External threats

External threats are those that originate from outside of the business. These include, but are not limited to:

• Data theft – this can be the result of physically copying and stealing data, or can be the result of a cyber attack. Cyber attacks can take many forms, including phishing attacks to obtain credentials that can be used to steal data, or malware attacks that compromise systems
• Disruption to systems or withholding of access – for example, the news has been full of stories about ransomeware attacks (The top 5 ransomware attacks in the UK and their hidden costs (acronis.com))
• Destruction of data – without appropriate backup policies, businesses are at risk of data loss through the destruction of data. Intentional data destruction could be intended to hide information, or simply to cause as much inconvenience and disruption to the company as possible