๐๐๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฐ๐๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐. ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ธ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐๐๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐น๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐.
Cybersecurity has never been more important in today’s digital world. Secure systems and networks are the pinnacles of protecting data, finances, identities, accounts, and any other private information. One of the first ways to enhance your cybersecurity is to analyze potential threats and vulnerabilities to create a better strategy.
The primary way to do this is to conduct a cyber risk assessment. Assessments help reduce long-term costs, organize data, prevent breaches and data loss, maintain online functions, and more. As a key component of risk management, cyber risk assessments offer the ultimate protection for your business now and in the future.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐๐ธ ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐?
A cyber risk assessment is used to identify, estimate, and prioritize the cyber risks that threaten the operations, assets, and information of an organization. Assessments are one of the only extensive ways to practiceย cyber attack prevention. Assessments are an essential tool to get ahead of problems and avoid private data being shared, identity theft, money loss, etc.
An adequate assessment should aim to answer questions including:
- What data breach would have the biggest impact on our business?
- What are the levels of impact, should there be a security breach?
- What are the most important technological assets we need to protect?
- What are both the internal and external vulnerabilities?
- What level of risk is the company willing to take? In what ways are we flexible versus rigid?
- What risk sources can be identified, and what safety measures do we have in place for unknown sources?
- How do we cost-effectively reduce risk?
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐๐ธ ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐?
An assessment looks at the risks that can jeopardize your organization. Knowing the type of relevant threats starts by knowing what is at stake; what kind of assets do you use that are at risk? This could include software and other internal systems, hardware, customer data, financial accounts and information, laptops, intellectual property, or anything else that can be “hacked” and used against you.
๐จ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐.
๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐๐ธ
The four main steps to a cybersecurity risk assessment are discussed below.
๐ญ. ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฒ
The first step is to determine the time and money your company can spend on risk mitigation and management. Going into a cybersecurity risk assessment without any set boundaries will create overwhelming and ineffective results. The same goes for the value of the assets you’re looking at; set a standard of importance so that you can eliminate assets that don’t need to be deeply considered. Create a scope of importance to inform your risk management policy.
๐ฎ. ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐
The core of a cybersecurity risk assessment will involve finding potential threats to your security and the weaknesses that leave your business vulnerable. Understanding your infrastructure will be a key component of this step.
Threats may include hackers, malware, phishing scams, data leaks, cyber attacks, human error, etc. There are also risks like competitors who prey on your data or strategy, natural disasters, or system failures. Common weaknesses or vulnerabilities can come from human error or misuse of information, poor system security, irregular or infrequent updates/audits, and overall poor security management.
๐ฏ. ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ฐ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐๐ธ๐
Once you’ve identified the many potential threats and weaknesses that your organization faces, it’s best to measure the impact that those risks would have on your business and how likely they are to happen. If you have significant vulnerabilities, the greater chances of losing something valuable are. Not only should you look at the likelihood of a breach happening, but you should also look at how successful that breach could be with your current protocols.
๐ฐ. ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ
Finally, prioritize risks into levels of severity or seriousness, especially depending on cost, urgency, and value. If protecting an asset costs more than the asset’s actual worth, it may not be a high priority or a priority at all unless it jeopardizes the reputation of the company.
๐๐ข๐ ๐ก:ย These threats require near-immediate action and corrective measures should be implemented as soon as possible.
๐๐จ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐:ย While not as worrisome as high-level risks, moderate-level risks should be put into development and acted upon in a reasonable timeframe.
๐๐จ๐ฐ:ย These risks should be further assessed to determine if they can be accepted as is or if there needs to be some kind of risk mitigation implemented.
Some organizations may consider this level of caution more of a concern for big companies because they seem to be likelier targets. However, small business cyber security is just as importantโsometimes even more so. You may wonder why SMEs are a target for cybercriminals, but small businesses can be low-hanging fruit if they are left unprepared and unprotected.
๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ
If you need to take a step in the right direction, Acrisure provides real-time vulnerability scans to help organizations understand the cyber risks that threaten their business. Plus, get AI-based security solutions for cyber threat prevention, detection, and response. You can start with an Acrisure risk assessment for your cybersecurity; we specialize in fast, accurate, and innovative cybersecurity that protects your business assets.
Also considerย cyber insurance, a smart way to fill the gap between recognizing risks and preventing possible breaches. You can trust Acrisure Cyber Services to provide industry-leading coverage, risk management tools, and more.ย Contact usย today for better cybersecurity.
The insurance products described are placed by Acrisure, LLC and/or its insurance producer affiliates. The non-insurance cybersecurity and related cyber services described are provided by Acrisure Cyber Services, LLC, an affiliate of Acrisure, LLC.
Source: https://www.acrisure.com/blog/how-to-perform-cyber-risk-assessment
American Public Entity Programs, LLC are public sector insurance professionals specializing in the underwriting, risk management, and marketing for public entity risks. We are a strategic trading partner of Acrisure and have been designated as a double Acrisure Circle of Excellence wholesale broker. For more information, visitย https://americanpublicentity.com/