The cybersecurity threat landscape has never been more complex or consequential. With global cybercrime costs projected to reach $13.82 trillion by 2028 according to Statista research, organizations face an escalating array of dangers targeting their systems, data, and operations. The World Economic Forum's Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026 reveals that 87% of organizations now identify AI-related vulnerabilities as their fastest-growing cyber risk — a dramatic shift that underscores how rapidly threats evolve.
This guide provides security analysts, SOC leaders, and IT professionals with a comprehensive understanding of cybersecurity threats: what they are, how they manifest, and most importantly, how to detect and defend against them. Whether you are building your foundational knowledge or seeking current intelligence on emerging attack vectors, this resource delivers evidence-based insights aligned with industry frameworks like NIST CSF and MITRE ATT&CK.
A cybersecurity threat is any potential malicious attack or circumstance that could exploit vulnerabilities in systems, networks, or processes to unlawfully access data, disrupt digital operations, or damage information assets. Threats represent the "who" or "what" that might attack an organization, ranging from sophisticated nation-state actors to automated malware campaigns. According to the NIST cyber threat definition, these dangers encompass any circumstance or event with the potential to adversely impact organizational operations, assets, or individuals through unauthorized access, destruction, disclosure, or modification of information.
Understanding cybersecurity threats requires recognizing their relationship to the CIA Triad — the foundational security model addressing Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. Every cybersecurity threat targets at least one of these pillars: stealing sensitive data compromises confidentiality, altering records undermines integrity, and ransomware attacks that encrypt systems threaten availability. The World Economic Forum reports that 60% of all breaches involve the human element, highlighting that threats often exploit people as much as technology.
It is essential to distinguish between a cybersecurity threat and a cyber attack. A threat represents potential danger — an adversary with capability and intent, or a vulnerability that could be exploited. An attack, by contrast, is the actual execution of malicious activity. This distinction matters for risk management: organizations must address both realized attacks and unrealized threats in their security posture.
One of the most common points of confusion in cybersecurity involves differentiating threats, vulnerabilities, and risks. These concepts form a critical relationship that security professionals must understand to effectively protect their organizations.
Threat is a potential cause of an unwanted incident that could harm systems or data. Threats include malicious actors (hackers, nation-states, insider threats), natural disasters, or system failures. A threat exists independently of your specific environment.
Vulnerability is a weakness in a system, application, network, or process that a threat could exploit. Common vulnerabilities include unpatched software, misconfigured cloud services, weak passwords, and gaps in security awareness training. Organizations can directly address vulnerabilities through vulnerability management programs.
Risk emerges when threats have the potential to exploit vulnerabilities. Risk is calculated as the likelihood of a threat exploiting a vulnerability multiplied by the potential impact. This formula helps organizations prioritize their defensive investments.
Consider a practical example: A phishing email (threat) targets employees who have not received security awareness training (vulnerability). The risk is data breach or credential theft, with severity depending on what access the compromised credentials provide.
Understanding the taxonomy of cybersecurity threats enables organizations to build comprehensive defenses. Modern threats span multiple categories, each requiring specific detection and prevention strategies.
Table: Major cybersecurity threat categories and detection strategies
Malware — malicious software designed to damage, disrupt, or gain unauthorized access to systems — remains a foundational threat category. According to DeepStrike research cited by the University of San Diego, over 560,000 new malware threats are detected daily, with more than one billion malware programs circulating globally.
Ransomware has become the most financially impactful malware variant. Cyble's 2025 threat analysis found that 78% of companies experienced ransomware attacks in the past year. These attacks encrypt organizational data and demand payment for decryption keys, often combined with data theft for double extortion.
Viruses and worms are self-replicating malicious code. While viruses require user action to spread, worms propagate automatically across networks. Both can carry destructive payloads or establish persistence for future attacks.
Trojans disguise themselves as legitimate software to bypass security controls. Once installed, they provide attackers with remote access, credential theft capabilities, or backdoor entry points for additional malware deployment.
Cryptojacking exploits compromised systems to mine cryptocurrency without authorization. While less immediately destructive than ransomware, cryptojacking degrades system performance and increases operational costs.
Fileless malware operates entirely in memory, avoiding traditional file-based detection. These attacks leverage legitimate system tools like PowerShell to execute malicious code, making them particularly challenging to detect with signature-based approaches.
Social engineering manipulates human psychology rather than exploiting technical vulnerabilities. These attacks remain devastatingly effective because they bypass technical controls by targeting users directly.
