integrityavailabilityconfidentiality

Information Security


A keylogger program intercepts user password and is used to modify the user account , Is it a violation of confidentiality ,integrity ,or availability or some of combination of them ?


Solution

  • A Keylogger program intercepts user password

    Scenario 1 :

    Your friend invites you to use his laptop for a project you are working on. It requires you to log-into your mail accounts and other critical resources. After you are done, Your friend opens the keylogger program that has been running at the background and reads the logs generated.

    This is a clear breach to Confidentiality and Integrity aspects of the CIA triad.

    Your Friend also decides to login with your credentials with a purpose of changing the passwords and block you from accessing your account.

    This reduces (or) completely denies the availability of the resource.

    Scenario 2 :

    You join an IT-Corporate as a technical trainee. You become the Employee of the company after reading all the policies laid by them and signing/Agreeing to them. You are provided with login credentials on the first week of joining. The Corporate requires you not to use your personal mail accounts so they can maintain confidentiality to their internal assets. The company runs keyloggers on all the systems and frequently monitors logs. The IT policy supports this case of keylogging and you have signed it previously.

    Such a case doesn't breach the CIA triad (Confidentiality , Integrity & Availability)

    Practically the second scenario is very casually(my experience) practiced for any prudent IT-Corporate facility who has a greater risk of their internal assets getting compromised. But make sure that the Keylogging ,Information fair Usage and other documents are kept in place by the organization well ahead and the employees understand these policies.