What principle is applied to ensure confidentiality in encrypted data?

The principle that is applied to ensure confidentiality in encrypted data is cryptography. Cryptography encompasses a variety of techniques designed to protect information by transforming it into a format that is unreadable to unauthorized users. Through encryption, data is encoded using algorithms and keys, making it accessible only to those who possess the corresponding decryption key. This ensures that even if data is intercepted, it remains confidential and cannot be understood without the proper authorization.

Access control refers to the methods used to restrict access to data or systems, while authentication verifies the identity of users attempting to access resources, ensuring that only legitimate users gain entry. Monitoring involves tracking activity on a network or system to detect any unauthorized access or anomalies. While all these principles play integral roles in an overall security framework, they do not perform the specific function of transforming data to protect its confidentiality as cryptography does.