Difficulty: Easy

Average Score: 89%

Which scenario demonstrates a violation of the integrity component of the CIA triad?

Rationale

An employee accidentally modified a customer account incorrectly.

This scenario illustrates a violation of integrity within the CIA triad, as it involves unauthorized changes to data that compromise its accuracy and reliability. Integrity ensures that information remains unchanged except by authorized users, and the accidental modification disrupts this fundamental principle.

A (A company stores sensitive customer data without access controls.) YOUR ANSWER

While lacking access controls poses a risk to confidentiality, it does not directly impact the integrity of the data itself. Integrity concerns focus on the accuracy and consistency of data, whereas this scenario primarily highlights a vulnerability that could lead to unauthorized access.

B (A network's domain name system server has not been fully operational for one month.) YOUR ANSWER

This situation pertains to availability, another component of the CIA triad, not integrity. Availability focuses on ensuring that systems and data are accessible when needed, whereas integrity deals with the correctness of the information stored and processed.

D (A company has an unacceptably high network downtime during high-traffic time periods.) YOUR ANSWER

Similar to option B, this scenario addresses the availability aspect of the CIA triad. High network downtime affects users' ability to access services but does not inherently compromise the accuracy or reliability of the data, which is the essence of integrity.

Conclusion

Integrity is a core principle of the CIA triad that ensures data remains accurate and trustworthy. The accidental modification of a customer account exemplifies a failure to uphold this principle, as it directly alters data integrity. In contrast, the other options relate to confidentiality and availability, demonstrating that integrity violations specifically arise from unauthorized or incorrect data changes.

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