Data diddler
Malware which makes small changes to data
Data diddlers are a type of malware which makes small random changes to data, such as a spreadsheet. Small adjustments are made to figures to render the data contained in a document inaccurate and in some cases worthless.
Data diddling is a very insidious payload, as it is often very hard to detect and in some cases almost impossible to correct. Many data diddlers have no other payload and can thus remain undetected for some time, continuing to adjust figures by small amounts until all backups contain corrupted information. Some data diddlers are less random and instead adjust a particular piece of data in a particualr way, for example slowly increasing the amount of money in a particular account.
