Data Quality Problems Compromise Information Security
A recent study (Whitman, 2003) identifies software failures and errors, human error, and hardware failures and errors as 3 of the top 6 threats to the information security of the enterprise, with software failures and errors and human error ranking as the second and third most important factors, respectively.
Although semantic integrity problems are far from being the principal result of software failures and errors, the Whitman study specifically calls out data integrity compromises as a fundamental consequence of software failures and errors. A recent paper by Khansa and Liginlal (2009) surveys the quantifiable vulnerabilities of failing to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information.