A Survey of Information Security Categories, Explained

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A Survey of Information Security Categories

Software Engineering · Chapter 12: Reliability Engineering and SecuritySection 12.4 · lesson 78 of 1036 min · free with a free account

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In this lesson

What security actually protects - and the broad threats against it.

  • Name and describe the 3 properties of the CIA triad
  • Identify threats to each property, and how each is protected
  • Relate security's availability to reliability's
  • Survey the broad categories of threat and vulnerability

Transcript

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Reliability Engineering and Security

A Survey of Information Security Categories

Before getting into how security gets tested, it helps to be clear about what it is actually protecting. Three properties do most of the work of defining secure in practice. And a system that loses any one of them has failed at security, no matter how well it holds up on the other two.

The CIA Triad

What Is Security Protecting?

Security is commonly organized around three core properties, together known as the C I A triad. Confidentiality, integrity, and availability. This gives a shared vocabulary for talking about what a specific threat actually threatens. A data leak, a tampered record, and an outage are three very different problems. Naming which property each one attacks is the first step toward addressing it properly.

Figure 1

3 Corners, 1 Goal

Picture the three properties as the corners of a triangle. Confidentiality means information is seen only by the authorized. Integrity means it stays accurate and untampered. Availability means it is usable when needed. Security is all three, together. Lose any one corner, and the system has failed at security, however well the other two hold up.

Confidentiality

Keeping Information From the Wrong Eyes

Confidentiality means information is accessible only to those authorized to see it. It is protection against unauthorized disclosure. Threats to confidentiality include unauthorized access to data, eavesdropping on communications in transit, and outright data leaks or breaches. At a conceptual level, it is protected in two ways. Access controls limit who can reach the information in the first place. And encryption keeps it unreadable to anyone who reaches it without authorization anyway.

Integrity

Keeping Information Trustworthy

Integrity means information and systems stay accurate, and have not been improperly altered. That alteration could come from deliberate tampering, or from accidental corruption. A record that has been quietly changed is an integrity failure either way, whether an attacker was covering their tracks, or a simple system error did it. Integrity is protected by mechanisms that can detect unauthorized change, and access controls that limit who can modify what. And by audit trails, which record what changed, and when.

Availability

Keeping Systems Usable When Needed

Availability means authorized users can actually access a system, or its information, when they need to. Threats include deliberate attempts to overwhelm a system, so that legitimate users cannot use it. They also include entirely unintentional disruptions, like hardware failure, a natural disaster, or any other event that makes a system inaccessible. This is the same word used in the reliability material, approached from a different direction. Reliability engineering protects availability against ordinary faults. Security protects the same property against deliberate attempts to take a system down, as well.

Worth Noticing

2 Out of 3 Still Fails

Here is something worth noticing. Imagine a system that is perfectly confidential, and always available. But it silently lets anyone alter its data. That system has failed at integrity. And that failure matters just as much as the other two would have. Each property matters independently, so excelling at two does not make up for the third.

Table 1

A Brief Survey of Threats

A handful of broad categories cover most of what threatens these three properties in practice. Malware is software designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a system. Social engineering manipulates people, rather than attacking systems directly, into compromising security. Unpatched software carries known, fixable weaknesses that have not been addressed with an available update. And insider threats come from people who already have legitimate access, whether through malicious intent, or simple carelessness.

Apply It

Which Property Is Attacked?

Let's apply that. Which property does each event attack? Someone eavesdrops on unencrypted network traffic. That attacks confidentiality. A bug silently corrupts customer records, with no attacker involved at all. That is still an integrity failure. Integrity is about accuracy, regardless of intent. An accident that changes data still breaks it. And a flood of requests keeps legitimate users out. That attacks availability.

