ITPEC IP April 2022 Question 38
Among confidentiality, integrity, and availability, which of the following is the list that contains all and only the properties that are lost in the information security incident below?
All of the files on a server in the workplace were encrypted and saved. However, the server was infected by a virus, and a number of the files were deleted. Elimination of the virus and recovery of the files required several hours. During the hours, work could not be performed, and users were inconvenienced. Some files were unable to be recovered.
Explanation
Integrity and availability — the incident deletes data and stops work, but nothing is disclosed.
- •Integrity: files were deleted and some could not be recovered, so the stored information is no longer complete and accurate.
- •Availability: removing the virus and recovering the files took several hours, during which work could not be performed, so authorized users could not use the information when needed.
- •Confidentiality: the files were encrypted, and the incident describes no disclosure to an unauthorized party, so it is not lost.
Answer (c)
Why not others:
- •(a) Confidentiality — nothing was leaked or viewed by an outsider; the damage is deletion and downtime
- •(b) Confidentiality, integrity — adds a loss the incident does not describe and drops availability, even though work stopped for hours
- •(d) Availability — misses integrity: files that could not be recovered mean the data is no longer complete
Key rule: Match each CIA property to its symptom: disclosure breaks confidentiality, deletion or alteration breaks integrity, and being unable to use the data when needed breaks availability.
Security · AI-written, may contain errors
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