CIA TRIAD

What is CIA Triad?

It is one of the most common concepts in Cyber Security, and every system and organization follows it.

CIA stands for Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. These three principles are critical to securing information systems and ensuring data is protected and reliable. Here’s an explanation of each concept with real-time examples:

1. Confidentiality: It ensures that our information or data is secure, and only authorized users can access it.

For an Example: An online banking system uses encryption protocols (like SSL/TLS) to protect users’ financial data during transmission. Additionally, access controls and authentication mechanisms (like multi-factor authentication) ensure that only the account holder and authorized bank employees can access account information.

2. Integrity: It ensures that our data is not altered or tampered with by any third party. This means that any changes should be made by an authorized user.

For an Example: In an online shopping platform, integrity is maintained by using checksums (like MD5, SHA-256) to verify that files and data sent between the server and users are not tampered with. If a user places an order, the system ensures that the correct product and price data remain unchanged from the initial purchase through to the final confirmation page. Any data modification would trigger an alert or error.

3. Availability: It means that data should be available to valid and authorized users. When authorized users want to access data, it should be accessible.

For an Example: A cloud service provider ensures the availability of its services through redundancy and load balancing. For example, Google Drive uses multiple data centers worldwide to store data and provide access to users. Even if one data center experiences a failure, data is still accessible from other data centers, ensuring continuous availability of services.

Note:- Additionally, properties such as Authenticity, Accountability, Non-repudiation, and Reliability are indeed important in information security and are often considered alongside the CIA Triad. These properties complement the CIA Triad and contribute to a comprehensive approach to information security.

Why we use CIA Triad?

We use the CIA Triad to provide a comprehensive framework for protecting information and systems. It ensures the confidentiality of sensitive data, maintains the integrity of information by preventing unauthorized alterations, and guarantees the availability of resources to authorized users. By addressing these three aspects, organizations can effectively manage security risks, comply with legal and regulatory requirements, and build trust with stakeholders.