Key Terms

The Vocabulary of This Section

Let's lock in the key terms. Confidentiality is information being accessible only to those authorized to see it. Integrity is information and systems remaining accurate, and free from improper alteration. Availability is a system being accessible to authorized users, when needed. Malware is software designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a system. And social engineering is manipulating people, rather than technical systems, into actions that compromise security.

Key Takeaways

What to Carry Forward

To pull this together. Security protects three properties. Confidentiality, integrity, and availability, known together as the C I A triad. Naming which property a threat attacks is the first step toward addressing it. Integrity breaks whether a change is deliberate or accidental. Security guards availability against deliberate attacks, as well as the accidents reliability already covers. And failing any one of the three properties is a real security failure.

About Software Engineering at UPI Study

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How professional software gets builtSoftware Engineering covers how teams turn requirements into working, maintainable software: process models, agile, requirements, design, testing, reliability and project management. It is a core course in computer science and software degrees.
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Where the credit goes

Universities that work with NCCRS

Software Engineering carries a NCCRS credit recommendation. These universities work with NCCRS; some are UPI Study's signed partners. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.

Thomas Edison State UniversityThomas Edison State UniversitySigned partnerUniversity of the PeopleUniversity of the PeopleSigned partnerCharter Oak State CollegeCharter Oak State CollegeSigned partnerStrayer UniversityStrayer UniversitySigned partnerColumbia Southern UniversityColumbia Southern UniversitySigned partnerIndiana TechIndiana TechSigned partnerPenn StatePenn StateWorks with NCCRSSouthern New Hampshire UniversitySouthern New Hampshire UniversityWorks with NCCRSSUNYSUNYWorks with NCCRS +many more cooperating universitiesFind my college →

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FAQ

Questions students ask us

About A Survey of Information Security Categories

What is the CIA triad in information security?
The CIA triad is the set of three core properties security protects: confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Confidentiality means only authorized people can see information, integrity means it stays accurate and untampered, and availability means authorized users can reach it when needed. A system that loses any one property has failed at security, even if the other two hold up well.
How is confidentiality different from integrity in security?
Confidentiality protects information from unauthorized disclosure, while integrity protects it from improper alteration. Eavesdropping on unencrypted traffic breaks confidentiality because the wrong people see the data, whereas a quietly changed record breaks integrity. Confidentiality relies on access controls and encryption. Integrity relies on mechanisms that detect unauthorized change, access controls on who can modify data, and audit trails.
Is accidental data corruption a security failure?
Yes, accidental corruption is an integrity failure even when no attacker is involved, because integrity is about accuracy regardless of intent. A bug that silently corrupts customer records breaks integrity just as deliberate tampering would. That is why protections such as change detection and audit trails matter for ordinary system errors as well as for attacks.
What are the common categories of information security threats?
Common broad categories of threat include malware, social engineering, unpatched software, and insider threats. Malware is software built to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a system. Social engineering manipulates people rather than attacking systems directly. Unpatched software carries known weaknesses whose available fixes were never applied. Insider threats come from people with legitimate access, through malicious intent or simple carelessness.

About the Software Engineering course

How many college credits is Software Engineering?
Software Engineering (Computer Science 301) carries a NCCRS credit recommendation for 3 semester credits. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
How much does Software Engineering cost and what is included?
$250, paid once, with lifetime access: all 103 video lessons, a practice quiz after each, the graded work and final exam, and an official transcript when you finish. Students who want several courses choose UPI Study PRO instead.
Which universities accept UPI Study credits?
UPI Study has signed partner agreements with universities such as Thomas Edison State University, University of the People and Charter Oak State College, and works with universities such as Penn State, SNHU and SUNY. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities. Use "Find my college" on this page to check yours.
How long does Software Engineering take?
It is self-paced with no deadlines. The 103 lessons total about 11 hours of video; most students add reading and practice time and finish in a few weeks to a few months, on their own schedule.
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Quizzes and assignments are online in the course. The final exam is taken online with proctoring; a person on the UPI Study team checks assignments, usually within two days.
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