An exploit takes advantage of a vulnerability. A vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, configuration, process, or design that could allow unauthorized access, privilege escalation, data exposure, or system disruption. An exploit is the method or code used to trigger that weakness. An alert is a notification generated by a security tool when suspicious or policy-relevant activity is detected. A threat actor is the person, group, or automated entity conducting malicious activity. An event is an observable occurrence in a system or network, such as a login, file execution, or connection attempt. The exploit-vulnerability relationship is foundational: defenders identify vulnerabilities so they can reduce the opportunity for exploitation. Patching, configuration hardening, input validation, segmentation, and intrusion prevention all reduce exploitability. In simple terms, a vulnerability is the unlocked window; an exploit is the technique used to climb through it. Reference/topics: Cybersecurity 1.1, vulnerabilities and exploits; Security Operations 6.3, event and alert.