In today’s increasingly digital world, cybersecurity is becoming more important every day. It’s estimated that cybercrime will cost the world about $10.5 trillion by 2025.

Any business that operates online at all needs to follow safe practices to protect themselves and their customers. Things can get complicated when talking about cybersecurity, so it’s important to understand the various terms. Two that often get confused are threats and vulnerabilities, but they’re noticeably different.

In this guide, we’ll assess what a threat vs vulnerability is so you can get a better understanding of both. Keep reading for more.

What Is a Cybersecurity Threat?

A cybersecurity threat is something that you need to shield assets from. It’s anything that can exploit a vulnerability within a system or network and cause harm. This harm usually means damage, destruction, or theft of an asset.

Common examples of assets are your company website and data. A cybercriminal (threat agent) and the tools they use are considered threats, and there are two key types.

Intentional threats are methods deliberately used to compromise the security of a network or system. Typical examples include ransomware, malware, and phishing.

Unintentional threats are often the result of human error. This could be something like an employee forgetting to update antivirus software or leaving sensitive information unmonitored. This is why all employees should be trained in computer security.

What Is a Cybersecurity Vulnerability?

A vulnerability is a gap or weakness in your hardware, software, or procedures. This is what a bad actor will exploit to gain access to your systems.

You want to eliminate as many vulnerabilities as you possibly can. The fewer vulnerabilities in your system, the harder it will be for cybercriminals to launch an effective attack.

It’s worth noting that small to medium-sized businesses are typically more vulnerable to cyberattacks. This is because they often don’t have the funds needed for a dedicated IT/security department. As such, they’re not able to establish a robust security system.

Risk analysis will help you detect vulnerabilities in your systems. You can then take action to eliminate them. While this can be costly, it’s far better to reduce your potential for loss than to fall victim to a cyber attack.

What You Should Do

One of the most important things to do to keep your assets safe is to train your staff. As many as 95% of all cybersecurity issues result from human error.

You also want to keep your systems as secure as possible. Threat assessments will help you find vulnerabilities and determine the best ways to deal with them.

You can also use penetration testing to recreate real-world threats. These act like simulations that can reveal various vulnerabilities.

Threat vs Vulnerability: Keeping Your Business Safe

With this threat vs vulnerability assessment in mind, you should see how important it is to ensure you have adequate security in place. Make sure your staff have training and test your systems so you can discover vulnerabilities before any cybercriminals.

Inception Network Strategies is a leading Business IT Solutions Provider that can help you with your cybersecurity system. We have over 20 years of experience so have a strong understanding of the threats and vulnerabilities that currently exist. Take a look at our network security page to find out more about how we can help.