Phishing uses fraudulent communications — typically email — that appear to come from legitimate sources. Attackers craft convincing messages to trick recipients into revealing credentials, clicking malicious links, or downloading malware. With 84,000 monthly searches for "phishing" according to Ahrefs data, awareness of this threat is high, yet it remains the most common initial access vector.
Spear phishing targets specific individuals using personalized information gathered through reconnaissance. Attackers research their targets on social media, corporate websites, and professional networks to craft highly convincing messages.
Business email compromise (BEC) involves attackers impersonating executives or trusted partners to authorize fraudulent transactions or data transfers. The WEF Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026 notes that CEOs now rate cyber-enabled fraud as their top concern, surpassing ransomware.
Baiting lures victims with promises of something desirable — free software, prize notifications, or attractive opportunities. Pretexting creates fabricated scenarios to manipulate targets into revealing information or taking actions they otherwise would not.
Identity-based attacks have emerged as the predominant threat vector in 2026. SecurityWeek's analysis reports that 75% of breaches now involve compromised identities using valid credentials, fundamentally shifting the attack paradigm from network intrusion to identity exploitation.
Credential theft and stuffing leverage stolen username and password combinations — often from previous data breaches — to facilitate account takeover. With 16 billion credentials exposed in June 2025 alone according to ProvenData research, the attack surface for credential-based attacks is enormous.
MFA bypass techniques have evolved to circumvent multi-factor authentication. Attackers employ MFA fatigue (repeatedly sending authentication requests until users approve), SIM swapping (taking control of phone numbers), and session hijacking (stealing authenticated session tokens) to defeat these controls.
Token replay attacks capture and reuse authentication tokens, particularly OAuth tokens that grant access to cloud services. The 2026 Salesloft/Grubhub breach demonstrated how stolen OAuth tokens enabled attackers to access hundreds of downstream customers.
A critical statistic: 97% of identity-based attacks involve passwords, yet only 46% of organizations have comprehensive visibility into all identities in their environment. Breakout times — the interval between initial access and lateral movement — now average under 60 minutes, leaving minimal time for detection and response.
Network and infrastructure attacks target the foundational systems that organizations depend on for operations.
DDoS attacks (Distributed Denial of Service) flood targets with traffic to overwhelm resources and disrupt availability. Cloudflare data reveals 8.3 million DDoS attacks were detected in a single four-month period in 2025, demonstrating the scale of this threat.
Man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks position attackers between communicating parties to intercept, alter, or inject content into data streams. These attacks are particularly dangerous on unsecured networks or when encryption is improperly implemented.
DNS tunneling abuses the Domain Name System protocol to exfiltrate data or establish command-and-control channels. Because DNS traffic is often allowed through firewalls, this technique can bypass network security controls.
Injection attacks insert malicious code into applications through input fields. SQL injection remains prevalent, enabling attackers to extract database contents, modify records, or escalate privileges.
Supply chain attacks compromise trusted third-party relationships to gain access to target organizations. This attack vector has doubled year-over-year according to Panorays research, which found that 30% of all data breaches are now linked to third-party or supply chain issues.
The 2026 Salesloft breach exemplifies modern supply chain attacks: attackers compromised the vendor's GitHub account, stole OAuth tokens, and used them to access customer data across TransUnion (4.46 million records), Google, Workday, and Grubhub. This single compromise cascaded to hundreds of organizations.
A critical finding: 85% of CISOs lack complete visibility into their threat landscape, with only 15% having full visibility into their software supply chains. This gap makes supply chain attacks particularly dangerous — organizations cannot defend against threats they cannot see.
Advanced persistent threats represent the most sophisticated end of the threat spectrum. APTs are characterized by stealth, persistence, and specific targeting, typically conducted by nation-state actors or well-resourced criminal organizations.
APT attackers invest significant resources in reconnaissance, developing custom tools, and maintaining long-term access to target environments. Their objectives typically include espionage, intellectual property theft, or positioning for future disruptive attacks.
The key differentiator of APTs is their operational patience. Unlike opportunistic attackers seeking quick financial gain, APT actors may maintain access for months or years, carefully extracting data while avoiding detection.
Understanding who launches cyber attacks — and their motivations — is essential for building effective defenses. Threat actors vary dramatically in capability, resources, and objectives.
