Interscale Content Hub – The IT risk assessment process is a way of looking at an organisation’s technological infrastructure in a systematic way.
It’s designed to spot potential weaknesses that could be used by threats to cause disruption, data loss, financial damage or damage to the company’s reputation.
For businesses in Australia and the Asia-Pacific, where cyber threats are on the rise, it’s not just a good idea to understand and conduct IT risk assessments. It’s essential.
So, let’s get into the details here.
Components of IT Risk Assessment
An effective IT risk assessment has three main parts: assets, threats and vulnerabilities.
Assets are valuable resources in your IT environment. This can include:
- Hardware like servers and workstations
- Software such as applications and operating systems
- Data including customer information and financial records
- Intangible assets like reputation and brand image.
Knowing which assets you’ve got is really important because it helps you decide what needs protecting and it also helps you spot potential threats and vulnerabilities.
Then there are the threats. These are potential events or actions that could harm the assets.
These can be all kinds of things, like cyber attacks like hacking and ransomware, natural disasters like floods and fires, hardware failures, and human errors.
To identify threats, you need to understand both external and internal factors that could harm IT systems.
Finally, vulnerabilities are weaknesses in IT systems or processes that can be exploited by threats.
These could be things like old software, poor password practices or inadequate security controls.
To assess vulnerabilities, you need to look closely at the IT infrastructure to find any weak spots that could be exploited. This helps you develop strategies to deal with these issues.
For reference about IT audit, kindly read “How does an IT Audit Differ from a Security Assessment? Don’t Get Fooled.”
Step-by-Step IT Risk Assessment Process
Now, let’s take a look at how to do an IT risk assessment step by step.
Establish the Context
The first step in the IT risk assessment process is to get a handle on the context.
This means defining what the assessment is going to cover, where it’s going to stop, and what it’s going to achieve. This is so that it fits in with the company’s overall strategy and meets any regulatory requirements.
By setting the context, you create a solid foundation that guides the entire risk assessment process, making sure it stays relevant and targeted.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) says in their Special Publication 800-30 that setting the context helps to define the operational environment and clarify the system boundaries. This is really important for identifying and managing risks effectively.
Identify IT Assets
The NIST guide also says it’s vital to get to grips with the system’s operational environment and related assets if you want to assess potential risks accurately.
This is a big step because it determines what needs protecting. So, we need to assess each asset to see how critical it is to the business.
Also, we should think about things like the asset’s role, the data it processes and its value to the organisation.
If you know what IT assets you’ve got, you can focus your risk assessment on the most critical areas first.
Identify Potential Threats
To spot potential threats, you need to know what could go wrong with your IT infrastructure and how it could be exploited.
These threats can be natural (like floods or earthquakes), human (like cyber attacks or insider threats), or environmental (like power failures).
According to NIST, it’s good practice to consider historical data, intelligence reports and the current threat landscape when identifying threats.
The aim is to create a list of all the threats that are relevant to the organisation’s specific context.
Assess Vulnerabilities
When we’re looking at vulnerabilities, we’re trying to spot any weaknesses in the IT systems that could be exploited by the threats we’ve identified.
This next step is about looking at both technical and non-technical vulnerabilities.
Technical ones include things like outdated software and weak passwords, while non-technical ones are things like poor security policies.
There are a few different ways to assess vulnerabilities. You can use automated scanning tools, security testing, or just review the system documentation.
By spotting the weak spots, companies can see where they’re most at risk and focus their security efforts on the areas that matter most.
NIST’s guidelines offer detailed methods for carrying out a thorough vulnerability assessment.
Analyse Risk
Risk analysis is all about looking at the potential impact and likelihood of threats exploiting vulnerabilities.
NIST has a structured approach for analysing risk, which includes looking at how likely it is that a threat will happen and what impact it could have on the organisation’s operations, assets, and people.
The results of this analysis help us make decisions about risk management. It means we can make sure we spend our resources on the biggest risks first.
Evaluate Risk Levels
Risk evaluation is all about comparing the risks we’ve looked at against how much risk the company is willing to take.
NIST says doing this helps you link up your risk management with your company’s overall goals.
It also makes sure you’re dealing with the most important risks first.
