With computer security, a threat is the potential for a bad event to happen involving a business, computer, or network. A computer hacker attacking a company and stealing confidential information is an example of a threat.
Examples of threats to a computer
There are many natural and human-made threats that could affect a computer. Below is a list of some of them help give you an idea of potential dangers. Visiting any of these links gives you further information about the threat.
- Accidental
- Hardware failure
- Exceeding storage capacity
- Software error
- Human error
- Deliberate
- Backdoor
- Data leak
- Denial of service
- Dumpster diving and theft of confidential information.
- Keylogging
- Man-in-the-middle attack
- Phishing
- Social engineering
- Spoofing
- Virus, Trojan, spyware, and other malware infection.
- Zero-day flaw
- Environmental
- Disaster: fire, seismic, volcanic, water.
- Electrical: brownout, surge
- Loss of service: power outage, cooling failure, loss of telecommunications.
- Pollution: dirt, dust
- Negligence
- Neglecting maintenance
What is threat hunting?
Cyber threat hunting or threat hunting is the automatic or manual process of searching through computers in a network to find vulnerabilities or malware. Companies and services that offer this type of detection provide you with a list of potential threats with methods on how to protect against them.
Hardware failure
Exceeding storage capacity
Software error
Human error
Backdoor
Data leak
Denial of service
Dumpster diving and theft of confidential information.
Keylogging
Man-in-the-middle attack
Phishing
Social engineering
Spoofing
Virus, Trojan, spyware, and other malware infection.
Zero-day flaw
Disaster: fire, seismic, volcanic, water.
Electrical: brownout, surge
Loss of service: power outage, cooling failure, loss of telecommunications.
Pollution: dirt, dust
Neglecting maintenance
How can computer threats be measured?
Below are technical reports with more advanced information on assessing security risks.
- NIST Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments
- OCTAVE - Operationally Critical Threat, Asset, and Vulnerability Evaluation
- FAIR - Factor analysis of information risk
- ISO 31000 Risk Management
Bug bounty, Business terms, Computer security, Exploit, IETF, Intrusion detection system, Security terms, Threat actor, Vulnerability
Related information
- How to protect yourself while on the Internet.
- How to hack someone or something.
- How to become a hacker.
- How to know if a computer was hacked.
- What should I do if I’ve been hacked?
- Listing of computer hackers.
- Computer security help and support.