[Blog](/blog) Show links Resources [Blog](/blog) [Breaches](/breaches) [eBooks, reports, & more](/resources) [Events](/events) [News](/news) [Cybersecurity](/category/cybersecurity) Show links Categories [Attack Surface Management](/category/attack-surface-management) [Company News](/category/company-news) [Compliance and Regulations](/category/compliance-and-regulations) [Cybersecurity](/category/cybersecurity) [Data Breaches](/category/data-breaches) [DevOps](/category/devops) [Human Cyber Risk](/category/human-cyber-risk) [Risks and Vulnerabilities](/category/risks-and-vulnerabilities) [Third-Party Risk Management](/category/third-party-risk-management) [Vendor Risk Management](/category/vendor-risk-management) [What is Cybersecurity Risk? A Thorough Definition](/blog/cybersecurity-risk) Publish date September 22, 2026 {x} minute read # What is Cybersecurity Risk? A Thorough Definition [Get a demo](/contact-sales) [Free trial](/demo) [Download the PDF guide](/resources/complete-guide-to-data-breaches) [Free trial](/demo) Written by [Abi Tyas Tunggal](/team/abi-tyas-tunggal) Writer and Senior Product Manager at UpGuard. Abi's work has influenced leaders across cybersecurity, technology, and financial services. Reviewed by [Kaushik Sen](/team/kaushik-sen) Chief Marketing Officer Kaushik has a background in software engineering, enterprise solution architecture, and data analytics. He brings a unique, data-driven perspective to cybersecurity education. Table of contents eBook A Complete Guide to Data Breaches Free resource ### A Complete Guide to Data Breaches Learn how to avoid a costly data breach with a comprehensive prevention strategy. [Download now](/resources/complete-guide-to-data-breaches) [Cybersecurity](https://www.upguard.com/blog/cyber-security) risk is the probability of exposure or loss resulting from a [cyber attack](https://www.upguard.com/blog/cyber-attack) or [data breach](https://www.upguard.com/blog/data-breach) on your organization. A better, more encompassing definition is the potential loss or harm related to technical infrastructure, use of technology or reputation of an organization. Organizations are becoming [more vulnerable to cyber threats](https://www.upguard.com/blog/biggest-cyber-threats-for-financial-services) due to the increasing reliance on computers, networks, programs, social media and data globally. [Data breaches](https://www.upguard.com/blog/biggest-data-breaches), a common cyber attack, have massive negative business impact and often arise from [insufficiently protected data](https://www.upguard.com/blog/s3-security-is-flawed-by-design). Global connectivity and increasing use of [cloud services with poor default security parameters](https://www.upguard.com/blog/s3-security-is-flawed-by-design) means the risk of cyber attacks from outside your organization is increasing. What could historically be addressed by [IT risk management](https://www.upguard.com/blog/information-risk-management) and [access control](https://www.upguard.com/blog/access-control) now needs to be complemented by sophisticated cyber security professionals, [software](https://www.upguard.com/) and cybersecurity risk management. The software side of that shift is covered in [best IT and cyber risk management tools](/blog/best-it-and-cyber-risk-management-software). It's [no longer enough to rely on traditional information technology](https://www.upguard.com/blog/is-cybersecurity-hard) professionals and security controls for [information security](https://www.upguard.com/blog/information-security). There is a clear need for [threat intelligence](https://www.upguard.com/blog/threat-intelligence) tools and security programs to reduce your organization's cyber risk and highlight [potential attack surfaces](https://www.upguard.com/blog/attack-surface). Decision-makers need to make risk assessments when prioritizing third-party vendors and have a risk mitigation strategy and cyber [incident response plan](https://www.upguard.com/blog/incident-response-plan) in place for when a [breach](https://www.upguard.com/blog/biggest-data-breaches) does occur. Learn how UpGuard reduces third-party risk exposure with its [third-party risk assessment tool.](https://www.upguard.com/product/vendor-risk/third-party-risk-assessments) ## What is Cybersecurity? Cybersecurity refers to the technologies, processes and practices designed to protect an organization's intellectual property, customer data and other [sensitive information](https://www.upguard.com/blog/sensitive-data) from unauthorized access by cyber criminals. The frequency and severity of cybercrime is on the rise and there is a significant need for improved [cybersecurity risk management](https://www.upguard.com/blog/cybersecurity-risk-management) as part of every organization's enterprise risk profile. Regardless of your organization's risk appetite, you need to include cybersecurity planning as part of your [enterprise risk management](https://www.upguard.com/blog/information-risk-management) process and ordinary business operations. It's one of the top risks to any business. ## What is the Business Significance of Cyber Attacks? Although general IT security controls are useful, they are insufficient for providing cyber attack protection from sophisticated attacks and [poor configuration](https://www.upguard.com/breaches/cloud-leak-viacom). The proliferation of technology enables more unauthorized access to your organization's information than ever before. Third-parties are increasing provided with information through the supply chain, customers, and other [third](https://www.upguard.com/resources/optimizing-third-party-cyber-risk-in-the-enterprise) and [fourth-party providers](https://www.upguard.com/blog/what-is-fourth-party-risk). The risk is compounded by the fact that organization's are increasingly storing[ large volumes of personally identifiable information (PII)](https://www.upguard.com/breaches/facebook-user-data-leak) on [external cloud providers](https://www.upguard.com/breaches/attunity-data-leak) that need to be [configured correctly in order to sufficiently protect data](https://www.upguard.com/blog/check-your-amazon-s3-permissions-someone-will).   