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Confidentiality

11/09/2025

Author: Stuart Barker | ISO 27001 Expert and Thought Leader

Confidentiality Definition - ISO 27001 Glossary

Confidentiality is the information security principle that ensures information is not made available or disclosed to unauthorised individuals, entities, or processes. It is about protecting the secrecy of data. For information to be confidential, appropriate controls must be in place to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure.

Examples

  • Encryption: Encrypting data, both when it’s stored and when it’s being transmitted, ensures that even if an unauthorised party gains access, they can’t read the information.
  • Access Control: Limiting who can view certain documents or data sets through the use of permissions and passwords.
  • Non-disclosure Agreements (NDAs): A legal contract that protects confidential information by requiring a party to keep it secret.

ISO 27001 Context

Confidentiality is one of the three core pillars of information security, alongside Integrity and Availability. These three principles are collectively known as the CIA Triad and form the fundamental basis of a strong Information Security Management System (ISMS).

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Stuart Barker, ISO 27001 expert

Stuart Barker
ISO 27001 Expert and Thought Leader

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Stuart Barker, ISO 27001 expert

About the author

Stuart Barker is an information security practitioner of over 30 years. He holds an MSc in Software and Systems Security and an undergraduate degree in Software Engineering. He is an ISO 27001 expert and thought leader holding both ISO 27001 Lead Implementer and ISO 27001 Lead Auditor qualifications. In 2010 he started his first cyber security consulting business that he sold in 2018. He worked for over a decade for GE, leading a data governance team across Europe and since then has gone on to deliver hundreds of client engagements and audits.

He regularly mentors and trains professionals on information security and runs a successful ISO 27001 YouTube channel where he shows people how they can implement ISO 27001 themselves. He is passionate that knowledge should not be hoarded and brought to market the first of its kind online ISO 27001 store for all the tools and templates people need when they want to do it themselves.

In his personal life he is an active and a hobbyist kickboxer.

His specialisms are ISO 27001 and SOC 2 and his niche is start up and early stage business.