Reduction of vulnerability is the measure that reduces the asset s vulnerability to the threat, such as server redundancy that allows another server to take over one server goes down. Reduction of impact measures reduce the impact of the threat on the asset, even if the threat is successful, such as periodic automatic save on a word processor. Real-time recovery measures are those that recover the asset as the threat is being realized, such as mirrored or duplexed drives on a file server. As can be seen from this listing of security measures, they are not just for the large corporate entity, but can be applied to any individual computer system or network in the SOHO or home. These security measures are the actions that can be taken to keep your information safe.
Risk assessment is a method that can be used to measure the impact of a threat on an asset.
Defining threats and actions determines the appropriate countermeasures. One of the most important countermeasures that can be taken is not hardware and software, but simply user awareness. This is especially true of the home user. User awareness serves many of the function measures listed above. Understanding how the threat can affect one s computer assets can result in really effective avoidance, reduction of vulnerability, and reduction of impact of the threat.