During threat assessment, which pair of factors is used to determine risk?

During threat assessment, which pair of factors is used to determine risk?

• A. Probability and severity
• B. Probability and opportunity
• C. Severity and resource availability
• D. Opportunity and cost

Answer: (A)

In threat assessment, risk is evaluated by how likely a threat is to occur and how severe the impact would be if it does. These two factors—probability (likelihood) and severity (impact)—are the driving pair because they capture both the chance of an event and the magnitude of its consequences. When you multiply or combine them, you get a risk level that helps you prioritize where to allocate defenses or mitigations. Think of it this way: a threat that is very likely to occur but would cause only minor harm can still be less dangerous than a threat that might be unlikely but would cause catastrophic damage. The other paired factors, such as linking likelihood with opportunity or severity with resource availability, don’t directly measure both how often something could happen and how bad it would be, which is why probability and severity are the best combination for determining risk.

In threat assessment, risk is evaluated by how likely a threat is to occur and how severe the impact would be if it does. These two factors—probability (likelihood) and severity (impact)—are the driving pair because they capture both the chance of an event and the magnitude of its consequences. When you multiply or combine them, you get a risk level that helps you prioritize where to allocate defenses or mitigations.

Think of it this way: a threat that is very likely to occur but would cause only minor harm can still be less dangerous than a threat that might be unlikely but would cause catastrophic damage. The other paired factors, such as linking likelihood with opportunity or severity with resource availability, don’t directly measure both how often something could happen and how bad it would be, which is why probability and severity are the best combination for determining risk.