Nicholas Carter, 09/15/2024
The CIA triad is a model that was made to help guide companies in protecting information. The CIA stands for confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Without having all three well put in place there is not a strong security for valuable information within a company.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is defined as preserving authorized restrictions on access and disclosure. (Editor, Confidentiality – glossary: CSRC) This means that the information must be kept restricted to make sure it does not fall into the wrong hands.
Integrity
Integrity means that the data is always trustworthy and complete. (Confidentiality, integrity, and availability: The CIA triad) The explanation for this is that if the data is not kept accurate then it has no use for and may even harm the company. Which is why it is very important to keep the data from being altered.
Availability
Availability is the company having ongoing access to important information resources. (Confidentiality, integrity, and availability: The CIA triad) Without this then there is no way to safely access the information. Which can cause a company to not be able to operate. Availability also gives the company the ability to make sure the data has not been breached and is secure.
Authentication vs Authorization
Authentication is the process of verifying somebody’s identity, while authorization is deciding exactly how much a user can access or do. A good example of authentication would be me having to go through 2FA to login to my computer. While authorization would be what privileges I have to access files or make changes on my computer.
Conclusion
The CIA triad is important for establishing strong information security. By following the principles of confidentiality, integrity, and availability a company can have a solid foundation for protecting their information.
Citations
Editor, C. C. (n.d.). Confidentiality – glossary: CSRC. CSRC Content Editor. https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/confidentiality#:~:text=The%20term%20’confidentiality’%20means%20preserving,personal%20privacy%20and%20proprietary%20information.
Confidentiality, integrity, and availability: The CIA triad. Office of Information Security. (n.d.). https://informationsecurity.wustl.edu/items/confidentiality-integrity-and-availability-the-cia-triad/