Which term ensures authorized users have access to information, services, and network resources?

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

Answer: (C)

Availability is the idea that ensures authorized users can access information, services, and network resources whenever they need them. It covers keeping systems up and running, with redundancy, backups, and disaster recovery in place, plus protections against outages or attacks that could block access. This focus on reliable access to resources is what the term Availability represents.

Confidentiality and integrity protect different aspects—confidentiality prevents unauthorized reading of data, and integrity keeps data accurate and unaltered. Authentication is the process of verifying a user’s identity before granting access, which is a step toward access control but does not itself guarantee ongoing access to resources.