The CIA triad in cybersecurity is a framework that combines three key information security principles: confidentiality, integrity, and availability. It provides a simple and complete checklist for evaluating an organization’s security. An effective IT security system consists of three parts: confidentiality, integrity, and availability, hence the name “CIA triad.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than an information security framework, the CIA triad helps organizations upgrade and maintain maximum security. It also enables staff to perform everyday tasks like data collection, customer service, and general management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The model is also sometimes referred to as the AIC triad (availability, integrity and confidentiality) to avoid confusion with the Central Intelligence Agency. Although elements of the triad are three of the most foundational and crucial cybersecurity needs, experts believe the CIA triad in cybersecurity needs an upgrade to stay effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this context, confidentiality is a set of rules that limits access to information, integrity is the assurance that the information is trustworthy and accurate, and availability is a guarantee of reliable access to the information by authorized people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The three letters in the cybersecurity “CIA triad” stand for Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. It is a common model that forms the basis for the development of security systems. They are used for finding vulnerabilities and methods for creating solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information are crucial to the operation of a business, and the CIA triad segments these three ideas into separate focal points. This differentiation is helpful because it helps guide security teams as they pinpoint the different ways in which they can address each concern.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ideally, the security profile of the organization is stronger and better equipped to handle threat incidents by meeting all standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Confidentiality involves the efforts of an organization to make sure data is kept secret or private. To accomplish this, access to information must be controlled to prevent the unauthorized sharing of data\u2014whether intentional or accidental. A key component of maintaining confidentiality is making sure that people without proper authorization are prevented from accessing assets important to your business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are several ways confidentiality can be compromised. This may involve direct attacks aimed at gaining access to systems the attacker does not have the right to see. It can also involve an attacker making a direct attempt to infiltrate an application or database so they can take data or alter it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These direct attacks may use techniques such as\u00a0man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks, where an attacker positions themselves in the stream of information to intercept data and then either steal or alter it. Some attackers engage in other types of network spying to gain access to credentials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, not all violations of confidentiality are intentional. Human error or insufficient security controls may be to blame as well. For example, someone may fail to protect their password\u2014either to a workstation or to log in to a restricted area. Users may share their credentials with someone else, or they may allow someone to see their login while they enter it. In other situations, a user may not properly encrypt a communication, allowing an attacker to intercept their information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To fight against confidentiality breaches, you can classify and label restricted data, enable access control policies, encrypt data, and use multi-factor authentication (MFA) systems. It is also advisable to ensure that all in the organization have the training and knowledge they need to recognize the dangers and avoid them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An organization\u2019s data should only be available to those who need it. Access to data such as human resources files, medical records, and school transcripts should be limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To prevent security breaches, confidentiality policies must be followed so access is limited only to authorized users. Data can be classified, labeled, or encrypted to allow restrictions. The IT team can implement multi-factor authentication systems. Employees can receive onboarding training to recognize potential security mistakes and how to avoid them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Effective information security considers who receives authorization and the appropriate level of confidentiality. <\/strong>For example, the finance team of an organization should be able to access bank accounts, but most other employees and executives should not have access to this information. Some security measures include locked cabinets to limit access to physical files and encrypted digital files to protect information from hackers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Confidentiality can be compromised unintentionally. <\/strong>For example, IT support might accidentally send a password to multiple employees, instead of the one who needs it. Users might share their credentials with another employee, or forget to properly encrypt a sensitive email. A thief might steal an employee’s hardware, such as a computer or mobile phone. Insufficient security controls or human error are also examples of breached confidentiality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Integrity involves making sure your data is trustworthy and free from tampering. The integrity of your data is maintained only if the data is authentic, accurate, and reliable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, if your company provides information about senior managers on your website, this information needs to have integrity. If it is inaccurate, those visiting the website for information may feel your organization is not trustworthy. Someone with a vested interest in damaging the reputation of your organization may try to hack your website and alter the descriptions, photographs, or titles of the executives to hurt their reputation or that of the company as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Compromising integrity is often done intentionally. An attacker may bypass an intrusion detection system (IDS), change file configurations to allow unauthorized access, or alter the logs kept by the system to hide the attack. Integrity may also be violated by accident. Someone may accidentally