Quiz Entry - updated: 2026.07.14
What are the three classic IT security goals (CIA triad)?
The CIA triad consists of Confidentiality (information stays secret), Integrity (information stays correct and unaltered), and Availability (information and systems remain accessible when needed).
* The CIA triad of information security. — Michel Bakni, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. *
The three pillars:
| Goal | Definition | Key Question |
|---|---|---|
| Confidentiality | Information can only be read by authorized subjects | Who is allowed to see this? |
| Integrity | Information and processing methods remain correct and complete | Has this been tampered with? |
| Availability | Users can access information and systems when needed | Can I use this when I need it? |
Measures for each:
- Confidentiality: Encryption (symmetric/asymmetric), access controls, secure deletion
- Integrity: Checksums, digital signatures, version control, audit logs
- Availability: Redundancy, backups, diversity (avoiding single points of failure)
The CIA triad is the foundation of all IT security — every security measure, policy, and design decision ultimately serves one or more of these three goals.
Go deeper:
Information security (Wikipedia) — the canonical Confidentiality/Integrity/Availability model.