Interscale Content Hub – An IT risk assessment policy is how a company identifies, analyses, and addresses potential threats to its information technology systems.
This policy helps you identify potential risks and gives you a structured way to deal with them, so you can keep your business running smoothly and stay on the right side of the law.
Let’s say your business was hit by a cyberattack, and it messed up your finances and your reputation.
If you have a clear IT risk assessment policy, you can spot weaknesses and put the right controls in place to make it less likely and less damaging if something does go wrong.
Key Objectives of an IT Risk Assessment Policy
An IT risk assessment policy is designed to help you identify, evaluate and manage risks that could affect your organisation’s information technology infrastructure.
The Australian Government Information Security Registered Assessor Program (IRAP) document by Microsoft says that the main goal is to make sure that data is as secure as possible by focusing on the ICT infrastructure that stores, processes, and communicates it.
The main goals are to identify risks, assess their potential impact, rank them based on likelihood and impact, and develop strategies to mitigate them.
By keeping an eye on these strategies and reviewing them regularly, we can make sure that we stay protected against new threats as they emerge.
The “2024 Data Breach Investigations Report,” by Verizon shows that it’s really important to do comprehensive risk assessments so you can understand the changing cyber threat landscape and put together effective mitigation strategies.
The report makes it clear that it’s important to identify both internal and external threats, understand their potential impact, and develop robust response mechanisms.
This proactive approach not only helps to reduce risks but also makes the company more resilient overall when it comes to cybersecurity.
Importance of IT Risk Assessment Policy in Australia
Australian businesses are under more pressure from stakeholders to show they have solid cybersecurity practices in place.
The Commonwealth Risk Management Policy says that organisations must keep effective risk management frameworks in place to make sure they meet standards and become more resilient.
On top of that, the SOCI Act says that operators of critical infrastructure must implement really strict security measures.
What’s more, the IRAP framework offers a structured process for independent security assessments, making sure that IT systems comply with Australian government policies and guidelines.
This framework helps organisations keep federal, state and local government data safe, showing how important it is to keep on top of risks and to stay on the right side of the rules.
As you can see, the evolution of the government’s role and the cyber threat landscape in Australia means that businesses need to adopt comprehensive IT risk assessment policies.
So yes, here in Australia, we know that IT risk assessment policies are key to managing the tough regulatory environment and the growing number of cyber threats.
For reference, you might find it helpful to take a look at “How Benefit Risk Assessment Protects Your Bottom Line More Than Ever?“
Australian Regulations and Standards
Australian Privacy Principles (APPs)
The Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), part of the Privacy Act 1988, provide a framework for handling personal information in a secure and compliant manner.
The APPs mandate organisations to implement measures that protect personal data from misuse, loss, and unauthorised access.
Regular risk assessments are crucial in identifying potential vulnerabilities and ensuring compliance with the APPs.
ACSC Essential Eight
The Australian Cyber Security Centre’s (ACSC) Essential Eight is a set of strategies to mitigate cybersecurity incidents.
These strategies include application whitelisting, patching applications, configuring Microsoft Office macro settings, user application hardening, restricting administrative privileges, patching operating systems, multi-factor authentication, and daily backups.
The IRAP document mentions that adhering to the Essential Eight helps organizations enhance their security posture and comply with government regulations.
GDPR (for businesses operating with EU data)
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires businesses handling EU data to conduct thorough risk assessments to ensure data protection and privacy.
Australian companies operating with EU data must implement GDPR-compliant risk management frameworks.
The SOCI Act also emphasises the need for compliance with international standards to protect critical infrastructure and data.
PCI-DSS for Payment Security
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) provides guidelines for securing payment card data.
Compliance with PCI-DSS requires regular risk assessments to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities in payment systems.
This standard is crucial for Australian businesses handling payment card information to ensure data security and regulatory compliance.
Developing an IT Risk Assessment Policy
The first thing we need to do is decide what we’re looking at in this assessment. This means figuring out which assets, processes, and systems are really important to the company.
At this stage, it’s important to get a full picture of the organisation’s information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, as outlined in the IRAP document.
Once you’ve got the scope down, it’s time to think about potential risks. There are lots of tools and techniques you can use to find out about these risks, such as SWOT analysis, checklists, and interviews.
Once you’ve identified the risks, the next thing to do is analyse them. This means looking at how likely each risk is to happen and how bad it would be if it did.
The SOCI Act says that critical infrastructure operators should do regular risk assessments and vulnerability analyses, which shows how important this step is.
The next thing to do is come up with ways to deal with the risks. At this stage, we put controls and countermeasures in place to reduce the risks to an acceptable level.
The ACSC’s Essential Eight framework offers some great tips for putting together these strategies, making sure they’re solid and work well.
Next, we document and communicate the process. It’s really important to keep a detailed record of the risk assessment process and to make sure that the relevant people know what the findings are and what actions have been taken.
The IRAP document makes a big deal about keeping comprehensive records and having good reporting systems in place to make sure everyone’s on the same page and we’re all accountable.
And last but not least, it’s vital to keep the risk assessment policy up to date to make sure it covers new threats and changes in the business environment.
Yup, at the end of the day, keeping monitoring and improvement are the keys to effective risk management.
As a point of reference, this article might be useful for you: “Make IT Risk Assessment Process Great Again: A Step-by-Step Guide.”
How You Can Develop an IT Risk Assessment Policy with a Support System?
As you can see, there are lots of government regulations out there. And yes, the cyber threat is always changing.
A lot of companies find it tough to put together a full IT risk assessment policy because they don’t have the resources or expertise.
That’s why we’ve created a full range of cybersecurity services to help you identify, assess and reduce the risks to your valuable assets.
So, what does that mean for you?
We’ll take a close look at the risks to your company’s information assets and work out which ones are the most important.
We’ll help you put together a complete cybersecurity strategy that works for your business and your risk appetite.
We also run training for your employees to help them understand the risks and best practices when it comes to cybersecurity.
We can help you put together and implement plans for dealing with security breaches and getting your business back on its feet again.
We’re here for you 24/7 with security system monitoring and management, so we can spot and respond to threats as they happen.
For instance, we’re helping Davey Water Products identify and tackle some pretty major cybersecurity issues. This means they can keep their systems and data safe and secure.
With all this extra detail, we appreciate you might want to do a few background checks on us before we go any further.
We also don’t want you to get hooked on all the marketing sugar and end up with diabetes.
Therefore, as an appetiser, you should visit and read our Interscale Cybersecurity Support page.
Or, if you’d like to know more and have a more in-depth discussion, just book an appointment. We’re here for you 24/7.
In Closing
A solid IT risk assessment policy helps businesses identify, evaluate and deal with potential cyber threats, keeping their operations safe and making sure they can keep going if something goes wrong.
This is especially important in Australia because there are more cyber attacks and strict regulations.
That’s why it’s a good idea to stick to local regulations and use expert services like Interscale to improve your cybersecurity stance.
It’s not just about meeting the rules. A strong IT risk assessment policy helps your business stay strong and adaptable in the face of ever-changing cyber threats.
