IT Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment

The quality of security controls can significantly influence all categories of risk. Traditionally, organizations recognized the direct impact on operational/transaction risk from incidents related to fraud, theft, or accidental damage.  Many security weaknesses, however, can directly increase exposure in other risk areas.  Effective application access controls can strengthen risk management by enforcing risk limits on employees and 3rd party vendors.  For example, if a 3rd party vendor performs a software upgrade and changes security controls for an application that bring it out of compliance of approved operating standards, the organization may unknowingly assume additional risk exposure.

A strong security program reduces levels of reputation, operational, legal, and strategic risk by limiting the organization’s vulnerability to various threats.  Security concerns can quickly erode customer confidence and result in reputation damage to the organization and its products and/or services.  Risk managers should incorporate security issues into their risk assessment process for each risk category.  Organizations should ensure that security risk assessments adequately consider potential risk in all business lines and risk categories.

Information security risk assessment is the process used to identify and understand risks to information systems. A risk assessment consists of the identification and valuation of assets and an analysis of those assets in relation to potential threats and vulnerabilities, resulting in a ranking of risks to mitigate. The resulting information should be used to develop strategies to mitigate those risks where appropraite.

An adequate assessment identifies the value and sensitivity of information and system components and then balances that knowledge with the exposure from threats and vulnerabilities.  A risk assessment is a pre-requisite to the formation of strategies that guide the organization as it develops, implements, tests, and maintains its information systems security posture.  An initial risk assessment may involve a significant one-time effort, but the risk assessment process should be an ongoing part of the information security program.

Services include:

  • Risk Assessment
  • Risk Mitigation
  • NCUA Compliant IS Risk Assessment Report
  • Assistance with on-going Risk Management Planning

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