enter the wrong code or make another kind of careless mistake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, if the company\u2019s security policies, protections, and procedures are inadequate, integrity can be violated without any one person in the organization accountable for the blame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To protect the integrity of your data, you can use hashing, encryption, digital certificates, or digital signatures. For websites, you can employ trustworthy certificate authorities (CAs) that verify the authenticity of your website so visitors know they are getting the site they intended to visit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A method for verifying integrity is non-repudiation, which refers to when something cannot be repudiated or denied. For example, if employees in your company use digital signatures when sending emails, the fact that the email came from them cannot be denied. Also, the recipient cannot deny that they received the email from the sender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An information system with integrity tracks and limits who can make changes to minimize the possible damage that hackers, malicious employees, or human errors can do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Organizations need to determine who can change the data and how it can be changed. <\/strong>For example, schools typically protect grade databases so students can\u2019t change them but teachers can. In this case, a student hacker might bypass the intrusion detection system or alter system logs to mask the attack after it occurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Information on an organization’s website should be trustworthy. <\/strong>In another example, a company website that provides bios of senior executives must have integrity. If it is inaccurate or seems botched, visitors may be reluctant to trust the company or buy its products. If the company has a high profile, a competitor might try to damage its reputation by hacking the website and altering descriptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To protect data integrity, encryption, digital signatures, and hashing can be used. Websites can use certificate authorities that verify its authenticity so customers feel comfortable browsing and purchasing products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if data is kept confidential and its integrity maintained, it is often useless unless it is available to those in the organization and the customers they serve. This means that systems, networks, and applications must be functioning as they should and when they should. Also, individuals with access to specific information must be able to consume it when they need to, and getting to the data should not take an inordinate amount of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If, for example, there is a power outage and there is no\u00a0disaster recovery system\u00a0in place to help users regain access to critical systems, availability will be compromised. Also, a natural disaster like a flood or even a severe snowstorm may prevent users from getting to the office, which can interrupt the availability of their workstations and other devices that provide business-critical information or applications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Availability can also be compromised through deliberate acts of sabotage, such as the use of\u00a0denial-of-service (DoS) attacks\u00a0or ransomware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To ensure availability, organizations can use redundant networks, servers, and applications. These can be programmed to become available when the primary system has been disrupted or broken. You can also enhance availability by staying on top of upgrades to software packages and security systems. In this way, you make it less likely for an application to malfunction or for a relatively new threat to infiltrate your system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Backups and full disaster recovery plans also help a company regain availability soon after a negative event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All organizations have designated employees with access to specific data and permission to make changes. Therefore, the security framework must include availability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Information security professionals must balance availability with confidentiality and integrity. <\/strong>For example, all employees of an organization might have access to the company email system, but detailed financial records may only be made available to top-level leadership. Those leaders should be able to access that data when they need to, and it shouldn’t take too much time or effort to access it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Backup systems should be in place to allow for availability. <\/strong>For example, disaster recovery systems need to be implemented so employees can regain access to data systems if there is a power outage. Or, if a natural disaster such as a hurricane or snowstorm prevents employees from physically getting to the office, their data be available to them through cloud system storage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Availability can be compromised through sabotage. <\/strong>For example, sabotage can occur through denial-of-service attacks or ransomware. To maintain data availability, organizations can use “redundant” networks and servers that are programmed to become available when the default system breaks or gets tampered with. Updating and upgrading systems on a regular basis prevents infiltrations and malfunctions which enhance data availability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With each letter representing a foundational principle in cybersecurity, the importance of the CIA triad security model speaks for itself. Confidentiality, integrity and availability together are considered the three most important concepts within information security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Considering these three principles together within the framework of the “triad” can help guide the development of security policies for organizations. When evaluating needs and use cases for potential new products and technologies, the triad helps organizations ask focused questions about how value is being provided in those three key areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIntegrity<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Examples of integrity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Availability<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Examples of availability<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Importance of the CIA triad in cybersecurity<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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