| Data is subject to manipulation and other integrity related attacks whenever that data is transferred across a network. To protect data integrity during transmission, the application must implement mechanisms to ensure the integrity of all transmitted information. All transmitted information means that the protections are not restricted to just the data itself. Protection mechanisms must be extended to include data labels, security parameters or metadata if data protection requirements specify. Modern web application data transfer methods can be complex and are not necessarily just point to point in nature. Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and RESTFUL web services allow for XML based application data to be transmitted in a manner similar to network traffic wherein the application data is transmitted along multiple servers hops. In such cases, point to point protection methods like TLS or SSL may not be the best choice for ensuring data integrity and alternative data integrity protection methods like XML Integrity Signature protections where the XML payload itself is signed may be required as part of the application design. Overall application design and architecture must always be taken into account when establishing data integrity protection mechanisms. Custom-developed solutions that provide a file transfer capability should implement data integrity checks for incoming and outgoing files. Transmitted information requires mechanisms to ensure the data integrity (e.g. digital signatures, SSL, TLS or cryptographic hashing). |
