Title: Critical Characteristics of Information
Course: IN 2001 Principle of Information Assurance > Section: Module 1: Chapter One

Critical Characteristics of Information

The value of information comes from the characteristics it possesses.

Availability enables users who need to access information to do so without interference or obstruction and to retrieve that information in the required format.

Accuracy occurs when information is free from mistakes or errors and has the value that the end user expects.  If information contains a value different from the user’s expectations due to the intentional or unintentional modification of its content, it is no longer accurate.

Authenticity is the quality or state of being genuine or original, rather than a reproduction or fabrication. Information is authentic when it is the information that was originally created, placed, stored or transferred.

Confidentiality is the quality or state of preventing disclosure or exposure to unauthorized individuals or systems.

Integrity is the quality or state of being whole, complete, and corrupted. The integrity of information is threatened when the information is exposed to corruption, damage, destruction or other disruption of its authentic state.

Utility is the quality or state of having value for some purpose or end. Information has value when it serves a particular purpose.  This means that if information is available, but not in a format meaningful to the end user, it is not useful.

Possession is the quality or state of having ownership or control of some object or item.  Information is said to be in one's possession if one obtains it, independent of format or other characteristics.  While a breach of confidentiality always results in a breach of possession, a breach of possession does not always result in a breach of confidentiality.