CompTIA CySA+ Practice Test

Who holds the ultimate responsibility for ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information within a system?

1. Data custodian

2. Data steward

3. Data owner

4. Privacy officer

The correct answer is: Data owner

The individual responsible for ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information within a system is the data owner. The data owner plays a crucial role in defining data management policies, access controls, and overall data governance. They are accountable for making decisions regarding who can access the data, how it is used, and what measures are in place to protect it. In contrast, while a data custodian may handle the day-to-day management and protection of the data, they do so under the guidelines established by the data owner. A data steward is often involved in the operational implementation of data governance but does not hold the final decision-making power about the data's security and access. A privacy officer typically focuses on compliance with regulations regarding data privacy rather than the overarching responsibilities related to data security across the organization. This delineation of roles highlights why the data owner is ultimately accountable for the information in question.