Among the many risks that businesses face, those associated with their IT systems, data, networks, and communications, i.e., cybersecurity risks are gaining increasing importance among business leaders. That’s because enterprises are becoming more and more dependent on their information and communication systems as a consequence of the continued digitization of the global business landscape. Any failure in these digital systems and loss of critical data, be it due to accidental leaks or deliberately perpetrated breaches, can disrupt business processes and potentially lead to massive financial losses.

To prevent such outcomes, enterprises must ensure they have preventive measures in place for mitigating these risks. But before investing time and resources in developing cybersecurity strategies and deploying network security tools, it is first necessary to perform a thorough cybersecurity risk assessment.

Why cybersecurity risk assessment is important for enterprises

Implementing cybersecurity measures is all about plugging all security loopholes to ensure that nothing harmful comes in and nothing sensitive goes out. And before setting about blocking their enterprise’s cybersecurity loopholes, cybersecurity teams must first identify what these loopholes are and where they are located in the enterprise network. And that is exactly what cybersecurity risk assessment purports to achieve.

Deliberately looking for ways in which your enterprise’s cybersecurity system can be exploited helps in identifying risk areas that you never knew existed. This enables you to ensure that all such vulnerabilities are eliminated before they are discovered and exploited by harmful entities, potentially leading to heavy losses.

Another important reason why cybersecurity risk assessment is necessary is to create the most effective cybersecurity strategy that fits an enterprise’s specific needs. Creating an effective cybersecurity strategy involves identifying the areas where high-level security is needed and those where it is enough to have basic security measures. Since these may differ based on the industry, organizational structure, established data workflows, internal communication channels, and other factors that are unique to each enterprise, a cybersecurity strategy that works for one enterprise may not work for others even if they operate in the same industry and on the same scale.

To create a cybersecurity plan that perfectly fits an organization’s business needs, enterprise architecture, and overarching business strategy, an extensive cybersecurity risk assessment must be carried out throughout the organization. This will help the security leaders direct their resources towards solving the right cybersecurity problems, thereby maximizing the effectiveness of their investments.

To summarize, cybersecurity risk assessment is important for enterprises to gain awareness of any undiscovered vulnerabilities in their IT systems, prevent future cyber attacks and data leaks, and to maximize the effectiveness of cybersecurity investments.

How enterprises should perform cybersecurity risk assessment

While there are no standard rules for performing a cyber risk assessment, it is advisable for enterprises to follow a structured approach to cybersecurity risk assessment, as outlined below:

Mapping the enterprise IT network

The primary step in cybersecurity risk assessment is mapping the enterprise’s IT infrastructure and network. Cybersecurity teams must first perform an audit of all the IT assets of an enterprise, including the hardware and devices, communication channels, applications, and data stored on site as well as on the cloud. Enterprises must also include BYOD devices and IoT endpoints (if any) in their cybersecurity risk assessment. They must map different data-centric processes and process workflows to get a clear picture of how the organizational data is used and by which devices and users.

Prioritizing assets based on criticality

Having identified all the IT assets and processes, businesses must determine the criticality of each of these assets to the business’s functioning. They must identify the pieces of information that are highly sensitive, such as master data, personal information pertaining to customers as well as employees, financial records, and other information such as business strategies, research data, and trade secrets.

Identifying threat events

The next step is to identify different risks and ways in which these assets and systems can be compromised. Cybersecurity teams must identify critical communication channels that can be easily intercepted, data stores that can be easily hacked into or leaked outside the organization, and non-functional spam filters and malware detection tools, among others. They should identify the different potential threat events, i.e., the ways in which each asset can be compromised.

Evaluating the severity of potential threats

Having identified the different threats and vulnerabilities, the cybersecurity teams must assess the severity of the impact that each threat may potentially have on the overall business operations. This will help in prioritizing and varying the level of security needed for individual applications and pieces of information, based on their criticality.

Assessing security measures

Assessing the existing information security and control systems is a key part of cybersecurity risk assessment. Cybersecurity teams must gain visibility into the protocols and tools that make up their existing cybersecurity measures and assess their strengths and limitations. Understanding the capabilities of your existing cybersecurity systems will help in further fortifying those systems if needed.

Bringing it all together

All this information will allow enterprises to estimate their overall cybersecurity risk level. This will enable them to take steps to secure their most valuable and vulnerable IT assets. And this entire process must be carried out on an ongoing basis. That’s because performing cyber risk assessment only sporadically can lead to gaps in cybersecurity due to expanding business networks, the introduction of new technologies, and the evolving nature of cyber crimes.

Effective cybersecurity is always built upon the foundation of comprehensive, ongoing cybersecurity risk assessment. Performing such extensive assessments on an ongoing basis can be difficult for enterprise cybersecurity leaders due to the sheer number of devices and the enormous volume of data that require monitoring. Using a scalable cybersecurity solution such as a contextually intelligent, next-generation data loss prevention system that offers complete network visibility can be of great utility in such cases. These firewall systems can not only offer enterprises round-the-clock security against evolving threats but also provide complete visibility into their networks, making it easier to perform cybersecurity risk assessment on a continuous basis.