Nation-state actors represent the most sophisticated threat category. These government-sponsored groups conduct espionage, intellectual property theft, and potentially destructive attacks aligned with geopolitical objectives. The WEF reports that 64% of organizations now account for geopolitically motivated cyberattacks in their security strategies, with 91% of the largest organizations having changed strategies due to geopolitical volatility.
Cybercriminal organizations operate as profit-driven enterprises. These groups have professionalized their operations with specialized roles, customer service for ransom negotiations, and ransomware-as-a-service offerings that democratize attack capabilities.
Hacktivists are motivated by ideological causes rather than financial gain. Groups like NoName057(16), a pro-Russian collective, conduct DDoS campaigns against governments and critical infrastructure to advance their political agendas.
Script kiddies lack technical sophistication but use readily available tools to conduct opportunistic attacks. While individually less dangerous, their volume creates noise that can mask more serious threats.
The distinction between internal and external threats carries significant implications for detection strategies and potential impact.
Table: Internal vs. external threat actor comparison
Insider threats present unique challenges because these actors have legitimate access to systems and data. The average cost of insider threat incidents — $18.33 million — exceeds typical external attacks because insiders can cause damage over extended periods before detection.
Detection strategies differ significantly: external threats require perimeter defenses, threat intelligence, and intrusion detection, while insider threats demand user behavior analytics, access monitoring, and data loss prevention controls.
The current threat landscape reflects fundamental shifts in attack patterns, driven by technological advances and evolving attacker tactics.
Identity has become the primary attack vector. With 75% of breaches involving compromised identities, attackers have recognized that stealing credentials is often easier than bypassing technical security controls. The perimeter-focused security model has collapsed in the face of cloud adoption, remote work, and software-as-a-service proliferation.
AI is accelerating both attacks and defenses. The WEF reports that 94% of cybersecurity professionals expect AI to be the most significant driver of change in their field. Organizations face AI-powered threats while simultaneously deploying AI-based defenses — an arms race with escalating stakes.
Supply chain attacks are doubling annually. The interconnected nature of modern business means that a single vendor compromise can cascade to hundreds of downstream organizations. Traditional security boundaries no longer contain risk effectively.
Geopolitical factors shape cyber risk. Nation-state cyber operations have intensified, with major events like the 2026 Winter Olympics expected to attract significant threat activity. Organizations must consider geopolitical context in their threat assessments.
Quantum computing looms on the horizon. While not yet an active threat, "harvest now, decrypt later" attacks are collecting encrypted data today for future decryption once quantum computing matures. Organizations must begin planning cryptographic transitions.
AI has transformed the threat landscape in ways that demand updated defensive approaches. Attackers leverage large language models and machine learning for phishing lure generation, data analysis, and automated reconnaissance.
The WEF Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026 notes that 87% of organizations report AI-related vulnerabilities as their fastest-growing risk. A phenomenon called "vibe hacking" has emerged — AI tools enabling cybercrime without traditional technical mastery.
Deepfake technology enables sophisticated social engineering. Attackers can generate convincing voice and video impersonations for executive fraud schemes, dramatically increasing the persuasiveness of social engineering attacks.
The defensive response: 77% of organizations have adopted AI for cybersecurity, focusing on phishing detection (52%), intrusion response (46%), and user behavior analytics (40%). AI security capabilities have become essential for keeping pace with AI-accelerated threats.
Identity has overtaken malware as the primary intrusion path. Attackers recognize that legitimate credentials provide access without triggering traditional security alerts.
The statistics are stark: 75% of breaches involve compromised identities, 97% of identity-based attacks involve passwords, and only 46% of organizations have comprehensive visibility into all identities in their environment. This visibility gap represents a critical defensive blind spot.
Zero Trust architecture has emerged as the response framework, with 81% of organizations at some planning stage for implementation. Zero Trust assumes that no user or system should be automatically trusted, requiring continuous verification regardless of network location.
Real-world incidents demonstrate how theoretical threats translate into organizational impact. These case studies provide lessons for defensive planning.
The Change Healthcare ransomware attack stands as the largest breach of US medical data in history, affecting 190 million people according to Bitsight analysis.
Attackers gained initial access through compromised credentials and deployed ransomware that disrupted healthcare operations nationwide. The incident demonstrated the cascading effects of attacking critical healthcare infrastructure.
Lessons learned: Healthcare organizations must implement phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication, maintain secure offline backups, and conduct proactive vulnerability assessments. The incident also highlighted the importance of network detection and response capabilities for identifying attacker movement before ransomware deployment.
The Salesloft/Grubhub breach illustrates modern supply chain attack methodology. Attackers compromised Salesloft's GitHub account and stole OAuth tokens used for customer integrations.
These tokens provided access to customer environments including TransUnion (4.46 million records), Google, Workday, and Grubhub. The ShinyHunters cybercrime group subsequently used this access for extortion demands.
Lessons learned: Organizations must audit OAuth token permissions regularly, implement least-privilege access for third-party integrations, and include supply chain risk in security assessments. Visibility into third-party connections is no longer optional.
The financial impact of cybersecurity threats varies significantly by region and industry.
Table: Data breach costs by industry and region (2025)
The IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2025 reveals that while global average breach costs declined for the first time in five years (to $4.44 million), US costs reached a record $10.22 million according to SecurityWeek reporting. This regional divergence reflects the US regulatory environment and litigation landscape.
Healthcare remains the most expensive sector for breaches at $7.42 million average — the 15th consecutive year leading all industries. The combination of sensitive data, complex systems, and potential patient safety implications drives these elevated costs.
Effective threat detection and prevention requires integrated capabilities spanning network, endpoint, and identity attack surfaces. The SOC Visibility Triad framework provides a proven approach for comprehensive coverage.
Organizations integrating NDR, EDR, and SIEM report 50% faster incident response compared to siloed approaches. This improvement stems from correlated visibility across attack surfaces, enabling detection of threats that evade any single control.
The IBM 2025 report found that mean time to identify and contain a breach has fallen to 241 days — a nine-year low and 17 days faster than the previous year. This improvement reflects maturing detection capabilities and increased automation adoption.
Effective threat detection follows a systematic approach building comprehensive visibility:
Threat hunting programs complement automated detection by proactively searching for threats that may have evaded existing controls. Effective threat hunting requires skilled analysts working with comprehensive data and validated hypotheses.
Threat intelligence provides context for detection and response. Understanding attacker tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) enables more effective detection rules and incident investigation. Intelligence should be operationalized through automated feeds integrated with detection platforms.
Prevention requires a layered approach addressing human, technical, and process dimensions:
Enable phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication using FIDO2 or WebAuthn standards. Traditional SMS and app-based MFA remain vulnerable to bypass techniques that FIDO2's cryptographic approach addresses.
Implement Zero Trust architecture that requires continuous verification. Zero Trust eliminates implicit trust based on network location, requiring authentication and authorization for every access request.
Conduct regular security awareness training addressing the 60% human element in breaches. Training should include simulated phishing exercises and practical guidance for identifying social engineering attempts.
Maintain continuous vulnerability management through regular scanning, prioritized remediation, and compensating controls for vulnerabilities that cannot be immediately patched.
Assess third-party vendor security posture before engagement and continuously thereafter. Supply chain risk requires visibility into partner security practices and contractual security requirements.
Develop and test incident response plans before incidents occur. Tabletop exercises and simulations identify gaps in processes and ensure teams know their roles during actual incidents.
Cybersecurity frameworks provide structured approaches for organizing threat defense and demonstrating security maturity to regulators and stakeholders.
The NIST Cybersecurity Framework provides a risk-based approach organized around six core functions in CSF 2.0:
Key controls for cybersecurity threat management include Risk Assessment (ID.RA) for understanding threat exposure, Access Control (PR.AC) for limiting unauthorized access, and Anomalies and Events (DE.AE) for identifying potential security incidents.
The MITRE ATT&CK framework catalogs adversary tactics and techniques based on real-world observations. Version 17 includes GenAI-related behaviors reflecting the evolving threat landscape.
Table: MITRE ATT&CK mapping for common cybersecurity threats
ATT&CK provides a common language for describing threats and enables mapping of defensive controls to specific attacker techniques. Organizations can use ATT&CK to identify coverage gaps and prioritize detection investments.
Modern threat defense leverages AI-driven behavioral detection across network, identity, and cloud attack surfaces. This approach reflects the reality that attackers increasingly use legitimate tools and credentials, making signature-based detection insufficient.
The IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2025 found that AI and automation save organizations an average of $1.9 million per breach. This savings comes from faster detection, automated response, and reduced manual investigation workload.
Organizations are prioritizing AI investment across multiple use cases: phishing detection (52%), intrusion response (46%), and user behavior analytics (40%). These applications address the speed and scale challenges that manual approaches cannot match.
