between an object as originally created and as currently presented.

Evaluating, maintaining and providing evidence of continued authenticity are key

responsibilities for most preservation programmes.

16.5 Threats to authenticity

Authenticity can be jeopardised by:
Threats to identity. Loss of certainty about how an object is distinguished from
other objects damages authenticity. This may result from confusion in
identifying data, changes to identifiers, or failure to document the relationships
between different versions or copies
Threats to integrity. Changes to the content of the object itself also potentially
damage authenticity. Most such changes stem from threats to the object at a
data level.

The nature of digital materials, and how they must be managed for preservation and
access, both present challenges:
Digital materials can be changed easily, with or without fraudulent intent, and
even without any intent at all
Changes that happen may not be obvious
Preservation processes almost always involve making changes - transferring
data from one system to another, from one carrier to another, adding or
updating metadata, creating new copies that need new file names, changing the
means of presentation as technologies change, and so on.

16.6 Threats to data integrity

Common threats to the ongoing integrity of data that preservation programmes are
likely to encounter include:
Natural generation of errors that arise in digital storage systems
Breakdown of carriers. Most carrier media have a reasonably short useable life
before deteriorating to the point of unreliability for data storage
Malicious attack, which may come from system hackers, viruses, staff or
outside intruders interacting with the storage system
Collateral damage from malicious acts such as terrorist attacks, acts of war or
civil unrest affecting buildings or power supplies
Inadvertent acts by staff or visitors such as turning off power, throwing out
disks or tapes, or reformatting storage devices
Natural disasters such as fire, flood, or building collapse
Business failure.

109