Dictionary · Cybersecurity Fundamentals
CIA Triad
CIA — Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability
Goals · Beginner
Three security goals used together: keeping information private, keeping it trustworthy, and keeping systems usable when people need them.
Security decisions usually protect one or more of these goals. A lock supports privacy, a checksum supports trustworthiness, and a backup supports the ability to keep working.
Picture it
Confidentiality keeps information from the wrong parties. Integrity shows whether it changed. Availability keeps it usable when people need it.
Example: Encrypting a laptop protects confidentiality. File hashes support integrity. A second data center supports availability. Together they illustrate the CIA triad.
Common misconception
- The initials are not the intelligence agency. In security class, this triad is three goals.