How To Perform a Cybersecurity Risk Assessment

Small to midsize businesses (SMBs) face the challenge of ever-present cyber threats. For CIOs, IT managers, and business leaders responsible for managing their company's cybersecurity procedures, understanding and mitigating these risks is critical to business survival. And a cybersecurity risk assessment is an invaluable tool in this effort, providing a structured approach to identify and address potential vulnerabilities.

The undertaking of such an assessment can often feel overwhelming for those who aren’t prepared. But this guide is here to help. It will help demystify the process, providing practical steps and insights to empower you to conduct a thorough risk assessment. By understanding your organization's unique vulnerabilities and potential threats, you can make informed decisions to protect your valuable assets and ensure business continuity.

A cybersecurity risk assessment is a systematic evaluation of an organization's potential vulnerabilities to cyberattacks. It involves identifying, analyzing, and prioritizing risks to determine the likelihood and potential impact of the threats. In simpler terms, it's like a comprehensive health check for your digital infrastructure.

For SMBs, understanding and managing these risks is crucial. According to Gartner's Cyber Risk Primer for 2024, cyber risks are "risks that may impact the goals and values of an organization in terms of financial loss, operational disruption, damage or harm caused by the failure of the technologies employed for informational and/or operational functions within interconnected digital environments." [1]

Cyber risk opens the door to cyberattacks and the devastating consequences that come with them. By conducting a thorough risk assessment, you can pinpoint your organization's weak spots and implement targeted measures to protect your valuable assets.

According to GetApp's 2023 Data Security Survey, 58% of IT security managers have already recognized the importance of formal cybersecurity risk assessments and have implemented them in their businesses.* This statistic highlights the growing awareness of the need to safeguard sensitive data.

The basics of a cybersecurity risk assessment

Cybercrime is now ubiquitous—it's the stranger danger of the digital world. To evaluate your company's vulnerability,  you should consider three particular factors:

1. Threat source motivation and capability

Is the threat source interested in your information, and can they make money from it? Do they have tools that will allow them to attack your system?

2. The nature of the vulnerability

Is your company's data security weakness due to human nature or coding issues? Are cyberthieves currently exploiting this weakness elsewhere?

3. The presence and effectiveness of controls

Do you have security systems that can thwart bad actors from detecting and/or exploiting this weakness? Have other companies been able to address and correct this vulnerability?

These are general questions to ask and answer when you begin a threat assessment. You can start to calculate risk based on your answers to the above. They will give you a sense of your company's weaknesses.

According to Gartner's Top Trends in Cybersecurity for 2024, cybersecurity risk management has become "more critical as organizations strive to balance protection with business value creation." [2] A cybersecurity risk assessment provides a clear understanding of your organization's vulnerabilities, helping you make informed decisions to protect your assets and mitigate potential losses.

Who should perform a cyber risk assessment?

While larger organizations might have dedicated security teams, in SMBs, the responsibility often falls to IT managers or business leaders. However, it's important to involve stakeholders from across the organization, including:

• IT staff

• Department heads

• Legal and compliance teams

• Human resources

• Executive leadership

You might also consider bringing in external cybersecurity experts to provide an objective perspective and specialized knowledge.

Now that we've covered the "why," let's look at the "how." Follow these steps to conduct a thorough risk assessment:

Key considerations before performing a cybersecurity risk assessment

Use this cybersecurity risk assessment checklist to begin:

• Define the scope of your assessment (specific systems, departments, or the entire organization)

• Identify key stakeholders and form a risk assessment team

• Gather relevant documentation, such as network diagrams and asset inventories

• Set clear objectives for what you hope to achieve with the assessment

Determine your risk likelihood

Start by identifying potential threats to your organization. Consider external threats, like hackers or malware, and internal risks, such as employee errors or insider threats. For each threat, estimate the likelihood of it occurring based on factors like:

• Historical data on similar incidents

• Current threat intelligence

• The attractiveness of your assets to potential attackers

• The strength of your existing security controls

You might categorize likelihood as high, medium, or low, or use a more granular scale if desired.

