You would think that the dangers and negative repercussions of cyber attacks are obvious, but maybe not so completely. This interesting topic came to us from EurekAlert! in their article, “At least 57 negative impacts from cyber-attacks.”
The researchers from Kent’s School of Computing and the Department of Computer Science at the University of Oxford set out to define and codify the different ways in which the various cyber-incidents being witnessed today can have negative outcomes. Taking into consideration that outcomes, or harms, can spread as time passes.
The researchers identified five key themes under which the impact from a cyber attack can be classified: Physical/Digital, Economic, Psychological, Reputational and Social. Each category contains specific outcomes that underline the serious impact cyber attacks can have. This taxonomy of sorts is intended to assist in understanding the multiple harms which cyber attacks can have, for the public, government, and other academic disciplines. It gives leadership a better understanding of both direct and indirect harms from cyber attacks when considering the threats their organization faces.
Melody K. Smith
Sponsored by Access Innovations, the world leader in thesaurus, ontology, and taxonomy creation and metadata application.