Another factor to consider is the increasing number of devices that are always connected in data exchange. As your organization globalizes and the web of employees, customers, and [third-party vendors](https://www.upguard.com/blog/vendor-risk-impact-of-data-leaks-by-your-third-party-vendors) increases, so do expectations of instant access to information. Younger generations expect instant real-time access to data from anywhere, exponentially increasing the attack surface for [malware](https://www.upguard.com/blog/malware), [vulnerabilities](https://www.upguard.com/blog/vulnerability), and all other exploits. Unanticipated cyber threats can come from hostile foreign powers, competitors, organized hackers, insiders, poor configuration and your third-party vendors. Cyber security policies are becoming increasing complex as mandates and [regulatory standards](https://www.upguard.com/blog/apra-cps-234-information-security-prudential-standard) around disclosure of [cybersecurity incidents](https://www.upguard.com/breaches/s3-localblox) and [data breaches](https://www.upguard.com/breaches) continues to grow, leading organizations to adopt software to help manage their third-party vendors and continuously monitor for data breaches. The importance of identifying, addressing and communicating a potential breach outweighs the preventive value of traditional, cyclical IT security controls. [Data breaches](https://www.upguard.com/breaches) have massive, negative business impact and often arise from [insufficiently protected data](https://www.upguard.com/blog/s3-security-is-flawed-by-design). External monitoring through third and [fourth-party](https://www.upguard.com/blog/what-is-fourth-party-risk) vendor risk assessments is part of any good risk management strategy. Without comprehensive IT security management, your organization faces [financial, legal, and reputational risk](https://www.upguard.com/breaches/facebook-user-data-leak). ## What are the Key Cyber Risks and Security Threats? Cybersecurity is relevant to all systems that support an organization's business operations and objectives, as well as compliance with regulations and laws. An organization will typically design and implement cybersecurity controls across the entity to [protect the integrity, confidentiality and availability of information assets](https://www.upguard.com/blog/cia-triad). Cyberattacks are committed for a variety of reasons including financial fraud, information theft, activist causes, to deny service, disrupt critical infrastructure and vital services of government or an organization. The six common types of cyber security risks: * Nation states * Cyber criminals * Hacktivists * Insiders and service providers * Developers of substandard products and services * [Poor configuration of cloud services](https://www.upguard.com/breaches/how-medical-records-and-patient-doctor-recordings-were-exposed) like [S3 buckets](https://www.upguard.com/blog/s3-security-is-flawed-by-design) Common cybersecurity threats in terms of cyber attacks include: * [Phishing attacks](https://www.upguard.com/blog/phishing) * [Social engineering attacks](https://www.upguard.com/blog/social-engineering) * [Ransomware](https://www.upguard.com/blog/ransomware) * [DDoS attacks](https://www.upguard.com/blog/what-is-a-ddos-attack) * Denial-of-Service attacks. To understand your organization's [cyber risk profile](https://www.upguard.com/blog/what-are-security-ratings), you need to determine what information would be valuable to outsiders or cause significant disruption if unavailable or corrupt. It's increasingly important to identify what information may cause financial or reputational damage to your organization if it were to be acquired or made public. Think about [personally identifiable information (PII)](https://www.upguard.com/blog/personally-identifiable-information-pii) like [names](https://www.upguard.com/breaches/la-county-211-hotline), [social security numbers](https://www.upguard.com/breaches/rsync-oklahoma-securities-commission) and [biometric](https://www.upguard.com/blog/biometrics) records. You need to consider the following as potential targets to cyber criminals: * Customer data * [Employee data](https://www.upguard.com/breaches/hr-violation-how-a-corporate-data-exposure-can-affect-employees) * Sensitive data * Intellectual property * [Third](https://www.upguard.com/blog/third-party-credentials-vendor-risk) and [fourth party vendors](https://www.upguard.com/blog/what-is-fourth-party-risk) * Product quality and safety * Contract terms and pricing * Strategic planning * Financial data * IoT devices Cybersecurity programs should be capable of addressing each of these threats with their appropriate security measures. These measures should go beyond conventional solutions, such as firewalls, and include advanced security postures enhancement strategies, such the use of [security questionnaire automation software ](https://www.upguard.com/product/vendor-risk/questionnaire-management)for mitigating the impact of discovered vendor security risks. > One of the easiest ways of discovering emerging internal and third-party security risks and tracking security