A retail payroll spreadsheet was mailed to the wrong distribution list. The file was not altered, and the mail server stayed up. Which principle of the CIA triad was harmed?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
Confidentiality is the envelope, not the question of whether the letter was edited or the post office was open. You mailed payroll names to people who were not supposed to see them, the file was not changed, and the server stayed up, so the harm is a loss of confidentiality. Integrity and availability describe the failures the stem says did not happen.
Full Explanation
The CIA triad separates confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Confidentiality means only authorized parties can read the information. The payroll spreadsheet reached a distribution list that should not have had it. That is a confidentiality failure. Integrity means the information was not altered. The stem says the file was not altered, so integrity held, even though a changed file is the usual neighbor of a mail incident. Availability means authorized users can reach the service. The mail server stayed up, so this mailing did not take the system away. Non-repudiation is about a sender being unable to deny an action. Nobody is denying the send. The harm is that the wrong readers could open the list. Exam caveat: one incident can harm more than one principle if the file was also edited or the server was also down. Here the only harm described is disclosure. Operational check: recall the message if the system allows it, confirm the distribution list, and restrict it so payroll spreadsheets go only to the intended recipients.