How to Perform a Cyber Security Risk Assessment
Well-implemented cyber security is critical in this day and age for all businesses that operate online – and the first step to ensuring your security is up to the task is to perform a cyber security risk assessment.
Learn all about what a risk assessment involves, why it’s so critical in the current landscape, and how to go about performing one for your business.
What is a Cyber Security Risk Assessment?
At its core, a cyber security risk assessment analyses the security risks that exist online and the likelihood that they could directly impact your business’s online security and network infrastructure.
It’s best to undertake risk assessments on a relatively consistent basis, with a yearly evaluation being a good at-minimum approach.
We also suggest coupling these risk assessments with annual cyber security audits, which can provide a more granular understanding of where security improvements could be made.
Four common evaluations included under our cyber security assessments are:
1. Threat and Risk Assessment
This takes a broader look at the external and internal threats and risks that could impact your business’s overall security and network infrastructure.
External factors include hackers, malware, denial of service (DoS) attacks, etc. Internal factors include the use of outdated hardware, not having the latest security patches installed, and holes in your network security where exploits could be used to gain access.
2. Standard Gap Risk Assessment
This assessment helps identify where you have proper security measures in place to respond to risks and where you could be implementing additional security measures to respond to risks. In other words, what you’re doing right and where there’s room for improvement.
A quick example could be that you have fantastic on-site security measures in place, but your remote security could benefit from being improved.
3. Cyber Maturity Assessment
This is all about assessing just how effective and mature your overall cyber security protocols and strategies are. The more mature your cyber security level, the better positioned you are to respond to and mitigate risks.
We define these as five levels. Level 1 is the lowest level of cyber maturity and has the most room for improvement, and Level 5 is the highest level and is considered well-optimised.
4. Vulnerability Risk Assessment
This assessment is all about taking a much closer and granular look at the specific vulnerabilities within your business’s IT network infrastructure.
Importance of a Cyber Security Risk Assessment
If you want your business to have the best possible security measures against external and internal risks and threats, then a cyber security risk assessment is a must. It lays the groundwork for identifying where your key vulnerabilities lie, allowing you to plug those holes and strengthen your company’s overall security.
Not only will it make it easier for your business to navigate online risks and limit any potential damage that could come from them, but it’ll offer extensive peace of mind.
When your customers know that your business is safe to engage with online, especially if you handle online payments or sensitive customer data, they’ll feel far more comfortable engaging with you now and into the future.
Considerations Before Performing a Cyber Security Risk Assessment
Before undertaking a risk assessment for cyber security, make sure you understand your business’s position in the marketplace and the types of risks that are more likely to apply.
For example, suppose your business sells products online and uses an e-commerce platform. In that case, you’ll have vastly different cyber security concerns than if your business is an ad-supported industry news site.
You may handle different forms of sensitive data or use scripts and programs that could open up unique vulnerabilities. It’s important to understand where your business lands in this respect.
It’s also important to ensure you know what you’re looking for. If you don’t already have prior cyber security knowledge or it feels like an outright foreign concept to you, then you should engage with a professional IT security service provider.
Steps to Perform a Cyber Security Risk Assessment
Honestly, unless you have prior experience performing extensive cyber security risk assessments, you should not undertake one yourself. There are myriad risks and vulnerabilities that exist online, and not all of them are obvious unless you truly know what to look for.
The team at Setup4 has extensive experience in running cyber security risk assessments and cyber security audits. We’ve helped SME’s throughout Australia identify where their key vulnerabilities lie and implement responsive strategies that strengthen their online security.
To have a cyber security risk assessment implemented for your business, get in touch with our team today.
