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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/secplus-cia-availability-ddos

A flood of fake traffic knocks a website offline. Which CIA property does this attack target?

Availability, users cannot reach the service when they need it.

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  1. Confidentiality
  2. Integrity
  3. Availability ✔

Why: Availability means timely, reliable access to information and services. Denial of service attacks prevent authorized users from getting in.

Huh, didn't know that: NIST defines denial of service as preventing authorized access to resources or delaying time-critical operations.

The dad joke
Why was the server so stressed? Everyone wanted a connection and nobody wanted to wait.
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References

Answer: Availability. Availability means timely, reliable access to information and services. Denial of service attacks prevent authorized users from getting in.

  1. NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, Security and Privacy Controls nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.800-53r5.pdf
    Ensuring timely and reliable access to and use of information.
    Checked 2026-10-10.
  2. NIST CSRC Glossary: denial of service (DoS) csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/denial_of_service
    The prevention of authorized access to resources or the delaying of time-critical operations.
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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