Why are system intrusions dangerous?

System intrusions are dangerous because they can lead to significant negative consequences for individuals, organizations, and even national security. The primary dangers include:

• Data Theft and Compromise: Intruders can steal sensitive information, such as personal data, financial records, intellectual property, or trade secrets. This can result in privacy breaches, identity theft, and competitive disadvantage.
• System Disruption and Damage: Intrusions can disrupt normal system operations, leading to downtime, denial of service, or the complete destruction of data and systems. This impacts productivity and can incur substantial recovery costs.
• Financial Loss: Direct financial losses can occur through fraud, theft of funds, or expenses related to incident response, legal fees, and system recovery.
• Reputational Damage: Organizations that experience intrusions often suffer a loss of trust from customers, partners, and the public, which can have long-term negative effects on their brand and business.
• Espionage and Sabotage: Nation-state sponsored intrusions can be used for cyber espionage, gathering intelligence, or even for sabotaging critical infrastructure, posing a national security threat.

These dangers highlight the importance of robust security measures and intrusion detection/prevention systems, as discussed in works like Joseph Migga Kizza's Guide to Computer Network Security.