What can be a consequence of power surges as an event-based threat?

Power surges can lead to significant physical harm to computer systems and data integrity, making data corruption or hardware damage a prevalent consequence. When electrical currents exceed the normal operating capacity of a device, they can disrupt the internal components, causing chips to fail or data to be improperly written. This results in corrupted files, loss of data integrity, and potentially irreversible damage to hardware systems.

Understanding this concept is crucial because recognizing the threat posed by power surges enables organizations to implement protective measures, such as surge protectors and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), to safeguard against these types of incidents. In comparison, the other options represent different types of threats and issues not typically associated directly with the impact of power surges. For example, unauthorized data access relates to security breaches, while software installation failures are linked more to software issues rather than power inconsistencies. Increased data storage costs do not inherently arise from power surges but rather from operational inefficiencies or increased data volume management.