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Quiz Entry - updated: 2026.07.30

How are threats to information commonly categorised by their origin?

Split them first into accidental vs. deliberate, then by source: people, organisation, technology, and force majeure.

Tree splitting threats into an Accidental branch (force majeure, technical failure, human error, organisational weakness) mapped to Safety, and a Deliberate branch (malware, data theft, extortion, espionage, cyberwar) mapped to Security.

* Threats split by origin into accidental (= Safety) and deliberate (= Security), each with its typical sources. *

Accidental / non-deliberate (zufällig):

  • Force majeure (höhere Gewalt): storms, fire, water, earthquake, war
  • Technical failure: bad maintenance, misconfiguration, buggy software/firmware, undersized systems
  • Human error: negligence, indifference, ignorance, gullibility (Fahrlässigkeit, Unwissenheit, Leichtgläubigkeit)
  • Organisational weakness: unclear responsibilities, missing processes/strategy, poor awareness, no controls

Deliberate / intentional (vorsätzlich):

  • Malware (viruses, worms, trojans), data theft, extortion, espionage, cyberwar, misuse of IT

Why the split matters: it maps directly onto Safety vs. Security — accidental threats are the realm of safety, deliberate ones the realm of security (an adaptive attacker who works around your defences).

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From Quiz: ISF / Foundations, Key Terms & Ransomware | Updated: Jul 30, 2026