The
fundamental principles of information security include:-
·
Confidentiality:
Confidentiality is the term used to prevent th e disclosure of information to
unauthorized individuals or systems. Breaches of confidentiality take many
forms. Permitting someone to look over your shoulder at your computer screen
while you have confidential data displayed on it could be a breach of
confidentiality. If a laptop computer containing sensitive information about a
company's employees is stolen or sold, it could result in a breach of
confidentiality. Giving out confidential information over the telephone is a
breach of confidentiality if the caller is not authorized to have the
information.
·
Availability:
For any information system to serve its purpose, the information must be
available when it is needed. This means that the computing systems used to
store and process the information, the security controls used to protect it,
and the communication channels used to access it must be functioning correctly.
High availability systems aim to remain available at all times, preventing
service disruptions due to power outages, hardware failures, and system
upgrades.
·
Integrity:
In information security, integrity means that data cannot be modified without
authorization. This is not the same thing as referential integrity in
databases. Integrity is violated when an employee accidentally or with
malicious intent deletes important data files, when a computer virus infects a
computer, when an employee is able to modify his own salary in a payroll
database, when an unauthorized user vandalizes a web site, when someone is able
to cast a very large number of votes in an online poll.
User questions & answers