Which of the following could be BEST defined as the likelihood of a threat agent taking advantage of a vulnerability? 

Answer options:

A. A risk
B. A residual risk
C. An exposure
D. A countermeasure

A

Risk is the likelihood of a threat agent taking advantage of a vulnerability and the corresponding business impact. If a firewall has several ports open , there is a higher likelihood that an intruder will use one to access the network in an unauthorized method. The following answers are incorrect : Residual Risk is very different from the notion of total risk.Residual Risk would be the risks that still exists after countermeasures have been implemented.Total risk is the amount of risk a company faces if it chooses not to implement any type of safeguard. Exposure: An exposure is an instance of being exposed to losses from a threat agent. Countermeasure: A countermeasure or a safeguard is put in place to mitigate the potential risk. Examples of countermeasures include strong password management , a security guard. REFERENCES : SHON HARRIS ALL IN ONE 3rd EDITION Chapter - 3: Security Management Practices , Pages : 57-59