Zero Trust implementation has reached 81% at the planning stage across organizations surveyed by WEF. This architectural shift acknowledges that perimeter-based security cannot protect distributed, cloud-enabled, and remote workforces.
Vectra AI applies Attack Signal Intelligence to detect threats across network, identity, and cloud attack surfaces. The approach focuses on behavior-based detection that identifies attacker actions regardless of the specific tools or techniques employed.
This methodology reduces reliance on signature-based detection, which fails against novel attacks and legitimate credential abuse. By analyzing behavioral patterns and correlating signals across attack surfaces, Attack Signal Intelligence surfaces the threats that matter while reducing alert noise.
The result enables security teams to respond before attacks progress to data exfiltration or system impact — addressing the under-60-minute breakout times that characterize modern identity-based attacks.
The cybersecurity threat landscape continues evolving rapidly, with several key developments shaping the next 12-24 months.
AI arms race acceleration. Both attackers and defenders are deploying increasingly sophisticated AI capabilities. Organizations should expect more convincing deepfakes, automated attack campaigns, and AI-generated malware variants. Defensive AI investments should focus on behavioral detection that identifies anomalous patterns regardless of specific attack techniques.
Quantum computing preparation. While quantum computers capable of breaking current encryption remain years away, "harvest now, decrypt later" attacks are already collecting encrypted data for future decryption. Organizations handling long-lived sensitive data should begin evaluating quantum-resistant cryptography options and developing transition roadmaps.
Regulatory intensification. The EU AI Act becomes fully applicable by August 2026, imposing new requirements for AI-generated content transparency. NIS2 implementation is driving stricter cybersecurity requirements across critical infrastructure sectors. Organizations should expect continued regulatory expansion globally.
Identity fabric evolution. The collapse of perimeter thinking is driving investment in identity fabric architectures that provide continuous verification, dynamic access policies, and comprehensive identity visibility. Organizations should prioritize identity infrastructure modernization and FIDO2/WebAuthn adoption.
Supply chain visibility requirements. Software Bills of Materials (SBOMs) and third-party risk management capabilities will become standard expectations. Organizations should build visibility into their supply chains and implement continuous monitoring of vendor security postures.
Preparation recommendations. Organizations should conduct AI security assessments, evaluate quantum-resistant cryptography readiness, audit OAuth tokens and third-party integrations, implement behavioral detection capabilities, and ensure incident response plans address identity-based attacks.
Cybersecurity threats have evolved dramatically, with identity-based attacks, AI-powered campaigns, and supply chain compromises defining the current landscape. Organizations face adversaries ranging from opportunistic criminals to sophisticated nation-states, all operating in an environment where breakout times have compressed to under 60 minutes.
Effective defense requires moving beyond perimeter-focused thinking to embrace behavioral detection, Zero Trust architecture, and integrated visibility across network, identity, and cloud attack surfaces. The organizations achieving 50% faster incident response are those integrating their detection capabilities through the SOC Visibility Triad approach.
The evidence is clear: AI and automation adoption yields $1.9 million in breach cost savings on average, while organizations with board-level cybersecurity engagement demonstrate significantly higher resilience. The path forward demands continuous adaptation as threats evolve.
For security teams seeking to strengthen their defensive posture, understanding the threat landscape is the essential first step. The detection and prevention strategies outlined here provide a foundation for building comprehensive defenses that address modern attack patterns.
Explore how Vectra AI applies Attack Signal Intelligence to detect threats across your attack surfaces, enabling your team to respond before attackers achieve their objectives.
A cybersecurity threat is any potential malicious attack or circumstance that could exploit vulnerabilities to unlawfully access data, disrupt digital operations, or damage information systems. Threats can originate from various sources including nation-states, cybercriminal organizations, hacktivists, or insiders. They target the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of organizational assets. Understanding threats as potential dangers — distinct from actual attacks — is essential for risk management, as organizations must defend against both realized and potential risks. The NIST glossary provides the authoritative definition used across government and industry.
The main cybersecurity threat types include malware (ransomware, viruses, trojans, cryptojacking, fileless malware), social engineering attacks (phishing, spear phishing, business email compromise, pretexting), identity-based attacks (credential theft, MFA bypass, token replay), network attacks (DDoS, man-in-the-middle, DNS tunneling, injection), supply chain compromises (third-party software attacks, OAuth token theft), and advanced persistent threats (APTs). Each category requires specific detection and prevention strategies. Modern attacks often combine multiple threat types — for example, phishing to steal credentials for subsequent identity-based attacks and lateral movement.
