Which security property is encryption primarily intended to protect?

Which security property is encryption primarily intended to protect?

• A. Confidentiality
• B. Availability
• C. Integrity
• D. Authenticity

Answer: (A)

Encryption is designed to keep information private by making it unreadable to anyone who doesn’t have the key. That focus on preventing disclosure is what we call confidentiality. If data is intercepted or accessed by an unauthorized party, they shouldn’t be able to understand it because it’s encrypted. Availability is about ensuring systems and data are accessible when needed, which isn’t the primary goal of encryption; in fact, losing keys can make data inaccessible. Integrity is about detecting any tampering, which standard encryption doesn’t guarantee unless you use authenticated encryption or add a message authentication mechanism. Authenticity concerns confirming who created or sent the data, which also requires additional mechanisms like digital signatures or certificates beyond basic encryption. So, the core purpose of encryption is to protect confidentiality.

Encryption is designed to keep information private by making it unreadable to anyone who doesn’t have the key. That focus on preventing disclosure is what we call confidentiality. If data is intercepted or accessed by an unauthorized party, they shouldn’t be able to understand it because it’s encrypted.

Availability is about ensuring systems and data are accessible when needed, which isn’t the primary goal of encryption; in fact, losing keys can make data inaccessible. Integrity is about detecting any tampering, which standard encryption doesn’t guarantee unless you use authenticated encryption or add a message authentication mechanism. Authenticity concerns confirming who created or sent the data, which also requires additional mechanisms like digital signatures or certificates beyond basic encryption.

So, the core purpose of encryption is to protect confidentiality.