Best Practices for Information Security Risk Assessments

Do you know for sure that the current digital infrastructure that you are using is secured to the teeth? Have you ever conducted a thorough security risk assessment? If the answer is a No then you already know that this task is long overdue and should have been already done or implemented on your end. The technology keeps on updating on a regular note and along with it the security practices and procedures also get revolutionized. The purpose here is not to leave your digital assets such as data centers, computers, mobile phones, or other organization-based settings without any guard but it is to make sure that security is prioritized and updated constantly.

Every organization no matter how small or large have already come through to the point where the assessment of risks regarding security leaks has become mandatory. These steps are taken to make sure that the company only remains at the far end of the risk whirlpool when it comes to consistent cyber-attacks and mal-practices for the sake of jeopardizing business operations. Risk assessment although it is a vast field but only tends to a few crucial aspects of finding out the persistent vulnerabilities that might be downgrading your security performance.     

Best Practices for Information Security Risk Assessments

The need to assess risk is real and that is why we have a list of following best practices that can be employed on your end to make sure that cybercriminals are at a bay;

Identify and Document Asset Vulnerabilities

The first and foremost thing that you need to do is to identify the various vulnerabilities that exist within your data assets. This can be your data center or the cloud in which all your corporate data is stored, your network through which every ounce of data bounces, and the company devices that remain connected with the network. All of these are your digital assets on which the data roam and this is exactly what you need to get ahold of. In the first phase of risk assessment, your job is to identify and then document these vulnerabilities and seek assurance with your operations and management team that you have got them all.

When you are done with it can you really begin to understand the veracity of the situation and overall stats of security that needs upgrading, modification, or a little more focus on your end. This would help to thwart hackers from getting access to your network and stealing useful information.

Identify and Document Internal and External Threats

When you are done with documenting and identifying your digital assets and the vulnerabilities that exist within them you have to come around the same with internal and external threats. Identify these threats and document them too. Many would-be wondering where taking action does come then in threat identification, it does but before you have to identify what kind of threats your organization faces.

Internal and external threats could be a little different from each other such as internal use of illicit practices from within your organization in order to breach the security or externally persistent tries by hackers to manipulate your security systems. When you have found all about these can you only begin to eradicate these piece by piece.   

Acquire Threat and Vulnerability Information from External Sources

If need be, use the external sources in order to acquire threat and vulnerability information. The external resources can be the internet to put out a general assessment or it could be someone looking for your well-being or being paid heavily by your organization to do so. Penetration testers can also be an advanced level external source that can fill you in with what's going in with the overall security of your organization and where do the vulnerabilities exist. 

The overall purpose of this is to make sure that you have done your homework extensively and are very much sure about the vulnerabilities that exist and your next scheme following which you are going to bring betterment.  

Identify Potential Business Impacts and Likelihoods

Suppose your network or security systems were to get compromised this very second what would be the consequences that your business would bear? Would sales top over the roof or come crashing to the ground? How would your stakeholders and clients perceive these notions? This is the groundbreaking layout that you need to interpret or sketch before yourself while performing a risk assessment. If some part of you is not in the mood of getting through with all the costs that would be incurred otherwise then better get sorted with all the affects this would impart on your business.

But on the other hand, if some sensible part of you wants to go through with performing risk assessment then make sure that you cater yourself to the delights that would be waiting for you. Think of the likelihood of performing risk assessment, how you would already be notified with the vulnerabilities that exist and perform a set of operations to take care of them. Wouldn't it save you from tremendous loss, wouldn't it be simply great to have defeated all the external threats that linger along with your security parameters?       

Identify and Prioritize Risk Response

Last but not least you should be identifying which risks are more tenacious than the other and which ones are likely to jeopardize your business operations for a longer duration. When identified these threats, simply separate them and start working on them. Build a response action plan around it and put a team of professionals on this very task for the sake of taking care of this threat once and for all. When your organization is being ripped off the most tenacious and attention-seeking threat then simply start moving down on your list while eradicating those which remain in your list. Only when you have begun taking actions on these threats would they leave you and your organization once and for all.

If you want to improve your chances of building a cloud-oriented career then it is advised that you indulge yourself in information security awareness training. Not only would it help you to build a strong perspective of present cyber threats but to best tackle them as well.