The UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies to just about every business these days. After all, businesses gather, store, and use sensitive data like personal identities, banking details, client histories, and so on. It’s no secret that data is a valuable resource that is subject to theft and misuse and GDPR requires businesses to manage risk and protect data resources.
The Data Protection Act also applies, and it stipulates that data should be “handled in a way that ensures appropriate security, including protection against unlawful or unauthorised processing, access, loss, destruction or damage.”
These laws don’t prescribe the specific measures you should take, but they do require you to take responsibility for data security. The best place to start, as the saying goes, is at the beginning. In this instance, it’s clear that you can’t manage risk without knowing what risks you face. You’ll uncover these through your cyber security risk assessment.
What is a Cyber Security Risk Assessment?
A cyber security risk assessment allows you to identify potential threats, evaluates their likelihood and potential impact, and records what steps you will take to mitigate them.
At best, implementing its recommendations will protect the data you’re responsible for safeguarding. At worst, it demonstrates the degree of diligence with which you managed risk – a key factor if a data breach leads to legal action against your organisation.
How to Do a Risk Assessment for Cyber Security
1. Assemble Your Team
You will need people with the latest legal compliance and cyber security skills at their fingertips, but your team should also include people with operational knowledge. For example, you should include departmental managers. They will have insights into current data collection, handling, and storage practices, and they will be responsible for implementing cyber security in their departments.
2. Identify Assets
Your process begins with the identification of assets including hardware, software, IT infrastructure, and data assets.
Hardware
The devices being used in data handling and storage are a key piece of information that will impact your cyber security measures. For example, if employees access or transmit sensitive information using their personal devices, risk exposure is amplified because they also use these devices to browse, interact with social media, and open personal emails.
Software
List the software used in the workplace as well as any actions taken to ensure that it is regularly updated. Determine whether unused software is still installed on any devices. Outdated software is risky and uninstalling unnecessary software is an important housekeeping routine.
Data
Identify all the types of data being collected, how it is captured and transmitted, where it goes, how and where it is stored and how it is accessed. Other questions to ask include routines for reviewing stored data for compliance-based deletion. You should also determine who is authorised to access data, the locations from which data is accessed, when and how access permissions are granted or terminated, how data is accessed, and whether access is protected through multi factor authentication.
Networks and Infrastructure
Identify all the networks and infrastructure used in data handling and access. You may have captured some of them already, but to perform an effective risk assessment, you will need a complete list.
3. Identify Threats and Vulnerabilities
Your cyber security experts analyse all the information gathered so far and identify all the threats to which your systems may be vulnerable. Apart from threats posed by hackers and malware, they’ll also look at possible insider threats and what might happen in the event of a natural disaster. Vulnerabilities range from outdated software to weak passwords, insufficient staff training, and the use of unsecured networks.
4. Evaluate Likelihood and Impact and Prioritise
Analyse each threat and vulnerability to determine its likelihood and the impact it may have on your business and its sensitive data. This allows you to prioritise. High-likelihood, high-impact risks will enjoy the highest priority and low-likelihood, low-impact risks would represent your lowest priority.
5. Develop Risk Mitigation Strategies
Based on the preceding steps, identify what you can do to mitigate risks. Strategies can range from implementing cyber security technologies to data governance updates and staff training. This is a good time to think about next steps. Set time frames and targets, allocate responsibility, specify reporting requirements and decide on review dates for evaluating results.
Importance of Risk Assessment in Cyber Security
Legal compliance
We’ve already touched on the laws governing cyber security and their requirement that you take responsibility for safeguarding sensitive information. Like all laws, data protection laws are enforced and penalties may be exacted if your business fails to exercise due diligence.
Addressing Evolving Threats
The threat landscape isn’t static. It constantly evolves and changes. At the very least, you should review your risk profile and cyber security measures once a year. If you process a great deal of sensitive data, more frequent cyber security risk assessments may be called-for.
Resource Allocation
Simply throwing resources at cyber security willy-nilly is almost sure to result in wasted resources and inadequate security. By analysing risks and prioritising risk mitigation activities, you can develop a clear roadmap to guide you on your journey towards effective cyber security.
Cost Savings
Data breaches are costly on a number of levels. Apart from being liable for penalties if you fail to comply with the law, there’s the cost of picking up the pieces after an attack. In 2023, the average cost of a single breach was estimated at over £3.5 million. Without effective risk management, attacks can be repeated, adding to the cost of inadequate cyber security. For example, MailChimp was successfully hacked on more than one occasion in 2022.
Incident Response and Preparedness
Understanding risk helps you to prepare an effective course of action to follow if the worst were to happen. While preventing cyber attacks is clearly a priority, you’ll also provide for monitoring and develop effective emergency response procedures.
Building a Security Culture
As part of your risk assessment, you will have determined how your workers’ behaviour contributes to the safety of your assets. Since threat actors use both technical and social engineering tactics to breach your security, cyber security training will form part of your risk mitigation strategy. By getting everyone on board, you’ll develop a security culture that helps keep your assets safe.
Protecting Your Business’s Reputation
If customers don’t believe they can trust you with their data, they won’t support your business. High-profile security breaches affect business and brand reputations and drive away customers.
- 66 percent of customers do not trust brands that have recently fallen victim to a security breach.
- 75 percent of customers are ready to end their relationships with affected businesses.
- 44 percent believe that the business failed them by not implementing adequate security measures.
Business Continuity
Cyberattacks can bring businesses to a standstill. Your risk mitigation strategies reduce the chances of this happening to you. A September 2024 attack on Transport for London is said to have come perilously close to doing this, but cyber security measures allowed the organisation to detect and counter the attack quickly. If an attack threatens your ability to function, your risk mitigation strategies can help you to thwart it and resume operations faster.
Need Help With Your Cyber Security Risk Assessment?
Advantex’s cyber security services are trusted by transportation providers, manufacturing industries, educational institutions, and businesses of every size and description. From penetration testing to implementing cutting-edge security, our certified cyber security services are there to help your organisation remain safe online. With us, you’ll always have the expert help and support you need. We’re there for our customers 24 hours a day seven days a week. Getting started is easy. Simply contact us to get the conversation started.
