CIA Triad (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability)

 

The CIA Triad is the foundation of cybersecurity. It ensures data and systems are protected from unauthorized access, modification, and downtime.

1. Confidentiality 🔒

Ensures that data is only accessible to authorized individuals.

• Example: Your bank account details should be visible only to you and the bank, not hackers.
• Risk: If a hacker steals your password, they can access your account.

2. Integrity 🛠️

Ensures data remains unaltered unless changed by authorized entities.

• Example: When sending an email, the content should not be modified during transmission.
• Risk: A hacker could alter financial transactions, changing a $100 transfer to $10,000.

3. Availability 🌐

Ensures systems and data are accessible when needed.

• Example: A hospital’s patient database must be available at all times for doctors.
• Risk: A DDoS attack on an e-commerce website prevents customers from shopping.

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Beyond CIA: Additional Security Concepts

1. Authenticity ✅

Ensures that data comes from a verified source.

• Example: A digital signature confirms that an email is from your manager and not a scammer.

2. Nonrepudiation 📜

Prevents denial of an action after it has occurred.

• Example: An online banking transaction has a receipt proving the transfer happened.

3. Parkerian Hexad 🏛️

In addition to CIA, Donn Parker introduced:

• Utility: Data must be useful. (Example: An encrypted file without a key is useless.)
• Possession: Data should not be stolen or controlled by attackers. (Example: Ransomware encrypting your files means you lose possession of your data.)