Using Risk Management to Identify Gaps in Cybersecurity

In the current digital world, businesses are exposed to risk every day. Investment companies and financial institutions such as banks and insurance companies usually are the prime targets for cybercriminals in search of personal details and money.

Some may also stage an attack to destroy infrastructure and disrupt operations. Here, we discuss why your organization needs to engage a comprehensive risk management strategy in combating risk. Managing risk is a process that begins with a risk assessment to identify where vulnerabilities and liabilities are to protect your stack from malicious actors.

The Value of Risk Management

The business environment is surrounded by uncertainties, thanks to the evolution of technology. New inventions are today, making it easy for cybercriminals to compromise private data. This makes risk assessment and management a necessity.

The malicious actors are quick to notice gaps and use the chance to steal the data from security systems. What would likely result from such breaches would be lawsuits, bad reputation, and the loss of loyal customers.

Risk assessment allows the security team to identify threats and risks immediately. This enables them to close any gaps and give proper security to sensitive data. The evaluation also addresses compliance and regulatory requirements for PCI DSS as well as HIPAA.

Cybersecurity Risk Assessment and IT Risk

You will need to employ specific fixes to improve the safety of your customer data. Risk assessment is often the first step towards protecting the data. A third party company mostly offers the assessment. Most of the services provided tend to be limited in scope and are often too expensive.

In that case, some companies choose to perform risk assessment internally. SaaS platforms have made this possible by offering automated testing, reports, and monitoring. One of the best approaches to risk management is the use of automated scanning software.

The tools can be used to scan databases to detect potential risks in the network, hardware, data, among other areas. Breach and attack simulation tools, vendor-provided tools, and vulnerability assessment platforms are some of the tools that can perform a comprehensive scan in your system.

The tools will then report the issues discovered and offer suggestions on how to combat them. When choosing a risk assessment tool, consider the frequency of updates, results actionability, and its integration with other security tools.

Risk Management process

The process of cybersecurity focuses on addressing structures that protect data. Risk assessment involves risk identification, risk analysis, and mitigation. It calls for intensive meetings across all departments of an organization and all key players.

Although this process can be time-consuming, do not skip it; otherwise, you might regret it at some point down the line after your system has faced an attack. Focus more on the department that deals directly with consumer and company data. Once you have determined potential risks, analyze them, and evaluate their severity.

How to Reduce Potential Impact of Risk

The purpose of risk management is to identify potential risks, assess impact, and devise ways of responding to each once it happens. Every organization, including startups and large companies, must develop a culture of risk assessment. Here are some ways you can reduce the impact of a cyber-attack.

Develop a Culture

When planning your risk management program, culture should be your first idea. An attack can destroy your reputation and cost you significant amounts of money, not less than $1.1 million. All your staff must be introduced to a particular organizational culture.

Educated your Employees

The responsibility of cybersecurity should not be entirely left to the IT department. Every department must be trained on security breaches, how they could destroy the company, and what each employee should do to reduce the risk. Make your employees understand the impact of malware and any other social attack. Communicate your plans on risk mitigation to all stakeholders and keep them involved.

Launch a Cyber Security Framework

The right frameworks must be brought into the picture. Your standards will dictate the right framework. Most companies adopt PCC DSS, CIS Critical Security Controls, and ISO 27001/27002. Immediately the breach happens, a response must be given immediately. Taking too much time to address a threat can lead to severe damage.

Every company also needs a risk assessment matrix comprising of quantitative and qualitative risk reviews. The assessment should give you a detailed analysis and highlight the risks likely to occur. Risk management involves the partnership of both the internal and external stakeholders.

The objective of cybersecurity is to ensure that a company aligns with the stipulated regulations. In that case, every department must devise strategies that conform to the standard. The regulations should be reviewed annually for a better protection mechanism. You can maintain an accurate picture of cybersecurity by integrating automated tools.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.