10.7. Incorporating Probability into Risk Mitigation

Chapter 9 presented the concept of probability and showed how it could be incorporated into process 7 of OCTAVE. The chapter then focused on the problems of estimating probability in the absence of extensive data on threats. This section revisits the concept of probability, but this time focusing on using it when making risk mitigation decisions. Specifically, it addresses issues relating to expected value.

Setting Priorities Using Expected Value

The expected value (or expected loss) for a risk is the product of the potential loss that could occur (or impact value) multiplied by its projected frequency of occurrence (or probability). The expected value is often measured in annualized loss

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