A threat is a potential danger that could cause harm — an adversary with capability and intent, or a circumstance that could damage systems. A vulnerability is a weakness in systems, applications, or processes that threats could exploit, such as unpatched software or weak configurations. Risk emerges when threats have potential to exploit vulnerabilities, calculated as likelihood multiplied by impact. Organizations can directly address vulnerabilities through patching and configuration management, while threats exist independently in the environment. Effective security requires understanding this relationship to prioritize defensive investments based on risk.
Identity-based attacks have emerged as the number one threat vector in 2026, with 75% of breaches involving compromised credentials according to SecurityWeek analysis. AI-powered attacks represent the fastest-growing risk category, cited by 87% of organizations in the WEF Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026. Supply chain attacks have doubled year-over-year, with 30% of breaches linked to third-party compromises. The convergence of these trends — identity exploitation accelerated by AI and propagated through supply chains — creates a threat landscape requiring fundamentally different defensive approaches than traditional perimeter security.
Organizations should implement layered defenses addressing multiple attack vectors. Enable phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication using FIDO2/WebAuthn standards. Deploy Zero Trust architecture requiring continuous verification. Integrate the SOC Visibility Triad — NDR, EDR, and SIEM — for comprehensive detection. Conduct regular security awareness training addressing the human element. Maintain continuous vulnerability management with prioritized remediation. Assess third-party vendor security postures and audit OAuth permissions. Develop and test incident response plans before incidents occur. The CISA Cyber Threats and Advisories resource provides ongoing guidance for organizational defense.
Threat intelligence is organized, analyzed information about potential or current threats that helps organizations understand risks and make informed security decisions. It includes indicators of compromise (IOCs) such as IP addresses, domain names, and file hashes associated with malicious activity. Threat intelligence also encompasses tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) describing how threat actors conduct operations. Intelligence is typically categorized as strategic (long-term trends for executive decision-making), operational (campaign-specific information for security teams), or tactical (technical indicators for automated detection). Effective threat intelligence is integrated into detection platforms and incident response processes rather than consumed passively.
Healthcare remains the most expensive sector for data breaches at $7.42 million average according to the IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2025 — the 15th consecutive year leading all industries. Financial services face average breach costs of $9.28 million, driven by regulatory fines and customer trust impacts. Critical infrastructure including telecommunications, energy, and transportation faces nation-state targeting for espionage and potential disruption. The technology sector attracts supply chain attacks due to downstream customer access. Government agencies remain primary targets for nation-state espionage. Attack targeting often follows data value — healthcare data commands premium prices on criminal markets.
Insider threats originate from individuals with legitimate access to organizational systems — employees, contractors, or partners. They can be malicious (intentionally causing harm for financial gain, revenge, or ideology) or negligent (unintentionally enabling breaches through poor security practices). Insider threat incidents average $18.33 million in cost, significantly exceeding typical external attacks, because insiders can cause damage over extended periods before detection. External threats must first penetrate defenses, while insiders already have authorized access. Detection strategies differ accordingly: external threats require perimeter defenses and intrusion detection, while insider threats demand user behavior analytics, access monitoring, and data loss prevention. Compromised credentials create a hybrid category where external attackers operate with insider access levels.
Ransomware is malware that encrypts organizational data and demands payment for decryption keys. Modern ransomware operations have evolved into double extortion schemes that also steal data and threaten public release. According to Cyble research, 78% of companies experienced ransomware attacks in the past year. Prevalence stems from profitability — ransomware-as-a-service has democratized attacks while cryptocurrency enables anonymous payments. The Change Healthcare attack demonstrated devastating impact: 190 million people affected, healthcare operations disrupted nationwide. Organizations defend against ransomware through secure offline backups, network segmentation, behavioral detection, and incident response planning.
Threat assessment follows a structured methodology. First, identify and inventory assets including data, systems, and processes. Second, catalog potential threats relevant to your industry and environment using threat intelligence and frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK. Third, evaluate vulnerabilities through scanning, penetration testing, and configuration review. Fourth, calculate risk by multiplying likelihood of threat exploitation by potential impact. Fifth, prioritize mitigation efforts based on risk scores and available resources. Frameworks like NIST CSF provide structured approaches for this assessment. The process should be continuous rather than point-in-time, with regular reassessment as threats evolve and organizational assets change.