Interscale Content Hub – In this day and age, an IT risk assessment template is the sweet spot for organisations looking to keep their tech infrastructure safe.
As many businesses know, the complex web of IT risks is quite challenging. They need to be addressed quickly and accurately.
If you understand and implement an IT risk assessment template, you’ll be much better at dealing with risks, keeping your operations running smoothly, and following the rules.
So, why not get started right away? Let’s move on to the specifics.
Elements of an IT Risk Assessment Template
The key to an effective IT risk assessment template is to take a comprehensive approach to identifying, evaluating and mitigating risks.
The risk assessment template from the Department of Education of the Queensland Government provides a structured approach that can be easily adapted for IT environments.
The first thing to do is identify the risks, which involves spotting potential threats like cyber attacks, hardware failures and data breaches.
So, we need to think about both internal and external factors, including the security culture and legislative requirements.
This helps us to see the big picture of potential risks and to identify all possible vulnerabilities.
Then, we analyse each risk to see how bad it could be and how likely it is to happen.
This process often uses a risk matrix to categorise risks into levels like low, medium, high, and extreme.
The Department of Education’s template, which includes a detailed risk matrix, shows how important it is to assess both the likelihood and consequences of risks.
Once the analysis is done, the evaluation helps us to decide which risks are the most important to deal with first.
This is a big step for making sure the right resources are allocated to the most significant risks.
Also, we can learn a lot from the Security Sensitive Biological Agents (SSBA) template from the Department of Health and Aged Care of Australia.
This SSBA risk assessment document is all about working out what level of risk is acceptable and then deciding whether any extra controls are needed.
Then, we come up with ways to deal with the risks we’ve identified.
These measures can be anything from technical controls like firewalls to administrative controls like policies, and physical controls like secure access points.
The Department of Education’s template shows us the hierarchy of controls, from elimination to personal protective equipment (PPE), which ensures that risks are managed effectively.
Then, think about monitoring and review as a continuous process to make sure the control measures are still effective over time.
It’s good to have regular reviews so you can adapt to new threats and changing environments.
The SSBA document makes it clear that annual reviews are a must and explains when an out-of-schedule review might be needed.
It’s important to keep this process going so you can stay on top of any changes to the risk management strategy.
Finally, documentation and reporting make sure that the whole risk assessment process is transparent and provide a reference for future assessments.
Good documentation helps us all to be accountable and to keep on improving.
To give you a heads-up, you might want to read “How Benefit Risk Assessment Protects Your Bottom Line More Than Ever?“
Step-by-Step Guide to Creating an IT Risk Assessment Template
Here’s a handy guide to creating an adjustable IT risk assessment template.
Step 1: Define the Scope and Objectives
The first thing to do is to make sure you know exactly what you’re looking at. Figure out which IT assets, processes, and systems you’re going to include.
Make it clear what you’re trying to achieve, like protecting sensitive data or ensuring system availability.
Step 2: Identify Risks
Make sure you do a proper risk identification process. Use different techniques like brainstorming sessions, interviews with key people, and looking at past data.
Group the risks into the following categories: strategic, operational, financial, technical and external.
The SSBA template is a great place to start when it comes to identifying potential security risks.
Step 3: Analyse Risks
Use a risk matrix to analyse the risks you’ve identified. Next, rate each risk on a scale of 1 to 5, based on how likely it is and how much of an impact it could have.
Add up the values to get a risk score, which helps you decide which risks to focus on first.
As we can see in the Department of Education’s template, they’ve included a really detailed risk matrix to help with this process.
Step 4: Evaluate and Prioritise Risks
Make sure you assess the risks and decide whether they’re something you can live with.
We should focus on the high-risk areas first and get them sorted out as soon as possible.
Run a cost-benefit analysis to decide on the best way to control each risk.
The SSBA document suggests setting a risk acceptance level to help guide this evaluation.
Step 5: Develop Control Measures
For each significant risk, come up with some ways to control it. These measures could include things like implementing security protocols, updating software, doing regular backups, and training staff on cybersecurity practices.
The Department of Education’s template offers a useful framework for this step, with a hierarchy of controls that can help you get started.
Step 6: Document and Implement the Plan
Make sure you document the whole risk assessment process, including the risks you’ve identified, how you analysed them, how you evaluated them, and what you’re going to do to control them.
Next, get the ball rolling on the risk management plan by assigning responsibilities and setting timelines for the control measures.
Step 7: Monitor and Review
Set up a way to see how well the control measures are working. So, make sure you regularly review and update the risk assessment to address new threats and changing IT environments.
The SSBA template makes a strong case for regular reviews and goes into detail about what should prompt a reassessment.
Examples of IT Risk Assessment Templates
As well as the two examples of templates from Australian government agencies we looked at earlier, there are plenty more templates out there on the internet.
Indeed, there are loads of IT risk assessment templates out there on the internet, which you can use as a starting point for your own assessment.
NIST Special Publication 800-30
NIST SP 800-30 provides a solid framework for conducting risk assessments.
It’s a popular choice among government agencies and organisations in critical infrastructure sectors for assessing and managing risks related to information systems and cybersecurity.
ISO/IEC 27005
ISO/IEC 27005 gives you a really detailed methodology for information security risk management.
It’s in line with the ISO 27001 standard for information security management systems (ISMS).
With ISO/IEC 27005, organisations can assess and manage risks related to information security in a way that works for them.
COBIT 5 for Risk
COBIT 5 is a risk management framework designed especially for IT governance and management.
It helps businesses link their IT activities to their overall business goals and manage the risks associated with their IT processes and services.
For another useful reference on the Australian context kindly check “The Australia Inside Scoop: Why You Need an IT Risk Assessment Policy.”
How to Run an IT Risk Assessment Template
Let’s be honest: spotting and dealing with all the different IT threats out there is no easy task. It’s a big job that needs the right skills, resources and a good understanding of your business.
And even if you have a template, there are still lots of jobs to be done.
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 and point out any weaknesses or 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 and sound.
Then, we’ll be there for you every step of the way, helping you put in place and maintain effective risk management practices, and adapting to the ever-changing threat landscape.
Our expertise has helped businesses like Davey Water Products a lot.
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.
We get it, you might want to do a few background checks on us.
We also don’t want you to get carried away with all the marketing hype and end up with a sugar overload.
We’d suggest you take a look at our Interscale Cybersecurity Support page.
Or, if you’d like more detail and a more comprehensive adjustment, just make an appointment. We’re here for you 24/7.
In Closing
An IT risk assessment template is a great way to help you navigate IT security and analyse potential threats, vulnerabilities and their impact.
But it’s a pretty complex job. On the flip side, you have to stay focused on the core business.
That’s why partnering with Interscale can help you manage risks and secure your future. With their help, you can get an IT risk assessment template up and running.
