ISC2 CC Security Principles Practice Question
A company uses redundant servers and automated failover to ensure that its website remains accessible during a server outage. Which principle of the CIA triad is being addressed?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is conflating availability with integrity — candidates see 'redundant servers' and think 'data accuracy,' but redundancy addresses uptime, not data correctness.
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
✓
Availability
Availability ensures that systems and data are accessible to authorized users when needed. Redundant servers and automated failover directly address availability by eliminating single points of failure and enabling continuous service during outages. Integrity concerns data accuracy, confidentiality concerns unauthorized disclosure, and non-repudiation concerns proving an action occurred — none of which are addressed by redundancy.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Non-repudiation
Why it's wrong here
Non-repudiation proves the origin and authenticity of a message or action, typically through digital signatures, and says nothing about keeping a website reachable. It is tempting because it is a security principle, but redundancy and failover address availability, not proof of who performed an action.
- ✗
Integrity
Why it's wrong here
Integrity ensures data is unaltered and trustworthy, verified through hashes or checksums; redundant servers and failover do not detect or prevent modification. It is tempting because both concern reliable systems, but the scenario's uptime requirement maps to availability, not integrity.
- ✓
Availability
Why this is correct
Redundant servers with automated failover keep the website reachable when a server fails, so uptime is maintained rather than data secrecy or integrity. This directly satisfies the stem's accessibility-during-outage constraint, which maps to the availability principle of the CIA triad.
- ✗
Confidentiality
Why it's wrong here
Redundant servers and automated failover maintain uptime and service availability, which maps to the availability principle, not confidentiality. Confidentiality concerns restricting data access through encryption, access controls and masking. It is tempting because the CIA triad is often listed together, but confidentiality would be the correct focus only when protecting data from unauthorised disclosure.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Key term
Confidentiality Integrity and Availability
The CIA Triad is a foundational security model that ensures data is kept secret, unaltered, and accessible when needed.
Key term
Redundancy
Redundancy is the practice of adding extra components or systems so that if one fails, another can take over without interruption.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official ISC2 exam blueprint
This CC practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 CC exam.