Cybersecurity Risk Assessment
An effective cybersecurity strategy is an ongoing posture that is agile and adaptable to continually defend a network against emerging cyberthreats. The first step toward defining a security posture is to conduct a comprehensive cyber risk assessment within the network and its relationship with the entire organization and the potential business impacts of network disruptions—external cyberattacks, data breaches, and internal breakdowns and downtime.
Cybersecurity Risk Assessment in 3 Steps
You can’t decide how to get where you’re going until you know where you are. A cybersecurity risk assessment follows three core steps:
- What data (intellectual property, customer records) would be most valuable to cybercriminals?
- What would be the potential losses of revenue—hourly, weekly, or longer—as a direct result of ransomware, DDoS attacks, or other extended disruptions from external cyberattacks?
- How many resources—time, money, and people—would be required to repair the aftermath of a cyberattack or data breach?
- Would a data breach bring hefty compliance penalties (HIPAA, PCI DDS, GDPR, and other regulations) or expose the organization to further legal jeopardy?
- In today’s ever-growing world of cyberthreats—where some form of cyberattack can be assumed as inevitable—what might be considered “acceptable” cyber risk losses vs. mission-critical damage?
- High – Critical fixes and upgrades that must be implemented immediately.
- Medium – Preventative measures against legitimate threats to the network that should be scheduled in the near future.
- Low – Defending against possible—if unlikely—low-impact threats that can be addressed as benefits merit costs.
Determine Value of Data Assets
Identify Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Risks
Threats are any potential events that can harm the security of the network, including external cyberattacks, obsolete hardware, unpatched software, or poor security hygiene among internal users—opening the door to phishing, malware, advanced persistent threats (APTs) or other network breaches.
Vulnerabilities are assessed via a thorough inventory of all elements of the network—on-premise or cloud infrastructure, data flow, applications, and all user endpoints, including workstations, laptops, and other devices. A detailed end-to-end analysis can be accelerated by various automated scanning tools and partnering with cyber risk services.
Risks of threats and vulnerabilities can be measured around a simple general equation: Risk = Likelihood × Impact.
Ongoing cyber risk management also involves continually monitoring the latest zero-day vulnerabilities and other emerging threats. The recognized “gold standard” for reporting and cataloging cyber vulnerabilities in the US is the NIST National Vulnerability Database.
Prioritize Remediation Plans
Following the initial risk assessment, corrective measures can be classified into three categories:
- What data (intellectual property, customer records) would be most valuable to cybercriminals?
- What would be the potential losses of revenue—hourly, weekly, or longer—as a direct result of ransomware, DDoS attacks, or other extended disruptions from external cyberattacks?
- How many resources—time, money, and people—would be required to repair the aftermath of a cyberattack or data breach?
- Would a data breach bring hefty compliance penalties (HIPAA, PCI DDS, GDPR, and other regulations) or expose the organization to further legal jeopardy?
- In today’s ever-growing world of cyberthreats—where some form of cyberattack can be assumed as inevitable—what might be considered “acceptable” cyber risk losses vs. mission-critical damage?
Threats are any potential events that can harm the security of the network, including external cyberattacks, obsolete hardware, unpatched software, or poor security hygiene among internal users—opening the door to phishing, malware, advanced persistent threats (APTs) or other network breaches.
Vulnerabilities are assessed via a thorough inventory of all elements of the network—on-premise or cloud infrastructure, data flow, applications, and all user endpoints, including workstations, laptops, and other devices. A detailed end-to-end analysis can be accelerated by various automated scanning tools and partnering with cyber risk services.
Risks of threats and vulnerabilities can be measured around a simple general equation: Risk = Likelihood × Impact.
Ongoing cyber risk management also involves continually monitoring the latest zero-day vulnerabilities and other emerging threats. The recognized “gold standard” for reporting and cataloging cyber vulnerabilities in the US is the NIST National Vulnerability Database.
Following the initial risk assessment, corrective measures can be classified into three categories:
- High – Critical fixes and upgrades that must be implemented immediately.
- Medium – Preventative measures against legitimate threats to the network that should be scheduled in the near future.
- Low – Defending against possible—if unlikely—low-impact threats that can be addressed as benefits merit costs.
Industry-Leading MDR Cybersecurity
A comprehensive initial risk assessment is the foundation an effective cybersecurity strategy is built upon. Get it right the first time by partnering with a trusted cybersecurity partner specializing in the holistic relationship between cybersecurity, cloud, and hybrid networks.
Speak with an Open Systems team member to learn more about our crazy good cybersecurity and the planning and execution of a cyber risk assessment, as well as how our crazy good cybersecurity, MDR+ and SASE+ services figure into the ideal network security solution for your organization.
