CompTIA Security + 701 1.2 Security Concepts — The CIA triad

The CIA triad is the cornerstone of security strategy, used to protect information and systems. CIA stands for Confidentiality, Integrity and availability. Together they define the primary goals of information security.

Confidentiality- keeping data private

Confidentiality ensures that sensitive information is only accessible to authorised users. If an authorised user gains access to this information- this is a breach of confidentiality.

How do we protect confidentiality?

Encryption- transforms data (plain text) into unreadable code for unauthorised users.

Access controls- we employ these to limit who can view or edit information.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) — this adds extra verification beyond passwords.

Integrity- ensuring data is accurate

Integrity is all about keeping data accurate, complete and un-altered.

How we maintain integrity?

Hashing- this verifies that data hasn’t changed during transmission.

Digital signatures- these confirm the origin and integrity of messages.

Regular backups- helps restore the data if its been tampered with.

Availability- keeping systems accessible

Availability guarantees that systems and data are accessible when they are needed. No matter how secure a system is, if the authorised users cant access the information during critical times, it becomes a problem.

How do we ensure availability?

Redundancy- duplicate systems to prevent single points of failure.

Failover systems- these automatically switch over to backup servers during outages.

DDoS protection- prevent denial-of-service attacks from taking systems offline.

Why the CIA triad matters.

The CIA triad forms the foundation of cybersecurity strategy. When designing security measures, organisations must balance all three.

Protect data from unauthorised access- confidentiality

Ensure data remains accurate and trustworthy- integrity

Keep systems and information accessible to those who need it- availability

Failing in anyone of these areas can lead to serious risk. They key to achieve the right trade-offs to balance the triad.