8 Steps To Performing A Cyber Security Risk Assessment

Managing cyber-security is essential for all businesses operating in the modern world.

Cyber threats continue to get increasingly potent and highly advanced day-by-day, and an internal risk assessment is the only way to protect your organization against potential data leaks, identity theft, loss of sensitive information, or worse, a total breach of network security.

A security threat and risk assessment can be performed on any application, server, network, or process within your organization. The primary goal of this assessment is to figure out where the vulnerabilities lie, identify possible loopholes in the system, and eventually implement measures that sure up a business’ defenses against cyber-criminals.

8 Steps To Performing A Cyber Security Risk Assessment

The process is performed in 8 simple steps:

1. Identification & prioritization of assets

A company’s assets will include everything from sensitive customer data to the trade secrets, and it’s vital that this information gets prioritized with all organizational needs in mind.

Remember: you likely won’t have the time or the budget to assess everything. Consult with all employees at your company, and draw up a priority list of the assets that are more valuable for the business and require extra attention.

We recommend working systematically through all the data and classifying assets based on a 1-5 rating, where 1 would be public information such as marketing campaigns, published financial reports, etc., and 5 is classified internal files like customer’s financial details, trade secrets, and more.

2. Threat identification

While hackers and malware initially come to mind, there are plenty of other threats that could breach through networks and cause harm to your organization. These include:

Unauthorized access to confidential data, both malicious and accidental
Intentional misuse of company resources or information by an authorized employee
Data leakage, but malicious and accidental
Loss of information due to poor backup processes
Total system failure
DDOS attacks

3. Detection of vulnerabilities

Vulnerabilities are loopholes or weaknesses in the network security infrastructure that can be exploited by a hacker to gain access to sensitive data. They’re identified through a thorough Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT).

The VAPT aims to exploit loopholes in the network security in much the same way as a hacker would, albeit in a more controlled, safer environment. The result of this test is a detailed report that network managers can use to identify all vulnerabilities in the security system and implement measures to prevent any future attacks.

For further information about VAPT, we recommend getting in touch with one of the security consulting firms in KSA.

4. Analyze the existing controls

Analyze the existing control measures implemented within the security infrastructure, and test their effectiveness against detecting, preventing, and mitigating cyber threats. Also, ensure that all data is easily recoverable following a potential breach by creating regular backups.

Control systems are of two major types:

Technical
Non-technical

Technical systems encompass all software, hardware, intrusion detection mechanisms, and encryption that are implemented directly on the networks.

Non-technical controls will include administrative actions, security policies, and physical and environmental mechanisms.

5. Assess the impact of a potential attack

Using the data generated from the first three steps, determine the impact a potential risk could have on the organization’s assets and security. Classify the impact as:

High – If the result of a breach would be substantial, including the possibility of complete shutdown
Medium – If the damage from a breach would be noticeable but recoverable
Low – If the impact would be practically non-existent

6. Determine the likelihood of an incident

Next, you need to figure out the likelihood of a security incident occurring while keeping in mind the system’s vulnerabilities and the effectiveness of your existing control measures.

Most organizations categorize the likelihood using a basic High, Medium, Low ranking.

7. Calculate the risk to each asset

The risk rating is calculated using a simple formula:

To keep things simple, the likelihood categories are given the following numerical values:

High – 1.0 Medium – 0.5 Low – 0.1

While the impact values are rated as:

High – 100 Medium – 50 Low – 10

Using both sets of values, the final risk rating can be determined and assessed. The NIST Special Publication 800-30 has a published table which shows what a completed risk rating analysis should look like:

8. Recommend future control measures

Finally, a report is prepared with all the control measures that must be implemented to secure the organization against future attacks that would be rated as ‘sever’ or ‘elevated’.

As work begins on mitigating risks, make sure you keep each of the following in mind: