The CIA Triad represents three principles in the realm of cybersecurity. It guides people to protect sensitive information from threats.
- Confidentiality – Confidentiality ensures that only authorized people can access certain information. This is possible through certain measures like data encryption, strong passwords for websites, and access controls. A good example of confidentiality would be a bank or credit union protecting their customer’s personal and financial details private by requiring secure login credentials.
- Integrity – Integrity ensures that data remains accurate unless changed by an authorized user. This method prevents criminals, hackers, and unauthorized users from changing information without permission from a professional. Think of when you may have last changed your password. Most likely the company or website sent you and email asking if was you.
- Availability – Availability means that data and services are accessible when needed. As they say in the NFL, the best ability.. is availability. Organizations use backup systems and security protocols to keep their systems working even when something goes wrong. Hospitals mostly always have backup systems in place. Since they rely on electronic records nowadays, a system outage could interfere with patient care.