Absolute OpenBSD, 2nd Edition

What Is Security?

We bandy the word security around a whole lot, so it’s worth taking a moment to talk about security itself. We all have a vague idea of what it means. “Security” means your stuff is safe, and other folks can’t get it. That’s fine, as far as it goes, but it doesn’t go far enough. In information technology, security has three parts:

Confidentiality

This means that secret data should remain secret. Your private information must not get into the public eye. That Eastern European kiddie porn syndicate should not get your credit card number.

Integrity

This means that data on the system should not be changed without authorization. Your records should remain intact. That intruder should not change the shipping address on an order, ...