In today's digital age, your business faces a myriad of cyber threats that can have serious financial, legal, and reputational consequences on your business.
And considering that 43% of all cyber attacks involve small businesses, it is crucial for you to have a robust cyber risk management strategy in place. This is where your cyber risk assessment framework comes in.
In this blog, we’ll discuss what exactly cyber risk assessment frameworks are, how they can be implemented, and how they can benefit your business.
What is a Cyber Risk Assessment Framework?
Today, maintaining optimal cybersecurity posture isn’t just a best practice – government legislations like the Federal Information Security Modernization Act have made it essential.
And this can’t be done without a proper technology risk framework.
A risk assessment framework, otherwise known as the technology risk management framework, or risk analysis framework, is a structured approach to identifying, analyzing, and mitigating the risks associated with cyber threats.
The IT risk assessment framework typically consists of several phases, including:
- Risk identification
- Risk analysis
- Risk mitigation
- Ongoing monitoring
The goal of the technology risk framework is to help you gain a comprehensive understanding of your cyber risk exposure and develop a plan to manage those risks effectively.
Of course, this isn't easy to do alone, which is why more and more businesses are using entrusting the process to managed security providers – so much so that the cybersecurity industry is projected to hit $400 billion by 2026.
Image Credit: SDM Newswire
Let’s take a look at the key steps in completing your IT risk assessment framework properly to ensure you perfect your information security posture.
NIST Risk Management Framework: The Different Phases
The NIST risk assessment framework, also known as the NIST cybersecurity framework, The NIST Risk Assessment Framework (RAF) is a framework developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for assessing and managing cybersecurity risks.
The framework provides a structured approach to identifying, evaluating, and prioritizing risks to an organization's information systems and data, and is used by many MSPs as an enterprise risk management framework template.
The NIST RAF is designed to be flexible and adaptable to the needs of different organizations. It can be used by organizations of all sizes and in all sectors – and can also be used in conjunction with other cybersecurity frameworks and standards, such as ISO 27001 and the Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) developed by NIST.
Image Credit: National Institute of Standards and Technology
The NIST risk assessment framework consists of five primary steps:
1. Identify:
This step in your risk analysis framework involves identifying the assets and resources that need protection, such as hardware, software, data, and personnel. It also involves identifying the potential threats and vulnerabilities that could compromise those assets.
Your chosen MSP can help businesses assess the likelihood and impact of each risk by conducting a vulnerability assessment and penetration testing, as well as employing numerical risk analysis.
Numerical risk analysis is a process that uses statistical and mathematical techniques to quantify and analyze risks. The objective is to determine the probability and impact of potential risks and their potential consequences.
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2. Protect
This step involves implementing safeguards and controls to protect the identified assets and resources from potential threats. These security controls may include implementing firewalls, antivirus software, and intrusion detection systems, as well as training employees on cybersecurity best practices and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements such as:
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
- Security Modernization Act (FISMA)
3. Detect
This step involves implementing systems and processes to detect and identify potential security incidents and events. This can include the following risk assessment criteria:
- Intrusion detection systems
- Log monitoring
- Security information and event management (SIEM) system
- And more
4. Respond
This step involves developing and implementing a plan for responding to security incidents and events – based on the level of risk indicated for each threat. This can include risk based incident response plans, disaster recovery plans, and business continuity plans.
5. Recover
This step in your risk assessment criteria involves restoring the organization's systems and data to their pre-incident state after a security incident or event. This can include restoring backups, rebuilding systems, and implementing additional controls to prevent future incidents.
Check out these additional resources to learn more about how to choose an MSP who can help you complete your enterprise risk management framework template and ensure optimal security. |
Entrust The Isidore Group to Help You Complete Your Risk Assessment Framework
Damage from cyberattacks will hit $10.5 trillion annually by 2025—a 300% increase from 2015 levels. This indicates the need to have robust risk assessment frameworks in place.
By entrusting your technology risk management framework to an MSP such as the Isidore Group, cybersecurity can be assured on all sides. Our expert team can assist you in everything from:
- Vulnerability assessments
- Information systems audits and controls
- Risk management framework (RMF) execution
- Web filtering and security
- Cyber awareness training
- And more
Get your complimentary vulnerability assessment today! Contact us now.
