Information security is a very important concern in the world today. The amount of data that is stored and transmitted on devices is insane, and there needs to be ways to protect private data. Nobody needs their private personal data to be stolen by cyber hackers. The CIA Triad consists of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The purpose of the CIA triad is to prevent important data from being accessed by unauthorized users, have methods in place so the data isn’t altered or changed, and still have the data readily available for anyone with proper authorization.

An example of confidentiality would be having two-factor authentication for my retirement account. For it, you put in your username and password, and then I set it up to send a text message with a code every time that I log in, which provides a second layer of protection. For integrity, I think of checking your bank statements; you see every charge to your account, and there is integrity that shows that your statements are accurate and nobody has tampered with the amount. When I think of availability, I think a website is required for a class; if your work has to be done on the website and the website keeps crashing, that’s an availability issue. It needs to be available when needed because without it, there can be delays in work or activities being completed. I have had availability issues with assignments and can relate to the struggles when something isn’t available like it should be.

Authentication is confirming that someone is who they claim to be. According to an article by Fortinet, authentication is defined as the process of confirming the identity of a user. An example of authentication would be working for a facility that requires a key card to get into the building, and when it comes to going into a certain room, they have to scan their hand, and if it isn’t the correct person, they can’t enter. Fortinet defines authorization as the process of giving user permission to access a physical location or information-based resource. An example of this relates to college; a lot of notes or PowerPoint files are through Google Documents, and while you can access most of them on your personal account, you cannot edit them without using your school account. This proves that you can
be given access to it but not be able to do anything you want with it. You have to use an account that is linked to ODU to be able to edit and make changes to PowerPoint.

In conclusion, the CIA triad is very important in protecting users’ personal information from getting stolen. There are forms of authentication and authorization to help make it so that it is less likely for information to be accessed. While there are always risks no matter how many safety nets are in place, having the CIA triad and authentication and authorization methods helps significantly decrease the risks.