# Security Attack Behavioural Pattern Analysis for Critical Service Providers
## 2 Research Baseline
### Organisational and Societal Impact  
Cyberspace incidents have had major effects on the real world due to digital convergence. The study [28] distinguishes between the direct and indirect impacts of cyber incidents. The direct impact on cyberinfrastructure describes how various activities can allow unauthorised access, modification, or removal of digital resources. The direct impact resembles operational and informational impact classifiers [24]. The indirect impact is caused by an event outside of the digital space [28]. Furthermore, the study in [29] investigated both primary and secondary cyber effects. Data fraud, destruction, or compromise can have detrimental effects on the organisation, stakeholders, government, and society. When evaluating cyberattacks on critical service providers, it is important to take into account these impacts [30]. The most prevalent indirect consequences on an organisation are typically related to financial impacts. Organisational risk assessments employ anticipated financial and economic losses to evaluate the probability and consequences of different scenarios. The economic and financial consequences are significant in cases where there is a loss of competitive advantage resulting from the disclosure of sensitive information or a disruption. A comprehensive analysis was undertaken to determine the mean expenses associated with cyber incidents across diverse industry domains, with a specific emphasis on identifying the most severe categories. Financial loss is incorporated as a factor in their cyber risk model [31,32].  
Although it is the best way to calculate indirect impact from an incident, other variables should be considered. This is especially important when discussing how incidents affect organisations providing vital services to diverse stakeholders. The field of cybersecurity has advanced, and the authors argue that the study of cyber harm includes both the physical and psychological damage inflicted upon individuals and communities [33]. In order to achieve this, [PERSON] et al. [20] identified five distinct categories: physical (digital), economic, psychological, reputational, and social. Physical or digital harm involves both harm to individuals and damage to cyberinfrastructure. Furthermore, the impacts on society involve disruptions in daily life, damage to the nation, and decreased employee morale. [PERSON] et al. [20] also discuss negative effects like public perception changes, daily life disruptions, and national impact. ENISA, the EU cybersecurity agency, defines societal impact as effects on the public or widespread disruptions (e.g., national health system disruption) in their Cyber Threat Landscape reports (ENISA, 2022 ([[https://www.enisa.europa.eu/publications/enisa-threat-landscape-2022](https://www.enisa.europa.eu/publications/enisa-threat-landscape-2022)]([https://www.enisa.europa.eu/publications/enisa-threat-landscape-2022](https://www.enisa.europa.eu/publications/enisa-threat-landscape-2022)), accessed on 19 December 2023)). If critical services are interrupted, system and network incidents can affect society.