Layered defense primarily improves which three aspects of information security?

Layered defense, also known as defense-in-depth, is a security approach that employs multiple layers of security controls throughout an information system. This strategy significantly enhances the protection of information assets, primarily focusing on three key aspects: confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Confidentiality ensures that sensitive information is accessible only to authorized individuals or systems. By implementing multiple layers, such as encryption, access controls, and network boundaries, organizations can better safeguard sensitive data from unauthorized access.

Integrity refers to the accuracy and trustworthiness of data. Layered defense mechanisms, which might include checksums, hashing, and real-time monitoring systems, help to maintain and verify the integrity of data. When multiple controls are in place, it becomes more difficult for data to be tampered with or compromised without detection.

Availability ensures that information and resources are available to authorized users when needed. By incorporating redundancies, fail-safes, and other protective measures across various layers (like firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and application gateways), organizations can maintain high availability even in the face of an attack or system failure.

This layered approach systematically strengthens each of these three aspects, allowing for a more secure information environment that can withstand diverse threats.