At the Core of Cybersecurity are: Risks, Costs, Benefits and Threat Models

As humans we are driven by risks and threats, and where we are continually weighing-up costs and benefits. A threat is the actual thing that could actually cause harm, loss or damage, whereas a risk is the likelihood of a specific threat happening. Those who are successful in their lives are often those people who can best understand threats and assess risks. IBM is one company who has managed to succeed within the computer industry for over 100 years, and where they have continually faced with new threats from competitors and from the rise of new technologies. Each time they have generally managed to understand the risks that they face and overcome them. In the 1960s, for example, IBM had a lead in the market place for mainframe computers, but the 1970s saw the rise of the microprocessor and the personal computer (PC). And so IBM addressed this by adopting the rise of the PC and eventually leading with their own standard. As the development of the PC quickened, they again they found their leadership under threat and decided to concentrate on high-end workstations and mainframe computers.

In our lives, too, we expose ourselves through vulnerabilities, and which are our weaknesses, and which could be exploited by others. Within Cyber intelligence we must thus need to continually understand our threats and…