Malicious attacks and component failures are threats to which principle?

The principle that is primarily threatened by malicious attacks and component failures is availability. Availability refers to the assurance that systems, services, and data are accessible when needed by authorized users.

Malicious attacks can disrupt services and render systems inoperable, making information or resources unavailable to those who are authorized to access them. For instance, denial-of-service (DoS) attacks intentionally overwhelm a system’s resources, leading to service outages. Similarly, component failures, such as hardware malfunctions or outages due to natural disasters, can also impede access to critical systems and information.

Maintaining availability is crucial for business continuity, and organizations implement various strategies and technologies, such as redundancy, backups, and disaster recovery plans, to ensure that their services remain operational even in the face of such threats. This focus on availability underscores the importance of anticipating potential disruptions and mitigating their impact on access to critical resources.