easyMultiple Select
CIA Triad Principles
A healthcare organization uses an online patient portal where patients can view their medical records. Recently, it was discovered that patient records were being modified by an unauthorized insider, and the system suffered a ransomware attack that encrypted the database, making it inaccessible for three days. Which TWO security principles were primarily violated? (Choose two.)
Quick Answer
The answer is integrity and availability. The unauthorized insider modifying patient records directly violates integrity, which guarantees that data has not been altered by unauthorized parties, while the ransomware attack encrypting the database and locking it for three days violates availability, which ensures systems and data are accessible when needed. On the Cisco CyberOps Associate 200-201 exam, this scenario tests your ability to map real-world healthcare breaches to specific CIA triad principles—a common trap is confusing integrity with confidentiality, but remember that confidentiality is about unauthorized viewing, not unauthorized modification. A useful memory tip is to think of the “I” in integrity as “I didn’t change it,” and the “A” in availability as “Always accessible.”
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between confidentiality (unauthorized viewing) and integrity (unauthorized modification), so the trap here is confusing the insider's modification of records as a confidentiality breach rather than an integrity violation.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Integrity
Option C (Integrity) is correct because an unauthorized insider modified patient records, which is a direct violation of data integrity—the assurance that data has not been altered or tampered with by unauthorized parties. Option D (Availability) is correct because the ransomware attack encrypted the database and rendered it inaccessible for three days, directly violating availability, which ensures systems and data are accessible to authorized users when needed. Option A (Confidentiality) is not marked correct because the scenario describes modification and encryption-for-ransom rather than unauthorized disclosure or exposure of patient data. Option B (Authentication) is not marked correct because no failure of identity verification is described; the insider was authorized but acted improperly, and the ransomware is not framed as an authentication bypass. Option E (Non-repudiation) is not marked correct because the scenario does not involve disputing the origin or receipt of a transaction or proving that a specific party performed an action.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Confidentiality
Why it's wrong here
Confidentiality protects data from unauthorised disclosure. Here the insider modified records and ransomware encrypted the database; neither event exposed records to unauthorised readers, so disclosure did not occur. Confidentiality would be violated by a breach that actually leaked patient data.
- ✗
Authentication
Why it's wrong here
Authentication verifies a claimed identity at login. The insider was already an authorised user with valid credentials, and ransomware does not defeat login checks, so identity verification functioned. Authentication would be the violated principle if attackers had logged in using stolen or forged credentials.
- ✓
Integrity
Why this is correct
Unauthorised modification of patient records directly breaches integrity, which guarantees data remains accurate and unaltered except by authorised parties. The insider's tampering satisfies this constraint precisely, independent of the ransomware's availability impact, so integrity is one of the two principles primarily violated.
- ✓
Availability
Why this is correct
Ransomware encrypted the database, rendering patient records inaccessible for three days — directly violating availability, which ensures systems and data remain accessible to authorised users when required. The stem's explicit three-day outage constraint satisfies this principle's failure condition, distinct from integrity, which the unauthorised insider modification separately breached.
- ✗
Non-repudiation
Why it's wrong here
Non-repudiation proves a specific party performed an action, typically via digital signatures or audit trails binding identity to data. The scenario describes integrity loss and availability loss, not a sender denying an action, so no repudiation dispute arises here.
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Same concept, more angles
3 more ways this is tested on 200-201
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. Which of the following is a primary goal of the CIA triad?
easy- A.Redundancy
- B.Scalability
- ✓ C.Availability
- D.Maintainability
Why C: The CIA triad's primary goals are confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Availability ensures that authorized users have reliable and timely access to data and resources when needed, which is a core security objective. Option C is correct because availability is explicitly one of the three pillars of the CIA triad.
Variation 2. What is the primary goal of the 'integrity' pillar of the CIA triad?
easy- A.Keep data secret from unauthorized users
- B.Ensure data is accessible when needed
- C.Provide proof that a user performed an action
- ✓ D.Protect data from unauthorized modification
Why D: The 'integrity' pillar of the CIA triad ensures that data is not altered or tampered with by unauthorized parties. This is achieved through mechanisms such as hashing (e.g., SHA-256), checksums, and digital signatures that detect any unauthorized modification. Option D correctly identifies this goal, as protecting data from unauthorized modification is the core purpose of integrity controls.
Variation 3. Which THREE are principles of the CIA triad? (Select three.)
hard- A.Non-repudiation
- ✓ B.Confidentiality
- C.Accountability
- ✓ D.Integrity
- ✓ E.Availability
Why B: The CIA triad consists of Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability, so options B, D, and E are correct. Confidentiality (B) ensures data is accessible only to authorized parties, typically enforced through encryption, access control lists, and authentication. Integrity (D) ensures data remains accurate and unaltered in transit or at rest, supported by hashing, checksums, and digital signatures. Availability (E) ensures systems and data are accessible to authorized users when needed, achieved through redundancy, backups, and DDoS mitigation. Non-repudiation (A) and accountability (C) are related security principles but are not part of the CIA triad; non-repudiation guarantees a party cannot deny an action, and accountability ties actions to identified entities, both often grouped under broader frameworks like the Parkerian hexad or AAA rather than the core CIA triad.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 200-201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 200-201 exam.