Caroline Butler

September 12, 2023

What is the CIA Triad?

The CIA Triad is a Cybersecurity model consisting of three components. The three components are Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. The first component of the CIA Triad is called Confidentiality. Confidentiality is a principle that utilizes protective measures that are guaranteed to protect an individual’s private information and to ensure that any unauthorized users are not privy to this individual’s personal information as well. The second component of the CIA Triad is called Integrity. Integrity is a principle that implies data in a computer is accurate, clear, and is to be sure that data is not breached from outside sources. The third component of the CIA Triad is called Availability. Availability is a principle that denotes information that is regularly available and easily accessed to authorized groups of online users. 

The Purpose of the CIA Triad

The purpose of the CIA Triad is to provide businesses with a model to protect their data in case of a potential cyberattack in a business. All three of the CIA Triad principles provide a foundation of security systems that are used to protect data, as well as guidelines that are implemented in organizations/businesses. According to Prakash, “The CIA triad constitutes the core basis for the development of security systems and policies for institutions. As such, the CIA triad plays a critical part in maintaining your data safe and protected against growing cyber threats.” (Prakash, 2023). Technology is constantly evolving and changing. With the rapid development of technology, it is imperative that the necessary security protocols are implemented and are going to be of use to businesses. This is what the CIA Triad provides. The CIA Triad provides a blueprint to make sure that computer data is protected. According to Chai, “Considering these three principles together within the framework of the “triad” can help guide the development of security policies for organizations.” (Chai, 2022). The CIA Triad is very beneficial in protecting businesses’ computer data. By enforcing the three important principles of the CIA Triad, a business’s computer data will always remain confidential.

Difference between Authentication and Authorization

Although these two terms are intertwined with the CIA Triad, they do have different meanings and functions. Authentication is a term that is used to confirm an online user’s identity. An example of this would be when an online user is logging into a social media app. The app prompts the online user to log in with their username and password that is set by the online user. Authorization is a term that is used to access an online user’s data. An example would be an online user logging into their Instagram account. Once the app Instagram prompts the online user to log in with their username and password, they now have authorization to their account.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the CIA Triad is beneficial to the Cybersecurity world. With the three principles of the CIA Triad: Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability, a computer’s data will be secure. By applying the Confidentiality principle, a computer’s data will always remain private and confidential with the help of the necessary security measures. By applying the Integrity principle, a computer’s data will continue to be correct, coherent, and logical, as well as ensuring that there will be little to no data breaches. By applying the Availability principle, a computer’s data will consistently be accessible to authorized online users. The CIA Triad plays a big part in a businesses security systems by using the three principles to protect businesses/organizations data. The main differences between Authentication and Authorization is that Authentication is used to protect and confirm an online user’s identity, whereas Authorization is used to access an online user’s data and are shared to any authorized online users. The CIA Triad will help ensure that any online user and their personal data is safe, secure, and can be easily accessed.

References 

Chai, W. (2022, June 28). What is the CIA triad_ definition, explanation, examples – techtarget.pdf. Google Drive. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1898r4pGpKHN6bmKcwlxPdVZpCC6Moy8l/view 
Prakash, M. (2023, September 6). CIA Triad in cyber security: Definition, examples, importance. KnowledgeHut. https://www.knowledgehut.com/blog/security/cia-in-cyber-security