Informations security risk management is a formal process to identify, assess, prioritize, and address information security risks to the organization.
In this article, we will also cover an in-depth explanation of how to identify, assess, prioritize and address information security risks. Read on to learn more.
What Is Informations Security Risk Management?
Information security risk management is a formal process to identify, assess, prioritize, and address security risks to the organization. It is also one of the four components of the information security management system (ISMS).
Also, the goal of information security risk management is to identify and manage the risks to an organization’s assets, people, and operations that arise because of its use of technologies and other systems.
Informations Security Risk Management Framework
The framework for information security risk management consists of five steps:
- Identify risks
- Assess risks
- Prioritize risks
- Implement controls
- Evaluate controls
- Adjust strategy as needed
Risk Management Processes and Methodologies
There are many ways to carry out risk management. We will discuss a few in this article. But, this is by no means an exhaustive list. It also aims to provide you with some basic methodologies you can use immediately.
Step 1 – Identify Risks
Before anything else, it is necessary to understand what a risk is. Simply put, a risk is a likelihood or possibility that something bad or undesirable will happen in connection with an asset or operation within an organization.
Step 2 – Assess Risks
Next, you must understand how to assess different risks. As we discussed above, risk assessment is examining risk and determining its likelihood and impact, if it does happen.
Step 3 – Prioritize Risks
After you know your risks and assess their likelihood and impact, you should prioritize them from high to low. This process is known as risk prioritization. The highest priority risks are addressed first, while the lowest are addressed last or not at all.
Step 4 – Implement Controls
Now that you have identified and prioritized your risks, you also need to implement controls. A control is any action or process that you can apply to reduce risk to an acceptable level.
Your organization may also decide to implement additional controls or adjustments to existing controls to address the highest priority risks.
Step 5 – Evaluate Controls
The final step is evaluating your controls after they have been implemented.
You should also evaluate the effectiveness of your controls every time you apply it so that you know whether they are working or if additional changes are necessary.
Step 6 – Adjust Strategy as Needed
I is also an ongoing process that should be reviewed regularly by the senior management of an organization.
If significant changes occur within the organization or in the industry in which it operates, strategies may need to be adjusted accordingly.
Conclusion
As you can see, information security risk management is an important process that must be carried out in any organization that also uses IT systems or other technology.
The five steps above are a good way to get started, but it is just the beginning of a larger process. So, begin your journey now.