Determine the impact potential

Next, assess the potential impact of each identified threat. Consider the following categories:

High impact

This type of threat could result in data breaches, system outages, and ransomware attacks, which could become:

• Significant financial losses

• Long-term damage to reputation

• Extensive downtime or business disruption

• Violation of regulatory requirements leading to severe penalties

Medium impact

Examples of medium-impact threats include unauthorized access to sensitive data, phishing attacks, and denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, which could cause:

• Moderate financial losses

• Short-term reputational damage

• Temporary business disruption

• Minor regulatory violations

Low impact

Low-impact threats could result in minor system disruptions or unauthorized access to non-critical data, which might cause:

• Minimal financial impact

• Little to no reputational damage

• Brief or no business disruption

• No regulatory implications

Use the NIST matrix

The NIST matrix lists numerical "scores" for both likelihood and impact so that you can determine your risk. [3]

For instance, if you have a medium threat likelihood and a high impact probability, you would multiply 100 x 0.5 for a score of 50. This score means that your company is classified as a medium risk under the scoring scale: High (>50 to 100), Medium (>10 to 50), or Low (1 to 10). Any score of 10 or higher means you need to up your security measures.

It's also important to remember that cybersecurity risk management is an ongoing process, not a one-time event. As Gartner's Top Trends in Cybersecurity for 2024 emphasizes, organizations must continuously monitor and adapt their risk management strategies to address emerging threats and vulnerabilities. [2]

Cybersecurity software can be a powerful ally in your defense against cyber threats. By automating tasks, providing real-time insights, and centralizing security operations, these tools can help you address vulnerabilities more effectively.

GetApp's 2024 Executive Cybersecurity Survey revealed that 94% of companies have some form of cyber security incident response plan in place.** Cybersecurity software can enhance these plans by automating incident detection, response, and recovery processes. Additionally, 38% of companies whose senior executives have been targeted by a cyberattack in the past 18 months have invested in new security software within this timeframe, demonstrating a growing reliance on technology to strengthen defenses.

Employee training is another critical component of cybersecurity. While 74% of companies with mandatory security training provide cybersecurity training, employee training software can aid these efforts by offering interactive modules, simulations, and phishing awareness training.

It is also important to provide employees with a straightforward way to report cybersecurity incidents. According to GetApp's 2023 Data Security Survey, 93% of IT security managers say their organization has protocols in place to report a suspected cyberattack.* Cybersecurity software can streamline this process by providing centralized reporting systems, automated alert mechanisms, and incident-tracking capabilities.

To address these needs, businesses should explore various software categories, including:

• Cybersecurity software: Offers comprehensive protection against a wide range of threats, including malware, ransomware, and phishing attacks. According to Gartner's 2024 Cybersecurity Primer: Meet Daily Cybersecurity Needs, one of the most important features to look for in cybersecurity risk assessment tools is continuous threat exposure management (CTEM) to help "identify and manage your exposures in real-time". [4]

• IT management software: Provides tools for network monitoring, asset management, and patch deployment, helping to maintain a secure IT infrastructure.

• Risk management software: Assists in identifying, assessing, and mitigating potential cybersecurity risks across the organization.

To find the right tools for your organization, explore GetApp's software category links above, which offer detailed comparisons and user reviews that will help you make informed decisions based on your specific needs and budget.

Navigating the complex world of cybersecurity can be overwhelming. But by understanding the fundamentals of risk assessment and following the steps outlined in this guide, you've taken a significant step toward safeguarding your organization.

Remember, a successful risk assessment is not a one-time event. It's an ongoing process that requires continuous monitoring and adaptation.

To solidify your organization's cybersecurity posture, take the following steps:

• Prioritize actions: Based on your risk assessment findings, develop a prioritized action plan to address critical vulnerabilities.

• Implement controls: Strengthen your defenses by implementing effective security controls aligned with your risk assessment.

• Educate employees: Foster a culture of cybersecurity awareness through regular training and education.

• Stay informed: Keep up to date with the latest cybersecurity threats and trends to stay ahead of potential attacks.