What are the key elements of the risk management process?
A quick exploration of risk management.
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This is part of an on-going series in cybersecurity foundations. Check the cyber 101 article tag index from time to time for more content.
Cybersecurity is ultimately an effort to address risk (in its many forms). For today's article, I'd like to briefly step through a sample management process and define several different types of risks that organizations are facing. In continuing with our recent theme over the past few weeks, we'll be analyzing things from a Zscaler mindset but it's worth noting that this methodology is fairly vendor agnostic.
The Risk Management process consists of 3 major phases/steps:
- 1 - Identifying Risks
- We can't protect what we can't see. So the first step is to perform a detailed review of the environment and identify potential risks that could impact the business.
- This could include a variety of threats including technical constraints, natural disasters, and human errors.
- 2 - Assessing Risks
- After we have a solid understanding of the current attack surface and theoretical exposures, it's time to go deeper. We need to understand the likelihood of a threat actually being exploited.
- This phase is focused on developing a strong sense of priority and understanding the impact on the business if something were to happen.
- 3 - Risk Treatment
- The third step is the easiest (and most difficult): doing something about the risk.
- This is the point at which an exposure in some shape/form is addressed (be it Mitigate, Accept, Transfer, or Avoid).
- This might include implementing a new security control, enforcing a new policy, etc.
Types of risk
Simple enough right? So what types of risks are there? Let's unpack a few:
- Strategic Risk
- This happens when an organization's long-term goals aren't necessarily aligned with cybersecurity decisions.
- Cyber Risk
- This involves potential damage to an organization due to a cybersecurity attack (or breach).
- Operational Risk
- This pertains to failures or issues that can result from an operational standpoint. Anything from accidental human error to system failures that expose weaknesses.
- Financial Risk
- This type is all about financial losses that can happen post-incident due to cyber attacks.
- Compliance Risk
- This category has to do with failing to align/adhere with regulatory requirements or standards.
- Reputational Risk
- This involves damage to an organization's brand and public image following a security incident, which can lead to customer loss, reduced trust, and long-term business impact.
For more information, check out these resources:
What Is Risk Management? The Importance, Types of Risk, and More
Learn how risk management identifies, assesses, and mitigates potential threats that could compromise an organization in a cyber environment.
