Which of the following best describes the concept of confidentiality in security?

Confidentiality in security refers to the principle of restricting access to information to only those individuals who are authorized to view it. This is essential for protecting sensitive data from unauthorized access and ensuring that private information is kept secure. In various contexts, such as in healthcare, finance, or personal data management, maintaining confidentiality helps prevent data breaches, identity theft, and misuse of sensitive information.

The concept emphasizes the importance of having controls in place – such as encryption, access controls, and authentication mechanisms – that ensure only designated personnel can access specific data sets. This safeguarding of data is crucial not only for legal compliance, such as with regulations like HIPAA or GDPR, but also for maintaining trust and integrity in any organization.

Other options describe different aspects of information security. For instance, ensuring data accuracy pertains to integrity rather than confidentiality, accessing data freely undermines the fundamental purpose of confidentiality, and providing backup options relates to availability, not the access restrictions that define confidentiality. Each of these other topics, while important in their own right, does not capture the essence of confidentiality in the way that restricting access to authorized individuals does.