus supporting the organization's overall security posture and adherence to ethical data handling practices.

Other concepts, while important in their own rights—such as data encryption which protects confidentiality, regular software updates that enhance security, and data backup frequency which aids in the recovery of lost data—do not directly address the fundamental requirement of ensuring that the data itself remains accurate and reliable throughout its use and storage.