What is a common characteristic of all types of malware?

Malware is characterized primarily by its potential to cause unauthorized access to computer systems, networks, or data and can also lead to damage to those systems. This includes a wide variety of malicious software types, such as viruses, worms, Trojans, ransomware, and spyware, each having the capacity to compromise system integrity or confidentiality. The primary goal of these malicious programs often revolves around exploiting vulnerabilities, stealing information, corrupting files, or creating backdoors that allow further exploitation, which classifies them as harmful entities in cybersecurity.

While there are other characteristics associated with malware, such as being difficult to detect or removable in some cases, the essence of malware lies in its malicious intent to cause harm or facilitate unauthorized actions, making the second option the most accurate representation of a common trait shared across all malware types.