Security Threats & Attacks

X.800

According to X.800, ‘A threat to a system security includes any of the following: destruction of information and/or other resources; corruption or modification of information; theft, removal or loss of information and/or other resources; disclosure of information and interruption of services’. Another, clearer definition comes from RFC 2828, which defines a threat as ‘A potential violation of security exists when there is a circumstance, capability, action, or event that could breach security and cause harm’. In other words, a threat is a possible danger that might exploit vulnerability.

RFC 2828

Security attacks (Request for Comments RFC 2828, Internet Security Glossary)

Threat – a potential for violation of security which exists when there is a circumstance, capability, action, or event that could breach security and cause harm. That is, threat is a possible danger that might exploit vulnerabilityAttack – an assault on system security that derives from an intelligent threat; that is, an intelligent act that is a deliberate attempt (especially in the sense of a method or technique) to evade security services and violate the security policy of a system.