WGU D458 PRFA — XBM1 TASK 3:
ANALYZES COMPLEX PROBLEMS
COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE 2026 FULL
QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
◍ CIA Triad.
Answer: Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability
◍ Parkerian hexad.
Answer: Where the CIA triad consists of confidentiality, integrity, and
availability, the Parkerian hexad consists of these three principles, as well as
possession or control, authenticity, and utility
◍ Confidentiality.
Answer: Refers to our ability to protect our data from those who are not
authorized to view it.Confidentiality can be compromised by the loss of a
laptop containing data, a person looking over our shoulder while we type a
password, an e-mail attachment being sent to the wrong person, an attacker
penetrating our systems, or similar issues.
◍ Integrity.
Answer: Refers to the ability to prevent our data from being changed in an
unauthorized or undesirable manner. This could mean the unauthorized
change or deletion of our data or portions of our data, or it could mean an
authorized, but undesirable, change or deletion of our data. To maintain
integrity, we not only need to have the means to prevent unauthorized
changes to our data but also need the ability to reverse authorized changes
that need to be undone.
◍ Availability.
, Answer: refers to the ability to access our data when we need it. Loss of
availability can refer to a wide variety of breaks anywhere in the chain that
allows us access to our data. Such issues can result from power loss,
operating system or application problems, network attacks, compromise of a
system, or other problems. When such issues are caused by an outside party,
such as an attacker, they are commonly referred to as a denial of service
(DoS) attack.
◍ Possession or Control.
Answer: Refers to the physical disposition of the media on which the data is
stored. This enables us, without involving other factors such as availability,
to discuss our loss of the data in its physical mediumAn example is data
store be on multiple devices and there could be numerous versions.
◍ Authenticity.
Answer: Attribution as to the owner or creator of the data in
question.Authenticity can be enforced through the use of digital signatures.
◍ Utility.
Answer: Refers to how useful the data is to us.
◍ Interception.
Answer: Interception attacks allow unauthorized users to access our data,
applications, or environments and are primarily an attack against
confidentiality. Interception might take the form of unauthorized file
viewing or copying, eavesdropping on phone conversations, or reading
e-mail, and can be conducted against data at rest or in motion. Properly
executed, interception attacks can be very difficult to detect.Affects
Confidentiality
◍ Interruption.
Answer: Interruption attacks cause our assets to become unusable or
unavailable for our use, on a temporary or permanent basis. Interruption
attacks often affect availability but can be an attack on integrity as well. In
the case of a DoS attack on a mail server, we would classify this as an
availability attack.Affects Integrity and availability
, ◍ Modification.
Answer: Modification attacks involve tampering with our asset. If we access
a file in an unauthorized manner and alter the data it contains, we have
affected the integrity of the data contained in the file.
◍ Fabrication.
Answer: Fabrication attacks involve generating data, processes,
communications, or other similar activities with a system. Fabrication
attacks primarily affect integrity but could be considered an availability
attack as well. If we generate spurious information in a database, this would
be considered to be a fabrication attack.Affects Integrity and Availability
◍ Threat.
Answer: Something that has potential to cause harm
◍ Vulnerability.
Answer: Weaknesses that can be used to harm us
◍ Risk.
Answer: Likeliness that something bad will happen
◍ Impact.
Answer: The value of the asset is used to assess if a risk is present
◍ Something you know.
Answer: Password or PIN
◍ Something you are.
Answer: An authentication factor using biometrics, such as a fingerprint
scanner.
◍ Something you have.
Answer: Authentication factor that relies on possession (FOB, Card, Cell
Phone, Key)
◍ Something you do.
Answer: An authentication factor indicating action, such as gestures on a
touch screen.
ANALYZES COMPLEX PROBLEMS
COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE 2026 FULL
QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
◍ CIA Triad.
Answer: Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability
◍ Parkerian hexad.
Answer: Where the CIA triad consists of confidentiality, integrity, and
availability, the Parkerian hexad consists of these three principles, as well as
possession or control, authenticity, and utility
◍ Confidentiality.
Answer: Refers to our ability to protect our data from those who are not
authorized to view it.Confidentiality can be compromised by the loss of a
laptop containing data, a person looking over our shoulder while we type a
password, an e-mail attachment being sent to the wrong person, an attacker
penetrating our systems, or similar issues.
◍ Integrity.
Answer: Refers to the ability to prevent our data from being changed in an
unauthorized or undesirable manner. This could mean the unauthorized
change or deletion of our data or portions of our data, or it could mean an
authorized, but undesirable, change or deletion of our data. To maintain
integrity, we not only need to have the means to prevent unauthorized
changes to our data but also need the ability to reverse authorized changes
that need to be undone.
◍ Availability.
, Answer: refers to the ability to access our data when we need it. Loss of
availability can refer to a wide variety of breaks anywhere in the chain that
allows us access to our data. Such issues can result from power loss,
operating system or application problems, network attacks, compromise of a
system, or other problems. When such issues are caused by an outside party,
such as an attacker, they are commonly referred to as a denial of service
(DoS) attack.
◍ Possession or Control.
Answer: Refers to the physical disposition of the media on which the data is
stored. This enables us, without involving other factors such as availability,
to discuss our loss of the data in its physical mediumAn example is data
store be on multiple devices and there could be numerous versions.
◍ Authenticity.
Answer: Attribution as to the owner or creator of the data in
question.Authenticity can be enforced through the use of digital signatures.
◍ Utility.
Answer: Refers to how useful the data is to us.
◍ Interception.
Answer: Interception attacks allow unauthorized users to access our data,
applications, or environments and are primarily an attack against
confidentiality. Interception might take the form of unauthorized file
viewing or copying, eavesdropping on phone conversations, or reading
e-mail, and can be conducted against data at rest or in motion. Properly
executed, interception attacks can be very difficult to detect.Affects
Confidentiality
◍ Interruption.
Answer: Interruption attacks cause our assets to become unusable or
unavailable for our use, on a temporary or permanent basis. Interruption
attacks often affect availability but can be an attack on integrity as well. In
the case of a DoS attack on a mail server, we would classify this as an
availability attack.Affects Integrity and availability
, ◍ Modification.
Answer: Modification attacks involve tampering with our asset. If we access
a file in an unauthorized manner and alter the data it contains, we have
affected the integrity of the data contained in the file.
◍ Fabrication.
Answer: Fabrication attacks involve generating data, processes,
communications, or other similar activities with a system. Fabrication
attacks primarily affect integrity but could be considered an availability
attack as well. If we generate spurious information in a database, this would
be considered to be a fabrication attack.Affects Integrity and Availability
◍ Threat.
Answer: Something that has potential to cause harm
◍ Vulnerability.
Answer: Weaknesses that can be used to harm us
◍ Risk.
Answer: Likeliness that something bad will happen
◍ Impact.
Answer: The value of the asset is used to assess if a risk is present
◍ Something you know.
Answer: Password or PIN
◍ Something you are.
Answer: An authentication factor using biometrics, such as a fingerprint
scanner.
◍ Something you have.
Answer: Authentication factor that relies on possession (FOB, Card, Cell
Phone, Key)
◍ Something you do.
Answer: An authentication factor indicating action, such as gestures on a
touch screen.
