easyMultiple Choice
200-201 Practice Question: The primary goal of the 'integrity' pillar of the…
What is the primary goal of the 'integrity' pillar of the CIA triad?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between integrity and non-repudiation, as candidates may confuse 'proof of action' (non-repudiation) with 'data unchanged' (integrity), leading them to incorrectly select Option C.
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
✓
Protect data from unauthorized modification
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.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Keep data secret from unauthorized users
Why it's wrong here
Integrity concerns protecting data from unauthorised modification, ensuring accuracy and completeness; confidentiality is the pillar that prevents disclosure to unauthorised users. Confidentiality is tempting because encryption and access control serve both goals, but integrity is about alteration, not secrecy, so this option answers the wrong pillar.
- ✗
Ensure data is accessible when needed
Why it's wrong here
Availability, not integrity, guarantees data is accessible when needed; integrity instead ensures data remains unaltered and trustworthy. Accessibility is tempting because outages and denial-of-service attacks dominate headlines, and availability would be the correct pillar when the requirement is uptime, redundancy or disaster recovery rather than detecting unauthorised modification.
- ✗
Provide proof that a user performed an action
Why it's wrong here
Non-repudiation, not integrity, provides proof that a user performed an action; integrity only confirms data has not been altered. Non-repudiation is tempting because digital signatures and audit trails sound like data protection, and it would be correct when the requirement is proving a specific user actually sent, signed or approved something.
- ✓
Protect data from unauthorized modification
Why this is correct
Integrity guarantees data remains accurate and unaltered unless changed by an authorised process, directly satisfying the stem's focus on detecting or preventing unauthorised modification. Unlike confidentiality, which restricts read access, integrity targets write and alteration operations, ensuring trustworthiness of stored and transmitted information.
About these practice questions
One of 968 original 200-201 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.