Cybersecurity Risk management is the process of identifying and responding to cybersecurity threats in your organization. This process applies the concept of enterprise risk management to cyberspace. This strategy helps companies identify vulnerabilities and implement comprehensive security solutions to protect the organization.
The first step in any cybersecurity risk-management process is a cyber risk assessment. This step will give business owners a clear overview of potential threats to their cybersecurity and their severity. Cyber risk assessments are tasks that identify, assess, and prioritize risks to organizational operations, organizational assets and other organizations resulting from the use and operation of information systems.
In our previous post, “Cybersecurity Assessment – Made Easy,” we noted that cybercriminals have the potential to launch massive cyberattacks if they are not managed properly. A cybersecurity risk assessment can help businesses detect potential threats. Based on the organization’s risk appetite, a cyber risk management program determines which risks to prioritize and how to respond to them.
Since businesses began owning assets that required to be protected, risk management has been a part of business life. The cybersecurity research began in the late 1960s. It has continued to evolve under various names such as information security or computer security. NIST published a paper on risk management in cybersecurity and the U.S. Government. It stated that since 1985, government’s cybersecurity policy and practice has been based upon risk management principles.
I.T. is used to protect organizations from cyberattacks that could compromise their systems, steal sensitive information, or damage their reputation. To manage security risks, agencies employ a variety of tools and techniques. As cyber-attacks and security breaches become more severe, so does the need for cybersecurity risk management.
What are the Cyber Risks?
Cyber risk is the possibility of data loss or damage, or information being stolen from a company’s communications system. Cybersecurity risks do not only include data loss and monetary loss, but also copyright theft, reduced business productivity, reputation damage, and decreased business productivity.
Any organization can be exposed to cybersecurity risks. They can originate from inside or outside of the organization. Cybersecurity can come from malicious or inadvertent insider actions.
Security incidents can result in monetary losses and regulatory fines. However, they can also cause intangible losses like a loss in customer confidence, reputational damage, or a change of leadership.
Cyber risks can often lead to a significant financial loss due to corporate information theft, financial data loss, theft of money and disruption of business operations. They can also damage a company’s reputation and undermine customer trust, which could lead to loss of customers and reductions in sales and profits. The average cost of data breaches is $3.86million.
Understanding Cybersecurity Risk Assessment
Cybersecurity risk assessment is the insider threats and risks from third-parties.
It is vital to continuously monitor and review the risk environment in order to detect any changes in the context of an organization and keep track of the whole risk management process.
First, a company must identify the assets it wishes to protect and classify in order to put together a risk management plan. There is no one-size-fits-all strategy, as per NIST Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity. Due to the nature of their operations and technological infrastructures, different businesses are exposed to different risks. For the most valuable products such as customer data, regulatory compliance and issues in the healthcare and financial services sectors must be addressed.
The Risk Management Framework (RMF) is a cybersecurity framework that allows risk assessments to be conducted. It has been adopted by US Government. The RMF process has seven steps. These steps ensure that the system meets acceptable security standards before operating authorization is granted. These are the steps:
It is important to document and execute all activities that could pose a cybersecurity risk. Corporate cybersecurity initiatives should be guided by best practices, as described by ISO/IEC 27000 family.
NIST Risk Management Framework
- Prepare
- Categorize
- Select Controls
- Use controls
- Examine Controls
- Autorize the system
- Continuous Monitoring
Cybersecurity Risk Management Process
To determine the desired risks for your company, you should start by creating a cybersecurity strategy using different business areas. New technologies can be used by security teams to map and get data from across an enterprise. After mapping their data, security teams can make better decisions regarding controlling and minimising their data risk footprint.
Even with the best cybersecurity training and a strong cybersecurity culture, confidential information, such as employee presentations or spreadsheet rows that contain data, can still be lost. The risk of losing private information is greatly reduced by scanning the company for confidential data and then removing any that does not exist.
To kickstart your risk management process, Although encryption is not a new feature, it must be done in a strategic and presentable manner to protect data from insider threats and attackers. Advanced key management, granular role and access management, granular task separations, standards-based cryptography and state-of the-art algorithms are all part of risk management encryption features.
Data encryption protects against external attacks but it is not effective against internal theft. Access to sensitive information is almost certain to be available to insiders. Firms must take steps to ensure that trusted insiders don’t delete data from their systems.
Businesses must also balance data security with data sharing capabilities. Companies must protect classified data such as credit card numbers and names from queries and updates.
In addition to technical considerations, security education and training is essential. Many threat actors have moved beyond Trojan horse, malicious, other viruseses, to spear phishing. They try to obtain sensitive company data or identities from administrators.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology states that companies must include security information in policies to ensure workers and business associates know what it is.
Online exposure is the greatest threat to a company’s cybersecurity. A plan must be established for an incident response in order to determine what can be done in case of specific incidents. More stringent security measures are required if hacker attempts increase at the company or industry. A company must have a comprehensive plan in place for any data breaches. This includes contact information for all relevant authorities, stakeholders and consultants, as well as a list of actions and a strategy communications response. NIST offers a plan for responding to an incident.
Businesses can consider these other cybersecurity firewalls and intrusion detection systems and prevention system (VPNs)
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
Endpoint protection, firewalls and intrusion prevention are some of the technologies that companies should consider. To identify new risks and threats, a company should conduct periodic assessments. After obtaining a preliminary assessment, this process determines how to address cybersecurity threats in order to maintain a company’s projectile motion at the required level.
The key takeaways
*Cybersecurity risk management refers to the process of identifying and evaluating your organization’s cybersecurity threats.
Cyber risk refers to the possibility of loss or damage due to communications systems or information systems within an organization. It can be internal or externe.
*Cyber risk can cause financial losses through operational disruptions or regulatory fines. Reputational damage can also result in customer loss, reduced profits and leadership changes.
*Cybersecurity risk assessment determines, reviews, and evaluates cyber-risks. This strategy ensures that cybersecurity controls are appropriate for the risks facing businesses.
*Information encryption is recommended to protect information from insider threats and attackers. Endpoint protection, firewalls and intrusion prevention are some examples of reliable security solutions.
