How to Conduct a Cybersecurity Risk Assessment

Cybersecurity is a critical concern for organizations of all sizes – no matter the company, everyone uses the Internet, so safeguarding sensitive data and assets from potential risks is a must. Conducting a thorough cybersecurity risk assessment can help identify vulnerabilities, mitigate risks and protect the organization from threats.

This comprehensive guide provides a step-by-step approach to conducting an effective cybersecurity risk assessment and managing threats. However, keep in mind that conducting a cybersecurity risk assessment is not a one-time task but an ongoing process.

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What Is a Cybersecurity Risk Assessment?

A cybersecurity risk assessment is a process used to identify, evaluate and prioritize risks to an organization’s IT systems and data. The goal is to understand the potential threats and vulnerabilities that could impact the company, assess the potential impact and likelihood of these threats and develop strategies to mitigate or manage them. By knowing your ability to defend against cyber threats and risks, you can make informed decisions and improve your security posture as your attack surface grows.

Step 1: Conduct an Asset Inventory

Your first step is to conduct a thorough asset inventory: catalog all hardware, software, data, communications, devices, applications, systems and network resources within the company. Don't forget to include any customer information and transactions. This should give you an idea of where everything resides in your company, including data centers, backup systems and third-party file-sharing services like the cloud.

Next, prioritize these assets based on their criticality and which need the most protection. Classification levels can include public information, internal use, confidential or restricted. Classifying assets can determine how much control is needed to secure them. For example, restricted data would require more resources than public information.

Step 2. Define the Scope and Objectives

After conducting your asset inventory, set clear goals for your assessment, such as compliance requirements, threat identification and risk mitigation. Specify if the assessment is for a particular location, department or the whole company. Ensure your cybersecurity risk assessment’s goals also align with your company’s overall objectives.

Step 3. Identify Threats and Vulnerabilities

The next step is to identify potential threats and vulnerabilities so your company can anticipate potential breaches. Threats can include external and internal threats, like cyber attacks, insider threats, natural disasters, human error, system failures and more. Vulnerabilities are any weaknesses within the IT infrastructure that can be exploited, such as IT misconfigurations, excessive access rights, service disruptions, open endpoints and unpatched apps and systems.

Penetration tests simulate attacks to uncover weaknesses that may not be visible through automated scans. You can also analyze previous security incidents to identify vulnerabilities that might lead to repeat issues.

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Step 4. Set Mitigation Strategies and Controls

Once you identify the threats and vulnerabilities, assess the likelihood of each risk occurring and their potential impacts on your company, including fines, reputational damages and data loss. You can then prioritize which threats and vulnerabilities pose the highest risk to your organization so you can set the necessary security controls to help manage these risks. Remember, it’s not a question of if your company will ever face a cyber threat but when.

Implement security controls, including firewalls, encryption, multi-factor authentication (MFA), antimalware software, strong passwords and intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS and IPS), as well as an incident response plan (IRP). Limit access controls for staff, set updates and create training programs for staff to help maximize their cyber awareness.

Step 5. Document and Report Findings

The next step of the cybersecurity risk assessment is to document all identified risks and vulnerabilities, their potential impacts and likelihoods and the security controls implemented to help mitigate them. Prepare comprehensive reports for stakeholders so they can make informed security decisions. If you can specify the monetary damages these risks can pose, do so.

Also, ensure that your documentation aligns with regulatory compliance requirements, particularly for GDPR, HIPAA and PCI DSS.

Step 6. Monitor and Review

After documenting and reporting findings, it’s important to continuously monitor the tools to ensure they are working correctly and detecting and responding to incidents in real-time. Schedule annual reviews to ensure your controls are relevant and up-to-date with evolving cyber attacks.

How Thriveon Can Help

Conducting a successful cybersecurity risk assessment requires in-depth cybersecurity expertise and knowledge. However, if your organization doesn’t have an in-house team, turning to a trusted, reputable and award-winning managed service provider like Thriveon can be a powerful move.

Our experienced staff will help you implement a robust cybersecurity risk assessment and, depending on the results, set the correct controls to protect your company from cyber attacks and breaches. Explore our cybersecurity services or schedule a meeting with us for more information.