Cyber Security Concepts
What this domain covers
Cyber security is the practice of protecting information and the systems that hold it from unauthorised access, change, loss, or disruption. Understand the CIA triad: confidentiality (only authorised people can read data), integrity (data is accurate and unaltered), and availability (data and services are reachable when needed). Most attacks can be mapped to one of these three.
Know the principle of least privilege (give people only the access their role requires), defence in depth (layered controls, so one failure does not expose everything), and authentication vs authorisation. Authentication proves who you are (password, token, fingerprint); authorisation decides what you may do. Multi-factor authentication combines factors from different categories: something you know, something you have, something you are.
Distinguish vulnerability (a weakness), threat (something that could exploit it), and risk (the likelihood and impact of that happening). A malicious insider is authorised but acts wrongly; an accidental insider makes an honest mistake.
Traps in questions
- Confusing authentication with authorisation; read whether the question asks about identity or permission.
- Treating backup as a confidentiality control - it is primarily about availability and recovery.
- Assuming encryption alone prevents data loss; it protects confidentiality, not deletion.
- Calling a vulnerability a threat, or vice versa.
Rule of thumb
Before answering, ask: which leg of the CIA triad is at stake, and is the question about proving identity or granting permission? That single check resolves most conceptual items.