About this interactive
What you are doing: naming the category of physical vulnerability behind each event.
Adversary access: someone gets to the equipment on purpose, to unplug it, sabotage it, take the network down, or steal data or the equipment itself.
Environment: what the equipment depends on fails: power, cooling, or the internet connection.
Failure: the hardware or the software itself stops working.
Destruction: fire, earthquake or another natural disaster damages or destroys the site.
Human error: someone with every right to be there makes a mistake, such as misconfiguring or unplugging physical equipment.
The lesson ties these to the CIA triad. Theft can hit confidentiality, but most of these bring services down, so they are about availability, and that is still security.
How to use it: ask what caused the event. A person meaning harm is adversary access; a person by accident is human error; a utility is the environment; the equipment itself is a failure; fire or disaster is destruction.
About TechKnowSurge
TechKnowSurge builds IT and cybersecurity professionals through hands-on, concept-first training built around real understanding — not memorization. Free interactive tools, structured programs, and 25+ years of real-world experience, all in one place.
Explore free tools and programs →