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200-201 Practice Question: A security analyst needs to ensure data integrity
A security analyst needs to ensure data integrity. Which control best achieves this?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between confidentiality (encryption) and integrity (hashing), so the trap here is that candidates confuse encryption's ability to hide data with the ability to detect tampering, leading them to select encryption instead of hashing.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Hashing
Hashing is the correct control for ensuring data integrity because it produces a fixed-length digest (e.g., SHA-256) from the original data. Any change to the data, even a single bit, results in a completely different hash value, allowing the analyst to detect tampering or corruption. Unlike encryption, hashing is a one-way function that does not conceal the data but verifies its unchanged state.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Logging
Why it's wrong here
Logging records events but does not protect data integrity.
- ✗
Encryption
Why it's wrong here
Encryption provides confidentiality, not integrity.
- ✗
Access control
Why it's wrong here
Access control manages who can access data but does not detect tampering.
- ✓
Hashing
Why this is correct
Hashing produces a unique hash that changes if data is altered, ensuring integrity.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 200-201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 200-201 exam.