Data security means protecting digital data , such as those in a database , from destructive forces and from the unwanted actions of unauthorized users, such as a cyberattack or a data breach. Software-based security solutions encrypt the data to protect it from theft. However, a malicious program or a hacker could corrupt the data to make it unrecoverable, making the system unusable. Hardware-based security solutions prevent reading and writing access to data, which provides strong protection against tampering and unauthorized access. Hardware-based security or assisted computer security offers an alternative to software-only computer security. Security tokens such as those using PKCS#11, or a mobile phone may be more secure due to the physical access required to be compromised. Access is enabled only when the token is connected, and the ...