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Availability

What is Availability?

The property of being accessible and usable upon demand by authorized users, one of the three pillars of information security along with confidentiality and integrity.

Information Security

Each of these is named in at least one of the same controls as availability. The number is how many controls name both.

What the standards actually require on availability

Requirements naming availability across 6 standards, quoted from the control text.

Continuous real-time monitoring of the capacity and availability of online services is performed.

ISM-1581 · Continuous real-time monitoring of the capacity and availability of online services is per
C5 (Germany)5 controls

Monitor the system components used for logging and monitoring themselves, and report their failures automatically and promptly to the responsible departments so the loss of visibility is assessed and the required action taken.

C5-OPS-17 · Logging and Monitoring - Availability of the Monitoring Software
ITIL 45 controls

Capacity and availability management. Control from ITIL 4 framework, domain: ITIL 4: Service Strategy & Design.

ITIL4-03 · Capacity and availability management
FedRAMP High4 controls

Maintain availability of information in event of loss of cryptographic keys via key escrow or recovery; HIGH only.

SC-12(1) · Availability

Adequate resource capacity to ensure availability is maintained. Control from NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 framework, domain: PR - Protect.

NIST-CSF-PR.IR-04 · Adequate resource capacity to ensure availability is maintained

Questions people ask about availability

What is Availability?
The property of being accessible and usable upon demand by authorized users, one of the three pillars of information security along with confidentiality and integrity.
Why is Availability important for compliance?
Availability is a key concept in Information Security. Understanding availability helps organizations meet regulatory requirements, reduce risk, and demonstrate due diligence during audits. Our compliance platform maps 686 frameworks with 311K cross-framework control mappings.
Which compliance frameworks address Availability?
Availability appears in the requirement text of Australian Information Security Manual, ITU-T X.805 - Security Architecture for End-to-End Communications, C5 (Germany), ITIL 4, FedRAMP High. Across these standards we have identified 34 controls that name it directly, each linked to the control text on the compliance platform.
Where can I learn more about Availability?
Explore our compliance framework pages to see how availability applies across different standards and regulations. Our implementation guides provide step-by-step guidance, and the compliance platform offers AI-powered analysis of how this concept maps across 686 frameworks.

See how Availability applies across compliance frameworks

Our platform maps 686 frameworks with 311K cross-framework control mappings. Explore how this concept is addressed across standards.

Written and maintained by Gerard Blokdyk, The Art of Service.