Overview
This lecture introduces the CIA Triad—Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability—as the foundational concept of cybersecurity, explaining its components, relevance, and associated controls.
The CIA Triad: Core Concepts
- The CIA Triad stands for Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability.
- It is the fundamental model for all cybersecurity principles and strategies.
Confidentiality
- Confidentiality means protecting information from unauthorized access or disclosure.
- In banking, it prevents others from seeing your account details.
- Controls for confidentiality include encryption, access controls, and physical locks.
Integrity
- Integrity ensures information is not changed when it shouldn't be.
- In banking, it prevents unauthorized changes to your account balance or details.
- Controls for integrity include hashing and integrity monitoring.
Availability
- Availability ensures resources and data are accessible when needed.
- In banking, it means you can access your account or money whenever required.
- Controls for availability include backups, hot sites, clustering, load balancing, and redundancy.
Security Controls Linked to the CIA Triad
- Confidentiality: Encryption, access controls, and physical locks.
- Integrity: Hashing and monitoring data for unauthorized changes.
- Availability: Backups, redundant systems, and disaster recovery strategies.
Application of CIA Triad in Cybersecurity Jobs
- All cybersecurity roles focus on maintaining the CIA Triad in different ways.
- Penetration testers search for vulnerabilities to help maintain CIA.
- Auditors and security engineers implement and check for CIA controls.
- SOC analysts respond to incidents to protect the CIA Triad.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Confidentiality — Protecting information from unauthorized access or disclosure.
- Integrity — Maintaining the accuracy and consistency of data.
- Availability — Ensuring resources are accessible when needed.
- Encryption — Encoding data to prevent unauthorized access.
- Hashing — Creating a unique digital fingerprint to check data integrity.
- Access Control — Mechanisms that restrict who can access certain data or systems.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review examples of CIA Triad in real-world scenarios (e.g., banking, e-commerce).
- Consider how each cybersecurity job role supports the CIA Triad.
- Think about interview questions regarding the CIA Triad for future job preparation.