Which of the following describes an event in the context of incident response?

In the context of incident response, an event is characterized as an observable occurrence that may not necessarily represent a threat. It serves as a building block for understanding and analyzing security incidents. For instance, events can be mundane activities such as user access to a system or unusual traffic patterns. Regardless of their nature, these occurrences provide crucial data points that can be monitored and assessed to determine if they escalate into security incidents.

Recognizing the distinction between an event and a threat is significant since not all events have malicious intent or implications. This definition allows organizations to take a proactive approach in monitoring their environments, helping them to identify and investigate potential issues that could lead to more serious security incidents.

In contrast, the other options imply more definitive scenarios. A planned system outage is a scheduled event that does not typically signify a threat but is more of an operational factor. A confirmed cyber attack is an incident that has already escalated beyond the event stage, representing a specific threat that requires immediate attention. An internal audit finding relates to compliance and control assessments rather than security event monitoring. Understanding these distinctions aids in building a comprehensive security posture within an organization.