What is a Security Incident?

What is a Security Incident?

A security incident is when someone (inside or outside) accesses, modifies, or steals data without permission.

Common Incidents

Phishing attack: Someone receives a fake email that steals their password.

Account compromise: Someone's account is hacked and used to send emails or access systems.

Data breach: An attacker accesses customer data or company secrets.

Ransomware: Malware locks up your files and demands payment.

Insider threat: An employee steals data or sabotages systems.

System outage: A critical system goes down (could be security-related).

The Common Pattern

1. Something unusual happens
2. You notice it (or someone reports it to you)
3. You report it to security/IT
4. Security/IT investigates
5. You respond to minimize damage

That's the pattern. Your job: step 3. Report it.

Key Point

In the first 5 minutes, reporting matters more than understanding. If something seems wrong, report it. Let the experts determine if it's real.