A False Positive occurs when a system incorrectly identifies normal activity as a problem, threat, or abnormal condition. The system detects something that appears significant but, after verification, turns out to be harmless. False positives can occur because of noisy sensor data, unusual but legitimate behavior, overly sensitive detection rules, or limitations in analytical models.
For example, a cybersecurity system may flag a legitimate employee login as suspicious because it occurs from an unfamiliar location. Similarly, a monitoring system may report a machine fault when a temporary sensor fluctuation is mistaken for a real equipment problem. False positives are common in security, healthcare, industrial monitoring, and automated detection systems. Reducing them helps minimize unnecessary investigations, prevent alert fatigue, save operational resources, and ensure that attention remains focused on genuine issues.
