IT Risk Management: A Guide to Mitigating Cyber Threats
An effective IT risk management approach drives visibility across the organization and centralizes all data to deliver real-time insights and solutions to risk.
Combat the rising threat of cyber risk with an intelligent, end-to-end IT risk management program that can identify and reduce threats across your organization.
Here, you can explore:
- A definition of IT risk management and five steps in the IT risk management process
- Tips for enhancing your IT risk management program and how the right solution can enhance security
- Advanced strategies from highly regarded global CISO, Ash Hunt
IT Risk Management Process: 5 Steps
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Identify Risk
This is the most basic part of the IT risk management process, but it’s also one of the most important. The faster you can identify risk, the sooner you can mitigate it. This involves looking at the larger, industry-wide risk landscape to determine which risks could directly impact your organization. It also involves examining internal processes and procedures to identify potential weaknesses. -
Forecast Risk Probability
Once you’ve identified risks, you’ll need to prioritize them based on how likely they are to occur. To forecast each risk’s probability, you’ll have to analyze both how likely the risk is and the impact it might have on your organization.
Consider:
- Probability of occurrence
- Financial, operational and reputational impacts
- Regulatory consequences, like fines
This can help you prioritize which risks to address immediately, and which might be less urgent.
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Use Your Previous Analysis to Prioritize Risks
When you remediate risks matters, some can wait, but others can become more costly with time. Use your analysis of each risk to rank its priority. Ensure you weigh both its likelihood and business impact; you may still prioritize a specific risk based on its significant business impact.
Don’t stop with a ranked list, either. Timelines are an essential part of an IT risk management strategy, so ensure you align your priorities with your team’s capacity and have an estimated timeline for mitigating all risks.
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Take Action
Cyberattacks happen, no matter how effectively you’ve identified and mitigated risks. In the (even unlikely event) of a breach, the next step is to take action. This requires a documented and centralized IT risk management process that can adapt to different departments and their unique procedures.
Your documented process becomes the plan of action that will unfold once an attack happens. This should detail the procedures, people, time and resources required to stop the breach in its tracks.
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Conduct 'Always On' Monitoring
Organizations are never really beyond risk. They just have yet to encounter their next risk. That’s why the final step in IT risk management is to monitor the program, which requires revisiting all previous actions on an ongoing basis. Organizations should adopt an “always-on” approach to risk that allows them to identify, prioritize and act on new and emerging risks.
But monitoring isn’t just about the risks. It’s also about reviewing how risk management processes perform in real-time, and making adjustments so the organization remains secure.
What Tactics Can Enhance Your IT Risk Management Program?
You've implemented your IT risk management program, but do you know how to make the most of it?
Implementing the right tactics can help ensure total compliance for understanding risks, enhance the adoption of an enterprise-wide culture of risk compliance and provide confidence when communicating your IT risk posture to the board and C-suite.
A Master Class in IT Risk Management
Designed with input from global CISO and frequent board advisor Ash Hunt, our IT Risk Management Master Class enables today's technology and security leaders to more effectively manage risk and improve their interactions with the board.
Discover actionable insights and frameworks for CISOs and security professionals guiding their organizations through a rapidly evolving risk management landscape.
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