Harm is an adverse effect experienced by an individual, group, organization, or system. In AI and data governance, harm may be social, physical, financial, legal, reputational, or privacy-related, and can arise from misuse, system failure, bias, or unauthorized disclosure of personal information.
βAny adverse effects that would be experienced by an individual (i.e., that may be socially, physically, or financially damaging) or an organization if the confidentiality of PII were breached.β NIST Definition.