Nope, it has nothing to do with the three letter agency; The CIA triad is a Cybersecurity model which stands for: Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability. The model outlines the three important principals to a properly defined security program. To best mitigate the risks of cyber threat a well formulated program must address all three principals. Let us examine how the CIA triad model applies to an audiovisual system and how HiCLIFF can help in managing it.
First off, let us first define confidentiality in terms of audiovisual communication; confidentiality refers to an organization’s efforts to keep their data/media private or secret. It is about controlling access to data/media to prevent unauthorized disclosure. Let us explore some of the ways confidentiality can be jeopardized in an audiovisual communications system:​
Loss of confidentiality via the accidental or intentional misdirection/duplication of network based media (audio/video)
The adding of rogue hardware for the purpose of intercepting media on the network
Missing encryption on media in transit over a network
Vulnerable operating systems and webservices which can lead to the compromise of an AV system
The use of weak or missing user authentication which can exposes the communication system to risk
The theft or removal of equipment such as streaming recorders which contain confidential information
HiCLIFF’s Cybersecurity Management Platforms improve system confidentiality by providing a suite of features that address several of these potential vulnerabilities. HiCLIFF's ability to trace media over the network, makes it possible to detect accidental or unauthorized media eavesdropping. System discovery as an example provides details on all the devices that make up the audiovisual system, any modifications to system topology will be detected and notifications generated. HiCLIFF’s Risk Assessment feature can help identify the incorrect security setup of an asset as well as flag open network services. HiCLIFF's vulnerability analysis can potentially identify the use of default passwords.
Integrity is one of the more elusive elements of the CIA triad. Integrity is about ensuring that information/media is accurate and reliable. Making sure data has not been tampered with and therefore can be trusted. Media encryption plays a large role in ensuring integrity, however not all media routing solutions support this. HiCLIFF can help build integrity into media systems by logging the routing of media over the network. Compliance logs can further be used as a means of non-repudiation in a communication system, which is the inability to deny something has happened.
Availability in an audiovisual system is achieved by ensuring authorized persons have access to the system when they are needed. Cyber threats come in many shapes and sizes, DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) as an example is when a bad actor purposefully causes a system or system component to fail or become unresponsive. DDoS attacks may be perpetrated by someone who is attempting to disrupt business operations, it could also be an attempt to commandeer a publicly visible digital signage system. In both cases, DDoS inhibits the usefulness of the system. HiCLIFF specializes in the management of audiovisual components, including the hardware, software, media and the networks they run on. With a deep understanding and knowledge of these fundamental elements, HiCLIFF can detect anomalous behaviour specific to the audiovisual environment and capture evidence of a potential attack before it is too late. HiCLIFF prescribes to the zero-trust cybersecurity posture, so whether the audiovisual network is segmented or converged, HiCLIFF should be used to manage the operations of all audiovisual environments continuously.
In summary, HiCLIFF’s mission is to provide a Cybersecurity solution which helps improve the security posture of the audiovisual system and helps mitigate risks by following the CIA triad model. HiCLIFF’s Cybersecurity Management Platforms are essential for any modern audiovisual communication system, and should be deployed anywhere confidentiality, integrity and availability are important.
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