1.2 Summarize fundamental security concepts
📘CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701), Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate (200-201 CBROPS v1.2, 2025 Update)
💡 What is the CIA Triad?
The CIA Triad is a core security model used in cybersecurity to protect data and systems.
It represents three main goals of information security:
- Confidentiality
- Integrity
- Availability
These three principles ensure that information is protected, accurate, and accessible when needed.
Every security control, policy, or technology in IT is designed to support one or more parts of this triad.
🔒 1. Confidentiality
Definition:
Confidentiality means keeping information secret and private. Only authorized people, systems, or processes should have access to it.
In simple terms — confidentiality ensures that unauthorized users cannot see or read data.
✅ How confidentiality is maintained in IT
Here are some common ways to protect confidentiality in an IT environment:
- Encryption:
Data is converted into unreadable code.
Example: Encrypting emails, databases, or files so that even if someone steals the data, they can’t read it without the encryption key. - Access Control:
Only specific users or roles can access certain data.
Example: In a company network, only HR staff can open employee salary files. - Authentication and Authorization:
- Authentication confirms who you are (e.g., using passwords, smart cards, biometrics).
- Authorization confirms what you are allowed to access (e.g., system permissions).
- Data Classification and Labeling:
Organizations label data as Public, Internal, Confidential, or Top Secret, and apply security based on its level. - Network Security Controls:
Tools like firewalls, VPNs, and intrusion prevention systems protect data as it travels through networks.
🚫 Threats to confidentiality
Common threats that violate confidentiality include:
- Unauthorized access: Hackers stealing login credentials.
- Data leaks: Sensitive data accidentally sent to the wrong person or published online.
- Eavesdropping / Sniffing: Attackers capturing network traffic to read unencrypted data.
- Social engineering / phishing: Tricking users into revealing confidential information.
⚙️ 2. Integrity
Definition:
Integrity means protecting data from being modified, tampered with, or destroyed — whether by accident or intentionally.
It ensures that information remains accurate, complete, and trustworthy.
In short, integrity makes sure that data is correct and has not been changed without permission.
✅ How integrity is maintained in IT
Methods and technologies that help maintain data integrity include:
- Hashing:
A mathematical process that creates a unique value (called a hash) for a file or message.
If even one character changes, the hash value changes — helping detect unauthorized modifications.
Example: Hashes are used to verify file downloads or check integrity of log files. - Digital Signatures:
Ensure that data is from a verified sender and hasn’t been altered during transmission. - Checksums and CRCs (Cyclic Redundancy Checks):
Used in network communication and storage to detect accidental data corruption. - Access Control and Permissions:
Restricting who can edit, delete, or modify data. - Version Control:
In development or documentation environments, version control systems (like Git) track changes to files, ensuring previous versions can be restored if needed. - Backups and Recovery Plans:
If data corruption happens, backups help restore the original, accurate data.
🚫 Threats to integrity
Common threats to data integrity include:
- Unauthorized modifications: Attackers altering files, system settings, or records.
- Malware infections: Viruses or ransomware modifying or destroying data.
- Human error: Users accidentally deleting or overwriting important files.
- Transmission errors: Data getting corrupted while being sent over a network.
🖥️ 3. Availability
Definition:
Availability means ensuring that data, systems, and services are accessible when authorized users need them.
In other words, it ensures that IT resources are up and running properly so that work can continue without interruption.
✅ How availability is maintained in IT
To maintain availability, organizations use methods like:
- Redundancy:
Having backup systems or components that can take over if one fails.
Example: Using multiple servers or network paths. - Load Balancing:
Distributing workload across multiple systems to prevent any single system from overloading. - Fault Tolerance:
Designing systems that continue to operate even when part of the system fails. - Regular Backups:
Keeping copies of data ensures it can be restored quickly after hardware failure or attack. - Patch Management:
Keeping systems updated to prevent downtime from software vulnerabilities. - Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) and Generators:
Prevent power outages from shutting down critical systems. - Disaster Recovery Plans (DRP):
Procedures to restore operations after incidents like cyberattacks or natural disasters.
🚫 Threats to availability
Common threats include:
- Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks: Flooding systems or networks to make them unavailable.
- Hardware failures: Crashed hard drives, server malfunctions, or power outages.
- Natural disasters: Fire, flood, or earthquakes disrupting systems.
- Software bugs: Faulty updates or misconfigurations that cause downtime.
- Human errors: Mistakes leading to system outages or data deletion.
🔁 Summary Table — CIA Triad Overview
| Principle | Goal | Common IT Controls | Example Threats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confidentiality | Keep data secret and private | Encryption, Access Control, Authentication | Data leak, Unauthorized access |
| Integrity | Keep data accurate and unchanged | Hashing, Digital Signatures, Backups | Tampering, Malware, Human error |
| Availability | Keep systems and data accessible | Redundancy, Load balancing, Backups | DoS attack, Hardware failure, Natural disaster |
🧠 Exam Tip (for CompTIA Security+ SY0-701)
- The CIA Triad is a fundamental concept you’ll see throughout the exam.
- Remember:
- Confidentiality → Prevent unauthorized access.
- Integrity → Prevent unauthorized modification.
- Availability → Prevent downtime or loss of access.
- Many exam questions will describe a scenario, and you’ll need to identify which part of the CIA Triad is being affected or protected.
✅ In summary:
The CIA Triad forms the foundation of all cybersecurity principles.
Every policy, control, and security decision is made to protect one or more of these three — ensuring that information is private (confidentiality), accurate (integrity), and accessible (availability).
