Risks to Information Systems

Confidentiality Risks

• Data Breach: Unauthorized access to sensitive data.

• Insider Threats: Malicious or accidental exposure of data by internal actors.

• Eavesdropping: Interception of data in transit.

• Phishing: Credential or sensitive data theft via deceptive communication.

• Privilege Escalation: Unauthorized access through elevated permissions.

Integrity Risks

• Data Tampering: Unauthorized alteration of data.

• Man-in-the-Middle (MITM): Interception and modification of communication.

• Malware/Spyware: Compromised data due to malicious software.

• Supply Chain Attacks: Insertion of vulnerabilities in third-party software or hardware.

Availability Risks

• Denial of Service (DoS/DDoS): Disruption of services through overwhelming traffic.

• System Outage: Unplanned downtime due to technical failures or attacks.

• Ransomware: Denial of access to systems or data until a ransom is paid.

• Resource Depletion: Overuse of system resources leading to slowdowns or failures.

Business Continuity Risks

• Disruption: Interruptions in operations or supply chain.

• Compliance Violations: Penalties for failing to meet regulatory requirements.

• Reputation Damage: Loss of trust or credibility due to incidents.

• Financial Fraud: Unauthorized transactions or financial losses.

• Third-Party Risk: Vendor or partner vulnerabilities impacting your organization.

Emerging and Advanced Threats

• Advanced Persistent Threats (APT): Prolonged, targeted cyberattacks by skilled adversaries.

• IoT Exploitation: Compromising IoT or unmanaged devices.

• Zero-Day Exploits: Attacks leveraging unpatched vulnerabilities.

• AI/ML Manipulation: Exploiting biases or weaknesses in AI/ML systems.

• Cryptojacking: Unauthorized use of resources for cryptocurrency mining.

Environmental Risks

• Natural Disasters: Floods, fires, or other environmental impacts on infrastructure.

• Power Outage: Loss of electricity affecting system uptime.

• Hardware Failures: Physical device malfunctions.

Human Risks

• Social Engineering: Manipulating individuals to bypass security measures.

• Human Error: Accidental misconfigurations or data deletion.

• Lack of Training: Insufficient employee awareness of security practices.

Alignment with NIST CSF

The categories above align with NIST CSF’s five functions:

1. Identify: Third-party risk, compliance, insider threats.

2. Protect: Phishing, ransomware, privilege escalation.

3. Detect: Advanced persistent threats, zero-day exploits.

4. Respond: Malware, MITM attacks.

5. Recover: System outage, natural disasters, ransomware.