Definition of risks

Some useful reminders about the definition of risk.

What is a risk?

A security risk is defined by the French National Agency for Information Systems Security (ANSSI) as a scenario that combines a feared event (sources of threats, critical asset, security criteria, security needs, impacts) and one or more threat scenarios (sources of threats, supporting asset, security criteria, threats, vulnerabilities)

Types of risks

Several types of risks can be distinguished (non-exhaustive list):

Types of risks	Example of risks
Privacy and data security risks	data confidentiality breach data availability breach data integrity breach
Legal risks	breach of professional secrecy tort and contractual liability criminal liability loss of compliance with legal, regulatory, normative, sectoral or internal standards
Operational risks	Natural events Internal fraud Theft Sabotage Civil liability System failure Disclosure of confidential information Damage to industrial equipment Technological risks Environmental risks
Financial risks	Market risk Credit / counterparty risk Liquidity risk Political risk
Strategic risks	Non-compliance Subcontractor Transformation Project

For more information

Risk assessment