In the business world, cybersecurity risk assessments refer to the process of identifying cybersecurity threats faced by any organization and determining how they will impact the information assets of an enterprise. Timely and regular cybersecurity risk assessments allow companies to protect their confidential information and systems from cybercriminals. Cybersecurity consultants can use the results of this cybersecurity risk assessment to plan the prevention of cyberattacks.

This blog discusses the steps of cybersecurity risk assessments for enterprises.

Step # 1 — Identifying Cybersecurity Risks

The first step of a cybersecurity risk assessment is to identify the risks faced by an organization. Cybersecurity consultants start by determining the scope of a cybersecurity risk assessment and deciding which departments or assets they will cover during the process. After scope determination, the cybersecurity specialists list down all the assets available in an enterprise.

These assets include anything that can be a target for cybercriminals, like data in the cloud, servers, networks, and systems that store critical information. In this cybersecurity risk assessment stage, cybersecurity analysts develop a chart that shows the connections between these assets, which is vital in identifying threats.

Once enterprises have identified the connection between assets, they can move forward to identifying any threats they might face. For this cybersecurity risk assessment step, organizations need to check statistics that discuss the cybersecurity threats commonly faced by companies in their respective domains.

Step # 2 — Discuss the Impact of Cybersecurity Risks

In this step of the assessment, cybersecurity consultants come up with a mind map that mentions what can go wrong if a cybersecurity threat turns into reality. They determine the potential impact of these risks on a company’s operations, employees, finances, and future. Many companies make the mistake of only considering cybersecurity threats based on past data breaches or cyberattacks, but that’s not the right way.

Enterprises need to understand that cybersecurity risks depend upon the vulnerabilities in their system and their assets. Determining the impact of different cyberattacks on your organization will help you develop a proactive approach to prevent these threats.

Step # 3 — Determine How to Handle Different Risks

Once cybersecurity analysts have a list of all the risks and their effect on an enterprise, the last step of a cybersecurity risk assessment is to handle all these risks. But this depends upon the severity of the threat. For instance, if an activity poses a great threat to your company and offers little benefits, it might be best to stop that process.

In contrast, less severe cybersecurity risks can be managed by applying different cybersecurity methods like firewalls and password protection.

A cybersecurity consultant protecting an enterprise’s systems in the last step of cybersecurity risk assessment

Get Started with Iviry for Cybersecurity Risk Assessment

With the help of constant cybersecurity risk assessments, your enterprise can avoid data breaches, malicious software attacks, and other cybersecurity threats. At Iviry, we conduct cybersecurity risk assessment through our cybersecurity defense solution, CyberMentum. Our team of professional and experienced cybersecurity analysts have developed CyberMentum, which is the ideal cybersecurity risk assessment, threat prevention, compliance maintenance, and long-term cyber hygiene sustainment tool.

Reach out to us and let our cybersecurity consultants conduct a cybersecurity risk assessment while integrating CyberMentum into your organization.