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Countermeasure

nounid 2035·updated May 9, 2026
candidate

Actions, devices, procedures, or techniques that meet or oppose (i.e., counters) a threat, a vulnerability, or an attack by eliminating or preventing it, by minimizing the harm it can cause, or by discovering and reporting it so that corrective action can be taken.

Classifications

Entity Type

Control95%rule-basedr:entity.control.safeguard.v1

Sensitivity

unclassified

Information Class

unclassified

Variants

synonym
safeguardsecurity control
alternatephrasing
Countermeasures
plural
CountermeasuresCountermeasureses
possessive
Countermeasure'sCountermeasures's
pluralpossessive
Countermeasures'Countermeasureses'

Framework definitions

SANS Glossary of Security Terms1 senseview framework →
§1
Reactive methods used to prevent an exploit from successfully occurring once a threat has been detected. Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) commonly employ countermeasures to prevent intruders form gaining further access to a computer network. Other counter measures are patches, access control lists and malware filters.
ISACA Cybersecurity Glossary1 senseview framework →
§1
Any process that directly reduces a threat or vulnerability
NY DFS Part 500 (NYCRR Title 23, Chapter 1, Part 500)1 senseview framework →
§1
Actions and system controls present or undertaken to reduce or moderate the effect of specific vulnerabilities. A synonym for control. The term countermeasure can be used to refer to any type of control, but it is most often used when referring to measures that increase resilience, fault tolerance, or reliability of an IT service.
NISTIR 7298: Glossary of Key Information Security Terms, Revision 21 senseview framework →
§1
Actions, devices, procedures, or techniques that meet or oppose (i.e., counters) a threat, a vulnerability, or an attack by eliminating or preventing it, by minimizing the harm it can cause, or by discovering and reporting it so that corrective action can be taken.
CNSSI-4009 (Glossary of Information Assurance Terms)1 senseview framework →
§1
Actions, devices, procedures, or techniques that meet or oppose (i.e., counters) a threat, a vulnerability, or an attack by eliminating or preventing it, by minimizing the harm it can cause, or by discovering and reporting it so that corrective action can be taken.
NIST SP 800-531 senseview framework →
§1
Actions, devices, procedures, techniques, or other measures that reduce the vulnerability of an information system. Synonymous with security controls and safeguards.
NIST SP 800-371 senseview framework →
§1
Actions, devices, procedures, techniques, or other measures that reduce the vulnerability of an information system. Synonymous with security controls and safeguards.
FIPS PUB 2001 senseview framework →
§1
Actions, devices, procedures, techniques, or other measures that reduce the vulnerability of an information system. Synonymous with security controls and safeguards.
Cyber Glossary1 senseview framework →
§1
Actions, devices, procedures, or techniques that meet or oppose (i.e., counters) a threat, a vulnerability, or an attack by eliminating or preventing it, by minimizing the harm it can cause, or by discovering and reporting it so that corrective action can be taken.
Risk Management Framework for Information Systems and Organizations: A System Life Cycle Approach for Security and Privacy1 senseview framework →
§1
Actions, devices, procedures, techniques, or other measures that reduce the vulnerability of a system. Synonymous with security controls and safeguards.

Outgoing relationships

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Incoming relationships

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