Denise works as a Security Administrator for a community college. She is assessing the various risks to her network. Which of the following is not a category of risk assessment?

Likelihood assessment is a core risk assessment category that estimates the probability a threat will successfully exploit a given vulnerability.

Risk determination is the synthesizing step in risk assessment where likelihood and impact ratings are combined to assign an overall risk level to a finding.

Standard risk assessment frameworks such as NIST SP 800-30 define assessment categories including threat identification, vulnerability assessment, likelihood assessment, impact assessment, and risk determination - but cost determination is not among them. Cost analysis belongs to the risk response phase, where the cost-effectiveness of proposed countermeasures is weighed after risks have been identified and rated. Including cost as a risk assessment category conflates risk identification with risk treatment activities.

Vulnerability assessment is a foundational component of risk assessment that systematically identifies weaknesses in systems, processes, or controls that threats could exploit.