Page 18 - Outsmart Cyberthreats

BIG IDEA 2: Establishing Trust
Trust lies at the heart of a robust, reliable system of data care. To trust an online data system, we need to have faith in three things: the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our data. This is the “CIA triad,” and all trustworthy online sys- tems should be designed so that:
1. Dataisconfidential,accessibleonlytoourselvesandappropriately authorized people in the organization holding our data.
2. Data has integrity; it is correct, authentic, and reliable, corresponding to off-line reality as we know and expect it to be.
3. Data is available, and we can get to it and put it to use when and where we need to.
Designing a data care system that meets these three goals AND is easy to use is tricky. Security and usability are always in tension. If you could just put your name into a bank’s website, check your account, and make a withdrawal, anyone who knew your name and where you banked could easily steal all your money.
On the other hand, if checking your balance meant you had to enter a username and strong password, do a retina scan, and answer three security questions, you would probably feel your money was well protected. But what an incredible pain!
Cybersecurity always means making trade-offs between usability and security. As a user, you should be gauging how well websites protect data you submit: Do passwords have length and character requirements? Does logging in require a one-time code delivered by text to a separate device every time, or “two-factor authentication”? Does the URL start with “https” or just “http”?
Designers of data care systems must balance security requirements with user convenience, but the balance might not always be right for you. You can always just walk away from any website that seems squirrelly. Remember, the only safe, reliable assumption about online data is that nothing is ever completely safe.
18 KIPLINGER’S PERSONAL FINANCE 03/2021 PAGE 18 ➜ OUTSMART CYBERTHREATS