The CIA triad

The CIA triad is a foundational model in information security that outlines the three core principles of information security: confidentiality, integrity, and availability. It was initially mentioned in Computer Security Technology Planning Study, known as The Anderson Report, in 1972, authored by a team led by William Anderson. The concept was then discussed in the book, Computer Security A Practitioner’s Approach in the 1980s by Frederick Cohen. The term CIA triad was coined later by Steve Lipner around 1986. The CIA triad was popularized by Willis Ware in 1993 from his study distributed by the US think tank, Research and Development Corporation (RAND). Since then, it has gained popularity in the cybersecurity landscape.

The CIA triad is shown in Figure 14.1:

Figure 14.1 – The CIA triad

We will briefly introduce each principle in the following sections.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality ensures that sensitive information...