Which term refers to an information asset suffering damage, unintended modification, or disclosure?

• A. Loss
• B. Integrity
• C. Availability
• D. Threat

Answer: (A)

Loss describes the adverse outcome that occurs when an information asset is harmed. When an asset suffers damage, unintended modification, or disclosure, the asset’s security state is compromised. These harms map to the three security properties: damage or unavailability corresponds to a loss of availability, unintended modification to a loss of integrity, and disclosure to a loss of confidentiality. So the term that covers the event of an asset being harmed in these ways is loss. The other terms refer to the properties themselves (availability, integrity, confidentiality) or to what could cause harm (threat), rather than the resulting condition of the asset.