(ISC)2 Certified in Cybersecurity Practice Exam

What does non-repudiation prevent in digital communications?

1. Acknowledgment of receipt

2. Denial of a transaction or action

3. Storage of sensitive data

4. Data encryption during transmission

The correct answer is: Denial of a transaction or action

Non-repudiation is a concept in digital communications that ensures that a party in a transaction cannot deny the authenticity of their signature or the sending of a message. This provides proof of the integrity and origin of the data. By preventing denial of a transaction or action, non-repudiation establishes accountability for parties involved in digital communications. In practice, this can be facilitated through the use of digital signatures, timestamps, and secure logging, which create a verifiable record that can be used to confirm that a specific action was indeed taken by a specific party. This helps build trust in electronic transactions and communications, as it reduces the risk of deceit or repudiation after the fact. The other options, though related to aspects of digital communications, do not encapsulate the core purpose of non-repudiation. Acknowledgment of receipt, for instance, relates more to confirming receipt rather than ensuring accountability of actions. Storage of sensitive data pertains to data governance and security measures, while data encryption during transmission focuses on protecting confidentiality rather than ensuring acknowledgement of actions. Thus, the correct focus on denial of a transaction or action captures the essence of what non-repudiation seeks to prevent.