A sub-trope of Lost In Transmission, where crucial information is corrupted, whether by a virus or other means.
In Real Life data follows what's known as a "protocol"note While a lot of people have heard the word in quite a few contexts, not many people know its actual definition; "A pre-agreed set of standards for communication.". In order to be read by a computer, data must be recorded in a [...] [tvtropes.org]