Yes, this step helps us to decide which risks are the most important by looking at how much they could affect us and how likely they are to happen.
This helps us to decide which risks we need to deal with straight away and which we can monitor over time.
Develop Risk Mitigation Strategies
NIST says it’s key to have a complete plan that looks at different types of controls to make sure you can deal with any risks.
When it comes to risk mitigation strategies, it’s all about creating plans to reduce the impact or likelihood of identified risks.
This can include technical controls like firewalls and encryption, administrative controls like policies and procedures, and physical controls like secure access to facilities.
The strategies should be realistic, cost-effective and in line with the company’s appetite for risk and business goals.
Implement Mitigation Measures
The next step is to put the strategies into action by implementing the mitigation measures.
This step is all about getting different departments to work together to make sure that all the different bits of the mitigation effort fit together well with the rest of the company’s operations.
That’s why NIST says it’s important to keep an eye on these measures and make any necessary changes to keep up with new threats and changes in the IT environment.
Keeping up with regular training, policy enforcement and technical upgrades is essential for maintaining a robust security posture.
Monitor and Review
NIST’s guidelines make it clear that an iterative process is important for maintaining a resilient IT security framework. Monitoring and review are key to this.
Keeping an eye on things and looking over things ensures that the risk management strategies keep working well over time.
This means keeping risk assessments up to date to reflect changes in the IT environment, new threats and vulnerabilities.
Ongoing evaluation helps us to spot where the security measures could be improved and make the necessary changes.
For more detailed additional info, please also read “Your Roadmap to How to Perform Detailed IT Security Risk Assessment.“
How Often Should IT Risk Assessments Be Conducted?
How often you do IT risk assessments depends on a few things, like the kind of risks your company is exposed to, what the regulators say, and how the IT environment is changing.
Annual Assessments
It’s pretty standard practice in many industries to do an annual IT risk assessment.
Annual assessments usually involve lots of data collection and analysis, talking to key people, and making sure everything is properly documented.
This approach gives a full picture of the risk landscape, so organisations can assess potential risks and come up with effective ways to deal with them.
Quarterly Assessments
This regular review helps us to spot any changes in the risk picture quickly and make any necessary adjustments to our risk management plans.
Quarterly assessments involve gathering regular data, updating risk profiles and monitoring continuously, which helps organisations stay agile and responsive to emerging risks.
For organisations that operate in fast-changing environments, quarterly risk assessments are more effective.
Event-Driven Assessments
As well as scheduled assessments, it’s also important to do risk assessments whenever there are any significant changes in the organisation.
These changes could be anything from the introduction of new technologies, changes in regulatory requirements, or significant incidents like security breaches or natural disasters.
Event-driven assessments make sure that any new risks are spotted and dealt with quickly, so that the IT environment stays secure and intact.
How Interscale Can Be Your IT Risk Assessment Partner
Let’s face it: identifying and managing the many potential IT threats is no easy task. It’s a big job that needs the right skills, resources and a good understanding of your business.
That’s why we at Interscale offer customised IT risk assessment solutions that cater to the unique needs of businesses.
Our team of experts will take a close look at your IT infrastructure, spotting any weaknesses and potential problems that could affect your business.
We’ll also put together a customised risk management plan with strategies to deal with the risks we find. This will keep your systems and data safe.
Then, we’ll be there for you every step of the way, helping you implement and maintain effective risk management practices, and adapting to the ever-changing threat landscape.
Our expertise has helped businesses like Davey Water Products in a big way.
By teaming up with Interscale, they were able to spot and fix any major cybersecurity issues, keeping their systems and data safe from potential threats.
With all that sugar coating, we understand you might want to do a few background checks on us.
We also don’t want you to get hooked on all the marketing sugar and end up with diabetes.
So, we suggest you visit and read our Interscale Cybersecurity Support page.
Or, if you want more detail and a more comprehensive adjustment, just make an appointment. We’re here for you 24/7.
In Closing
If you work out what the risks are, analyse them and then deal with them, you can make sure your company’s assets are safe, you’re following the rules and everything keeps running smoothly.
However, because IT environments are often pretty complex, it can be really helpful to partner with a specialist provider like Interscale.
Our team of experts can be your support system, helping to make sure you get a thorough and effective IT risk assessment process.
