Concept: The
CIA Triad is a fundamental model used in cybersecurity to guide policies and practices for protecting information systems. It consists of three key principles:
Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. These principles ensure that information is protected from unauthorized access, remains accurate, and is available to authorized users when needed.
1. Confidentiality Confidentiality ensures that sensitive information is accessible only to authorized individuals and is protected from unauthorized access or disclosure.
Methods used to maintain confidentiality:
- Encryption of data
- User authentication and passwords
- Access control mechanisms
Example: Only authorized employees in a company can access confidential customer data.
2. Integrity Integrity ensures that data remains
accurate, consistent, and unaltered during storage or transmission. Unauthorized modification of data must be prevented.
Methods used to maintain integrity:
- Data validation checks
- Hash functions and checksums
- Access control and auditing
Example: Financial records in a bank database should not be modified without proper authorization.
3. Availability Availability ensures that information and systems are accessible to authorized users whenever they are needed.
Methods used to maintain availability:
- Regular system maintenance
- Data backup and disaster recovery systems
- Protection against cyber attacks such as denial-of-service attacks
Example: Online banking services should be accessible to customers at all times.
Summary of CIA Triad: