ISC2 CC Security Principles Practice Question
A security professional is implementing a file integrity monitoring (FIM) system on critical servers. Which element of the CIA triad does this primarily address?
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
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Integrity
File integrity monitoring detects unauthorized changes to files, ensuring data accuracy and completeness, which is the integrity element.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Confidentiality
Why it's wrong here
FIM detects unauthorised modification of files, addressing integrity, not confidentiality, which concerns disclosure prevention via encryption and access control. Confidentiality is tempting because both are CIA elements, but FIM does not restrict who reads data.
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Availability
Why it's wrong here
FIM detects unauthorised file changes, protecting integrity, not availability; availability concerns uptime and access to data or services. It is tempting because file tampering can precede outages, but availability monitoring covers service reachability and redundancy, not file hashes.
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Non-repudiation
Why it's wrong here
Non-repudiation proves an action occurred and who performed it, typically via signatures or logs; FIM detects unauthorised file changes, which is integrity. Non-repudiation is tempting because FIM logs can support audits, but its primary CIA property is integrity.
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Integrity
Why this is correct
File integrity monitoring detects unauthorised changes to critical files by comparing hashes against a known baseline. This directly addresses integrity, ensuring data and system files remain unaltered and trustworthy, rather than focusing on confidentiality or availability.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Key term
CIA triad
The CIA triad is a foundational security model that guides organizations in protecting data through confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Key term
Integrity
Integrity is the assurance that data has not been altered or tampered with in an unauthorized way, preserving its accuracy and consistency from source to destination.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.