Question

Difficulty: MediumData Security and Threats in Accounting Systems

A manufacturing company's accounting department wants to ensure that any unauthorized modification of ledger records can be traced back to the specific user and time of entry. Which data security control directly provides this chronological record of system activities?

  1. Audit trailAnswer
  2. B
    Data encryption
  3. C
    Antivirus protection
  4. D
    Data backup procedure

Answer

Audit trail
An audit trail maintains an automated, chronological record of all accounting transactions and user actions, ensuring full transparency and traceability for edits made in computerized accounting systems.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the core security objective in the scenario
The goal is to track unauthorized changes in ledger entries back to a specific user and timestamp.
Maintaining accountability requires an automated tracking mechanism for system events.
2
Evaluate the function of an audit trail
An audit trail sequentially logs every transaction creation, modification, deletion, user ID, and execution time within the accounting software.
This chronological log allows internal auditors to inspect system history and detect fraudulent adjustments.

Key Concept

Audit Trail in Accounting Software
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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