Availability is one of the three data quality attributes of data according to the CIA triad of information security and means that the authorized user can obtain data from the system at any time when needed. Assured availability means that the data or information is available, i.e. that it has not been made unavailable. Unwanted state is data unavailability.
- Assured availability protects information from loss or unavailability
- Assured availability prevents loss of data and information
- Broken availability means that the data is not available
- Broken availability can lead to partial or complete loss of data and information
Unavailability can be permanent (for example, when a data carrier is lost or stolen) or temporary (for example, when a system, electricity, or service fails).
It is not enough to ensure only the availability of data and information, it must also be confidential and integral, not corrupted.
Basic measures to ensure data availability
To maintain availability, we then need to prevent service, system, or application disruptions or ensure that availability is restored quickly.
- Data Backup
- Data recovery (Disaster recovery)
- Maintaining high availability of system operation
- Protection against data theft (e.g. against unwanted encryption and blackmail - so-called ransomware)