team remediation efforts is with a solution like UpGuard. ## Who Should Own Cybersecurity Risk in My Organization? Cybersecurity risk management is generally set by leadership, often including an organization's board of directors in the planning processes. Best-in-class organizations will also have a [Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)](https://www.upguard.com/blog/what-is-a-ciso) who is directly responsible for establishing and maintaining the enterprise vision, strategy and program to ensure information assets and customer data is adequately protected. Common cyber defence activities that a CISO will own include: * Administering security procedures, training and testing * Maintaining secure device configurations, up-to-date software, and vulnerability patches * Deployment of [intrusion detection systems](https://www.upguard.com/blog/intrusion-detection-system) and [penetration testing](https://www.upguard.com/blog/penetration-testing) * Configuration of secure networks that can manage and protect business networks * Deployment of [data protection and loss prevention programs](https://www.upguard.com/blog/data-loss-prevention) and monitoring * Restriction of access to least required privilege * [Encryption](https://www.upguard.com/blog/encryption) of data where necessary * Proper configuration of cloud services * Implementation of [vulnerability management](https://www.upguard.com/blog/vulnerability-management) with internal and third-party scans * Recruitment and retention of cybersecurity professionals When an organization does not have the scale to support a CISO or other cybersecurity professional, board members with experience in cybersecurity risk are extremely valuable. That said, it is important for all levels of an organization to understand their role in managing cyber risk. Vulnerabilities can come from any employee and it's fundamental to your organization's IT security to continually educate employees on how to avoid common security pitfalls that can lead to [data breaches](https://www.upguard.com/breaches/rsync-medical) or other cyber incidents. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's ([NIST](https://www.nist.gov/)) [Cybersecurity Framework](https://www.upguard.com/blog/nist-cybersecurity-framework) provides best practices to [manage cybersecurity risk](https://www.upguard.com/blog/australian-cybersecurity-frameworks). [Learn about cyber threat exposure management >](https://www.upguard.com/blog/adopting-a-cyber-threat-exposure-management-approach) ## Summary Cybersecurity risk management is a long process and it's an ongoing one. Your organization can never be too secure. Cyber attacks can come from stem from any level of your organization, so it's important to not pass it off to IT and forget about it. In order to mitigate cyber risk, you need the help of every department and every employee. Here are [10 practical strategies to reduce your cybersecurity risk](https://www.upguard.com/blog/reduce-cybersecurity-risk). If you fail to take the right precautions, your company and more importantly your customers data could be a risk. You need to be able to control third-party vendor risk and continously [monitor your business for leaked credentials](https://www.upguard.com/product/breach-risk). eBook A Complete Guide to Data Breaches Free resource ### A Complete Guide to Data Breaches Learn how to avoid a costly data breach with a comprehensive prevention strategy. [Download now](/resources/complete-guide-to-data-breaches) ## Related posts Learn more about the latest issues in cybersecurity. Cybersecurity #### [12 Cybersecurity Horror Stories of 2026 (No Costume Required)](/blog/cybersecurity-horror-stories-2026) A warning ignored once becomes a headline. Read more about these 12 real 2026 cybersecurity incidents, and the sign each one gave before it made the news. [](/team/revashni-moodley) [Revashni Moodley](#) September 28, 2026 Cybersecurity #### [Left Unsupervised: 10 Times Access Outlived Its Authorization](/blog/10-times-access-outlived-authorization) Access granted once shouldn’t mean access forever. Read more on how unmonitored access caused 10 of these real-life breaches and what they taught us. [](/team/revashni-moodley) [Revashni Moodley](#) August 25, 2026 Cybersecurity #### [Surviving a LockBit Ransomware Attack: The ROI of Visibility](/blog/surviving-a-lockbit-ransomware-attack) Read how veteran CISO Nick Gicinto saved his alma mater from a LockBit ransomware attack by discarding the standard playbook. [](/team/nicholas-sollitto) [Nicholas Sollitto](#) June 1, 2026 Cybersecurity #### [Top 10 Security Events of 2025](/blog/top-security-events-of-2025) Recap the ten most impactful events that reshaped the cybersecurity industry this year and the critical lessons each had to teach us. Read more here. [](/team/revashni-moodley) [Revashni Moodley](#) January 7, 2026 Cybersecurity #### [Risk Automations: The Shift From Catch-Up to Command](/blog/risk-automations-shift-catch-up-to-command) Connect intelligence to system execution with Risk Automations, your new resolution layer for risk. Reduce remediation from hours to seconds - read more. [](/team/revashni-moodley) [Revashni Moodley](#) December 1, 2025 Cybersecurity #### [Shai-Hulud's True Lesson for CISOs: A Crisis of Communication](/blog/shai-hulud-lesson-for-cisos) Shai-Hulud was driven by a communication crisis between security and engineering. Get a CISO's perspective on how to finally bridge this gap. [](/team/phil-ross) [Phil Ross](#) September 3, 2026 [All posts](/blog) Experience superior visibility and a simpler approach to cyber risk management [Get a demo](/contact-sales) [Free trial](/demo)