ITPEC FE Morning October 2019 Question 37

Topic: SecurityAlso asked in March 2018

Which of the following is an attack that threatens the “integrity” of information?

Explanation

Falsification of a web page — altering content without authorisation destroys its integrity, the property that information is accurate and complete.

The three elements of information security each have typical threats: confidentiality is broken when information is disclosed, integrity when it is altered, and availability when it cannot be used. Tampering with, or defacing, a web page changes the information itself.

Answer (b)

Why not others:

  • •(a) — a DoS attack stops the service from responding, which threatens availability; no data is changed
  • •(c) — tapping reads the communication without changing it, which threatens confidentiality
  • •(d) — unauthorised copying discloses the data, also a threat to confidentiality; the original is left intact

Key rule: Ask what the attack does to the information: disclosed breaks confidentiality, changed breaks integrity, made unusable breaks availability.

Security · AI-written, may contain errors

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