Which term denotes potential sources of harm that may be exploited by attackers?

Which term denotes potential sources of harm that may be exploited by attackers?

• A. Threat
• B. Threat agent
• C. Operational risk
• D. Policy

Answer: (A)

A threat is any circumstance with the potential to cause harm by exploiting vulnerabilities. It represents the source of danger that could materialize if controls fail. Threats can be natural, human, or technical, and they exist whether or not an attack occurs. Attackers are the threat agents who might act on a threat, but the term that denotes the potential source of harm itself is the threat.

The other options don’t fit: a threat agent is the attacker or actor performing the exploit, not the source of harm; operational risk relates to day-to-day business operations and their failures; a policy is a rule or guideline governing actions, not a source of harm.