Definition
Mitigation is the process of reducing the likelihood or impact of a negative event or risk. It involves identifying potential threats and implementing strategies to lessen their potential harm. In practice, mitigation focuses on proactive measures to control or minimize exposure to undesirable outcomes. This is crucial for maintaining system integrity, ensuring business continuity, and protecting sensitive data. For instance, implementing regular data backups is a mitigation strategy against data loss from hardware failure. Unlike prevention, which aims to stop an event entirely, mitigation acknowledges that some events may still occur but seeks to reduce their severity. This concept is frequently tested in cybersecurity certifications like CompTIA Security+ and CySA+.