52 The Basics of Information Security Accountability Identification Authentication Authorization Access FIgURE 41 Accountability ACCOUNTABILITy Accountability provides us with the means to trace activities in our environ- ment back to their source. In addition, it provides us with a number of capabil- ities, when properly implemented, which can be of great use in conducting the daily business of security and information technology in our organizations. In particular, organizations need to carefully maintain accountability in order to