| CODE | LIA5020 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Integrity and Authenticity in the Digital Environment | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Library Information and Archive Sciences | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | While the acquisition and preservation of traditional archival records has been a rather arduous task, information professionals have traditionally been able to authenticate and verify the integrity of them without disproportionate effort. They have even been able to systematize their method and have long established several key mechanisms that allow them to quickly, securely and rather precisely execute such processes (e.g. they perform a forensic and diplomatic examination of the object (both its content and its artifactual form) to ensure that its characteristics and content are consistent with the claims made about it; they rely on signatures and seals that are usually attached to the object or the claims that come with it; even for mass produced carriers (such as books), they are able to compare the object in hand with other versions (copies) of the object that may be available and have already been tested for their authenticity and integrity). The same cannot be said about digital informational objects and archives. This is not a coincidence. Digital information technologies have completely changed the basic socioeconomic structures that revolve around the production of information. The traditional ways to produce informational objects (even when traditional mass media, such as the press, television or radio are taken into account) are characterised by a production culture that is centralised, technically complicated, economically demanding and, exactly because of that, strictly limited to certain stakeholders. The flow of information products stemming from them has, therefore, been easily traceable and prone to authentication and verification as to integrity. On the contrary, digital networked technologies operate in a distributed manner, as there is no central control point, no central producer and no central dissemination channel; they have an open and free nature, in the sense that all information channels shall be treated as equal and served as equal and they do not usually abide by strict copyright protocols, which in turn, makes the spread of ideas wider; they are economically efficient, as they enable traditional mass media productions at almost marginal cost; last, but not least, they have a decentralized structure, in the sense that there is no central production point, but, on the contrary, every internet user is, at the same time, both a producer and a consumer. Internet platforms also exert minor editing control, as they merely categorize and compile informational products, but have no influence on their authentication or integrity. It is thus not a surprise that digital informational products are harder to authenticate and verify with regard to their integrity. Despite these inherent limitations, the need for authenticity and integrity also in the digital environment has never been questioned. If anything, the political and social developments of recent years have proven that it might even be far more pressing than in the physical archiving environment, as digital misinformation has questioned the very essence of parliamentary democracy across the Western countries. Digital authentication and verification of integrity methods have been discussed for the past 20, at least, years. In that regard, both public and secret methods have been proposed (for example, public methods for asserting the authenticity of sources include: the creation of copyright deposit "collections of record"; certified deposits of original sources combined with record certification services; registration of unique document identifiers etc.; secret methods on the other hand involve hiding data in the object to reveal its source. Such techniques include: digital watermarking; steganography and digital signatures; on top of all that blockchain seems to be one of the most innovative technologies in terms of establishing digital transparency and, therefore, authentication and integrity). Many of these methods have even been institutionalised and codified by the legislator. It is, therefore, imperative, apart from the social and technical aspects of digital authenticity and integrity to also examine the relevant legislative responses. The current study unit will, therefore, explore not only the different social, economic and technical nature of authenticity and integrity in the digital world, but will also examine the legislative initiatives and best practices currently established, as well as possible future developments (blockchain technologies, mentioned above, being one such example). Study-unit Aims: The aims of the study-unit are the familiarization of the students with the particularities of the production of digital informational products, the problems surrounding their authenticity and integrity, as well as their training on the methods proposed and applied in order to secure authenticity and integrity in the digital realm. The exploration of the legal framework of the authenticity and integrity mechanisms in the digital environment shall complement the presentation and analysis. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Analyse the economic, social, technical and legal reasons, motives and developments that have dictated the transition from the physical to the digital archive; - Define the challenges posed by the completely different nature of the digital archive and the digital informational products, especially with account of the borderless, open and free, marginal cost and interactive nature of digital products; - Identify the existing mechanisms that ensure that digital informational products can be authenticated and verified when it comes to their integrity; - Compare the social, technical, legal and ethical issues that surround the acquisition, access to, processing and management of digital informational products and why authenticity and integrity are equally, or even more, critical in the digital environment. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Confidently identify and apply the methods and best practices of digital authenticity and integrity; - Identify the legal and ethical framework that shapes best practices and decision making in the field. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Clifford Lynch, Authenticity and Integrity in the Digital Environment: An Exploratory Analysis of the Central Role of Trust, available at: https://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub92/lynch/#:~:text=At%20some%20level%2C%20authenticity%20and,may%20faithfully%20transmit%20complete%20falsehoods.(last access: 25.02.2021). - Rachael Bradley, Digital Authenticity and Integrity: Digital Cultural Heritage Documents as Research Resources, Libraries and the Academy, 2005, p. 165-175, available at: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ792745 (last access: 25.02.2021). - David Bearman/Jennifer Trant, Authenticity of Digital Resources, available at: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/june98/06bearman.html (last access: 25.02.2021). - Hong Wu/Guan Zheng, Electronic evidence in the blockchain era: new rules on authenticity and integrity, available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0267364920300066#:~:text=In%20June%202018%2C%20the%20court,but%20generated%20by%20a%20blockchain. (last access: 25.02.2021). - Duranti/Terry Eastwood/Heather MacNeil (eds.), Preservation of the Integrity of Electronic Records, 2002. - Zaccaria/Schmidt-Kessel /Schulze/Gambino (eds.), EU eIDAS Regulation, 2020. To be ordered through the Library of the University of Malta. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Seminar & Independent Study | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Joseph Cannataci Aitana Radu (Co-ord.) |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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