What does "information assurance" involve?

"Information assurance" encompasses the measures taken to protect and defend information and information systems by ensuring their confidentiality, integrity, and availability. This concept is fundamental to information security as it addresses the need to keep sensitive data protected from unauthorized access, manipulation, and disruption.

Confidentiality ensures that information is accessible only to those authorized to have access. Integrity involves maintaining the accuracy and completeness of data, ensuring that it has not been altered in unauthorized ways. Availability ensures that users have access to the information and resources they need when they need them.

Together, these principles form the backbone of a comprehensive information assurance strategy, which is vital for organizations, especially within the Department of Defense, where the stakes of information security are particularly high. The other options do not adequately reflect the broad scope of information assurance; they either focus too narrowly on specific aspects or misunderstand the core objectives of the discipline.